Social Media Recruitment 1

1. Recruitment:
Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening,
selecting, and on boarding a qualified person for a job

Introduction:

For the past few years, the economy has significantly impacted hiring and recruiting
trends across the nation. As higher numbers of anxious job seekers competed for fewer jobs,
HR and talent acquisition staffs within companies were also reduced. “They just might not come
out to campus to recruit for them. They might post them online and [use] less expensive
recruiting methods,” said (Andrea Koncz,) employment information manager at NACE.i
However, times are changing—for the better. According to the seasonally adjusted results of
the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, conducted quarterly by Manpower Inc.,
“Among U.S. employers surveyed, 14% expect to add to their workforces, and 10% expect a
decline in their payrolls during Quarter 1 2011 … When seasonal variations are removed from
the data, the Outlook is +9%, the most promising hiring expectations reported since Quarter 4
2008. Survey results suggest that employers expect a slight increase in the hiring pace during
the January – March 2011 period compared to the last three months of 2010.” ii
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2011, the
job market is off to a positive start for 2011. Employers responding to the NACE Job Outlook
2011 Fall Preview survey reported plans to hire 13.5% more new bachelor’s graduates than the
previous year.iii
Small and large companies, career centers, recruiters and staffing firms alike will develop
strategic social recruiting plans to create and maintain relationships with prospective
candidates through social media and branding tactics. Recruiters and staffing firms have begun
 Social Media Recruitment 2

to focus on the strategy of social recruiting; career centers potentially will forgo a transition
from traditional career fairs to virtual Web-based solutions; and job boards will no longer be
the primary source for candidates as employers increase demand for higher quality candidates
and candidates demand higher quality communications from employers and recruiters.

In social recruiting, social media websites are used in order to hire people, instead of traditional
ways like help wanted listings and newspaper advertisements. As a potential recruiter you need
to find employees who are on top of the gene pool and with such a wide variety of people to
select from, you can find the most qualified, talented and experienced candidates there are.
Such a way of recruiting is also cost effective for both parties because it is free.
Studies show that about 70 percent of companies have found candidate through social
recruiting in 2011, which is a raise from 58 percent in 2010. Also, companies have reported that
social recruiting has helped them acquire more qualified candidates to choose from, with a
raise of 40 percent pool.
Since connections made on social networking websites offer you with a large array of people –
family, friends, acquaintances, clients and customers, it automatically increases your chances of
getting your response. For instance if you were to put up a status update on Facebook saying
that you need an accountant for your financial company, you will immediately get replies from
interested persons who are qualified and already known to you and your company.
Social recruiting can be cost effective, less time consuming and potentially help you find the
right candidates for your company. It is not only the next big thing in recruiting, but also a step
ahead towards the digital age.

2. Modern Tools for Recruitment:

(January 2013)

Recruiting new employees is the main task performed by the human resources manager and it
involves searching for individuals to fill vacant positions within the company. Selecting the right
recruitment tools is difficult because managers have to consider factors such as money, time or
the type of position they want to advertise.
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2.1Company’s website
Most companies have a special button on their website where candidates can apply
with their resume or fill in a special form with their information, experience, education, skills
and abilities. There are organizations that also ask for a letter of intention or that offer an
online test for applicants. This online tool for recruitment is usually used by big companies that
hire people on a frequent basis.

2.2Social Recruiting
Another type of recruitment tool used by managers means using social media for
seeking candidates. This is considered a modern recruitment tool and is especially used to
search for employees that require strong knowledge of the online environment. More and
more people use social media websites to find jobs because it is flexible. Some of the sites used
for recruiting employees are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. These websites offer recruiters
the opportunity to add announcements about their vacant jobs on specialized groups.

2.3Forums
Job recruiters can post their announcements on vacant job positions offered by the
company of forums, where suitable candidates can ask for more details about the job. Forums
can be a great way to attract not only individuals that don’t have a job, but also those who are
not satisfied with their current working position and fancy a change.

2.4Job websites
Employees can also be recruited online on specialized job websites. These sites are free
and candidates only have to complete a professional profile. Managers can add information
about the company, the vacant position and how candidates can apply for a job.
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3. Old E-recruitment
The recruitment process is in harmony with a comprehensive approach to competence
management acquired, promote and regulate individual and collective skills.
Today, competence management is considered to be strategic and a source of competitive
advantage.
Thus, according to the Resource-Based View, companies should not be seen only in terms of
their business portfolio, but should be defined as a unique set of Tangible and intangible
resources, a portfolio of core competencies and distinct resources. Employees also play a real
role in the success of organizations.
The nature of work in the 21st century presents many challenges for recruitment
Knowledge-based work places greater demands on employee competencies; demographic,
societal, and cultural changes are widespread and are creating an increasing global shortfall in
the number of qualified applicants; the workforce is also increasingly diverse. Chambers et al.
use the term "the war for talents".

Recruitment is thus the first stage in a comprehensive approach to competence and talent
management. (Peretti 2004) divides the recruitment activity into four stages: (preparation,

research, selection and integration). With the Internet, recruitment methods are
evolving and diversifying. According to a recent survey conducted by APEC, the French
association for executive employment, the job market is becoming more and more transparent:
63% of recruitment operations result in job advertisements. E-recruitment can be defined as
“the use of any technology to attract, select or manage the recruitment process”.
In this perspective we have three main aspects of web 1.0

3.1Career websites
To improve the visitor’s knowledge of a company, promote an attractive image of an
employer and of course generating applications.
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3.2Job boards
To give companies the possibility of communicating their job offers to
a large public. Job boards can be generalist, like Monster, or specialized to provide more
targeted information and more qualified CVs.

3.3Recruitment systems
Have several benefits: cost reduction, efficiency gains, improved service to clients and
improved strategic orientation. (Lee 2005) developed a five-stage evolution model for the e-
recruiting system.
The development of these different tools gives companies the possibility to access to important
data bases of competencies. With Web 1.0 applications they can communicate on a large scale,
target and manage the future core competencies of the company to obtain a competitive
advantage in line with the RBV.

4. New E-recruitment 2.0

Social Network and Social Capital are two closely linked notions that can be assessed in
terms of three dimensions: the strength of the ties, the network’s structure and the nature of
the contact attributes.
(Bourdieu 1986) defined social capital as “the aggregate of actual or potential resources which
are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of
more or mutual acquaintance and recognition”
(Granovetter 1973) has regularly used the job market to illustrate “the strength of weak ties”.
(Burt 1992) qualifies the absence of bridges between groups as “structural holes” and highlights
the competitive advantage it represents with respect to informational benefits.
(Coleman 1988) and (Putnam 1995) does not share this point of view. They highlight the
importance of trust in the development of social capital. For Lin et al. (1981), what is important
it is not the strength of the ties maintained with an individual, but the resources accessible
through the latter: the higher the contact status used, the higher the occupational status
obtained.
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From an applicant’s point of view, mobilizing a social network makes it possible to obtain more
information about the company and the job. This method may also enable applicants to acquire
better wages. From an employer’s perspective, according to Rees (1966), making use of one’s
own network or that of the staff should limit the number of applications whilst simultaneously
ensuring their quality and also reduce absenteeism and turnover. This method is both less
expensive and more effective because of the confidence there is in the applications
Companies no longer think twice about seeking out their employees’ networks.
Some have formalized this method and put in place an effective cooptation policy. A survey
conducted by DARES shows that over 50% of recruiters mobilize their networks during the
recruitment process.
Social network has been widely associated with the term Web 2.0. This term is still much
criticized; however, it represents real evolution in the Web. Web 1.0 fitted into a scheme of
"author to readers" while the Web 2.0 tends to reduce hierarchies by allowing readers to
become real actors. It is user-centered and it enhances information sharing.
In the recruitment framework, the most representative Web 2.0 tools are:

4.1 Blogs,
Blogs created by applicants and employers and headhunters (High-tech-job).

4.2 Online Social Networks:

Facebook or professional (LinkedIn or twitter) to find customers, partners and future
employees, to hunt and contact “passive” applicants.

4.3 Virtual worlds:

In June 2007, the first French recruitment forum on Second Life was organized (1,500
participants).
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4.4 Identity management websites,

Such as Ziki, improve the visibility on the internet by, for example, centralizing and
synchronizing on one page: your blog, your social Profiles… and by promoting your page
through a Google commercial link.

4.5 RSS feeds (Real Simple Syndication),

Where updated information can be automatically posted on a search engine of job

offers (Moovement for example), or RSS aggregators (like Netvibes and iGoogle).

4.6 Video platforms,

Such as Youtube or Youjob, give companies the opportunity to present their job offers,
and applicants the possibility of introducing their CV.

Web 2.0 gives companies the possibility to put forward and increase their social capital.
Employees and applicants can have access to a wider network, maintain and develop new
relationships. Recruiters can directly contact people with interesting profiles which did not
apply before. According to the SNT, developing, mobilizing a social network represents several
advantages for both applicants and employers.

4.7 Web 2.0 makes it possible to manage new relationships

with applicants

Web 2.0 gives SCSC the opportunity to increase their social capital by creating new
relationships and reaching out to potential applicants. Members of social networks are not
 Social Media Recruitment 8

always in-between jobs but they stay open to job opportunities. These “passive applicants” are
interesting for SCSC that are constantly searching for new profiles.

“This technology [Web 2.0] makes it possible for us to approach applicants

differently, nowadays we recruit differently”.

Innovative practices appear and tend to develop. 7 companies use Viadeo’s social network
(since 2008). Facebook is used by one company through an application that allows employees
to display open positions on their profiles. Another company is developing its own application.
5 companies have participated in recruitment sessions through video conferences via YouJob or
Waliitech and/or have used video to hold an interview and promote the company (for example
Enlignepourlemploi). One company has created blogs about different parts of its activities to
demonstrate its expertise, develop communities, and promote the company. It uses the
Netvibes aggregator to create a unique information space. These practices are recent; we do
not have the required distance regarding the outcomes of Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 used as complementary information about an applicant that has already been
identified has divided opinions. Three recruiters think that this practice enables them to see the
applicant from a different perspective. The others were more critical, for several reasons,
including lack of time, lack of efficiency and lack of ethics.
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Old e-Recruitment New e-Recruitment

Large job boards Development of new services, social networks

Subscription to CV databases Almost free CV and profiles (especially on

blogs)
E-mail alerts ("push mail “service ) RSS feeds, real-time information

Basic job advertisement (text) Rich media advertisement (audio, video,

animation)

Active recruiters (job advertising) or Proactive recruiters (social networks, blogs…)

even passive recruiters (CV selection)

Active applicants (CV posting, reply to "Passive" or "Proactive" applicants (open to

advertisement ) market
opportunities)

Jobs forum Virtual jobs forum, online events

Classic communication (advertisement) Development of employer’s reputation and

branding
Centralization of recruitment Decentralization of recruitment
management responsibilities (easy
cooptation through social networks) and/or
Externalization toward recruitment agencies.
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5. Social Media Recruiting:

5.1 Social recruiting

It is a concept at the intersection of recruitment and the embryonic field of social media.
There are several terms used interchangeably including social hiring, social recruitment and
social media recruitment.

The most popular Social Media sites used for recruiting

are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Viadeo, XING, Google+ and BranchOut.

(Alder, Matt, 2012).

"Redefining Social Recruiting for 2012" "Social Recruiting isn’t a clearly defined
approach or set of tactics it is a concept and set of ideas loosely based on using the social parts
of the web for talent attraction and recruitment."
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5.2 Social Recruiting Trends

5.2.1 Small & Large Companies

The beauty of social recruiting is that it can be performed by both small and large
organizations. It is usually the most cost-effective tactic recruiters can utilize since there is little
risk associated with it.
According to (John Edmonds, 2011) there are multiple steps and applications in which
organizations can invest their time so that they can transition from traditional to social
recruiting effectively. You must make sure you understand each social networking application
properly. Since every candidate is different, the types of candidates you may want will reflect
the sites they use. For example:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Facebook

5.2.2 Recruiters/Staffing Firms

While social recruiting is a benefit to many recruiters and staffing firms, there are
concerns about the validity of social media profiles as well as the strategies behind this evolving
recruiting process. However, building talent communities within secure social recruitment
solutions and utilizing integrated job posting tools will keep organizations away from those
potential pitfalls.
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5.3 Top Social Networking Sites for Recruitment:

Although social networking sites have seen tremendous growth in the past few years,
according to Michigan State University’s Recruiting Trends 2010-2011, the use of social media
for recruiting is still limited to only 28% of the 4,600 employers surveyed, predominantly among
larger employers.
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With over 85 million members on LinkedIn, 175 million registered users on Twitter, and 500
million active Facebook users, social recruiting will be a great asset to those employers that
plan on increasing staff by attracting the best, multitalented candidates through transparent,
two-way communication sources like talent communities and social networking sites.
In addition, HR personnel and hiring managers will need to focus on social recruitment
marketing solutions, like Cachinko, which offer talent community management features and
social applicant tracking systems to ensure their recruitment efforts are efficient and cost-
effective.

• LinkedIn has over 85 million members in over 200 countries.

• A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second, and about half of its members are
outside the U.S.

• Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members’

LinkedIn allows recruiters and hiring managers to target passive candidates (those not currently
searching for a new position), send direct messages through In Mail, post jobs, interact through
LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn Answers, set up automatic search alerts, and set profile
reminders. LinkedIn allows employers to leverage their already-existing personal and
professional networks through its platform.
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• Twitter has 175 million registered users.

• There are 95 million tweets written per day.

• Significantly more users are disclosing their location, bio and website information on Twitter
profiles. The number of Twitter users offering this information has doubled to 63.3%, compared
to 31 percent in 2009.

• In 2010, 82% of Twitter users provided a name with their account; in 2009, only about 33%
did. From January to August 2010, new users accounted for nearly 44% of the total Twitter
population.
Twitter gives recruiters and hiring managers a platform to interact with a variety of candidates
through short, personal messages. It also helps them get to know other recruiters and
employers and share resources and information with one another.
With Twitter’s 140-character messaging, recruiters and employers can promote job openings to
their followers and target the message accordingly. Twitter’s hashtags (#), lists, direct
messaging (DMs), and search features make it a valuable tool for finding and interacting with
candidates

• Facebook has more than 500 million active users.

• On an average day, 50 percent of active users log on to Facebook.

• The average Facebook user has 130 friends.

• People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook Mobile.
 Social Media Recruitment 15

• There are more than 200 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their
mobile devices.

• People who use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook as non-
mobile users.

• There are more than 200 mobile operators in 60 countries working to deploy and promote
Facebook mobile products.

On Facebook, an employer can have a personal presence and a professional fan page.
Recruiting can occur through traditional postings on their company fan page, or through more
innovative methods such as using Facebook Ads to target desired candidates. Although
Facebook is thought of primarily as a personal networking site, many recruiters and hiring
managers are leveraging its wide reach and large audience for influencing potential candidates.

6. What Social Media do organizations use?

There are literally 1,000’s of Social Media sites available. So to make my work easier has
selected to work with the best 3:

6.1 LinkedIn –
120+ Million Users, with an average salary of £67,000 (or $110,000 USD)

6.2 Twitter
200+ Million Users. Micro blogging in seconds to vast numbers of interested followers.
Candidate Reach on steroids!

6.3 Facebook –
700+ Million Users. Via news feeds and Crowd Conversion.

6.4 Social Media Statistics

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• Almost 80% of those polled said LinkedIn was used as a form of recruitment. Of that, 90% of
respondents indicated success of finding the right candidate.

• Facebook was used a form of recruitment 55% of the time, with a 27.5% success rate.

• Twitter was utilized at a rate of 45%. Of that, 14.2% found sufficient talent.

Virtual interviews are also being conducted as a new way to weed out candidates. According to
Recruiting Trends, messaging technologies such as Skype have made interviewing not only
easier, but also more cost effective:

• 25% of the respondents have used virtual interviews

• 19% conduct virtual interviews once or twice a year

• 6% use virtual interviews regularly.

6.5 LinkedIn or Facebook?

 Recruiters report they tend towards LinkedIn and other business networks for networking,
screening and recruiting. However, when it comes to employer branding and talent
communication, especially with students and graduates, many recruiters prefer Facebook
 Facebook offers the bigger audience: 200 million members in Europe, as against 23 million on
LinkedIn
 Facebook is free for all members and requires no premium accounts to use certain
functionality. Also, integration in career websites through feeds and the 'like' button is easier
 Employers avoid sending messages or friend requests and prefer a 'let them come to us'
strategy. Interesting content on fan pages leads to discussions and more personal interaction,
but only at the scope and pace that the jobseekers themselves approve

(Alison Clements, 2012)

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 A survey at the end of last year by online recruiter Simply Hired found more than half of
UK jobseekers now use social media to assist them in their job searches. Meanwhile,
research firm Potentialpark has found that in Europe close to 100% of young jobseekers
would like to interact with employers online, and that in the UK, Facebook (64%) is
favored over LinkedIn (52%) as a good place for employers to be present.

7. How Businesses Use Social Media for Recruiting:

You can’t go anywhere these days without being bombarded by social media. Whether
you’re reading an online article or shopping in the local mall, social media is everywhere.
Tweet It…Like It…Share It…Pin It… How can your small business harness the power of social
media for recruiting?

7.1 LinkedIn Company Profile-

Prospective employees are going to do their research. Make sure your company page
on LinkedIn is up-to-date. You should include a logo, a brief description of your company, and a
link to your website and current company updates. Also, encourage your employees to add a
paragraph from the company website to their LinkedIn profile. Most prospective employees
also research their potential co-workers.

Example: Company XYZ is a leader in the widget manufacturing industry. With over fifteen
years experience in manufacturing, the company provides services to multiple U.S. clients in the
automotive industry.

7.2. Interact with Twitter-

Speak to prospective employees just as you would prospective customers. No one

wants to be talked AT, instead start a conversation WITH them. Twitter is a prime example;
you’ve got 140 characters to make an impact. How you say it makes all the difference in
 Social Media Recruitment 18

whether or not your message is received. Use #hashtags. This will categorize your Tweets and
help them show up more easily in a Twitter search.

Example: We’re looking to hire the best and the brightest! Sound like you? #jobs
#Minneapolis xyz.com/careers

7.3 Facebook Content-

(Jennifer Betts, PHR 2012)Your Company Facebook page should have new content
added on a weekly basis. This page gives prospective employees a glimpse into the company
culture. Is it a casual workplace or more formal? Do you have brought your dog to work day?
Do you encourage your employees to get involved in community outreach? Do you have
catered employee lunches on occasion? All of these situations could provide great photos and
content for the company Facebook page. They also give the potential employee an opportunity
to see the social side of your business.
The most important thing to remember about social media is to keep it human. As part of the
candidate experience, let prospective employees see what your company culture is all about.
Don’t forget to keep it fun, fresh, and professional!

8. Social Media in Recruitment - Benefits:

 Social Media Recruitment 19

 Find hard-to-reach candidates.

When competition for talent is fierce, identifying the best can be challenging.
Social networking offers the ability to reach out to passive or hard-to-find candidates
that likely could not be reached using other sources.
 Reach higher-quality candidates.
Individuals who frequently use social networks tend to be “early adopters” of
innovation and also tend to be more technically savvy.3These are the traits many
companies look for in potential candidates. Social networks offer a fast way to connect
with these individuals.
 Increase ROI.
You can dramatically reduce sourcing costs and increase ROI through social
networks. Posting and sharing job openings through Facebook or LinkedIn is more likely
to deliver results than a single description on a job board, so the potential value far
exceeds the cost.
 Be the employer of choice.
When your company establishes an online presence, you send a positive
message out to potential candidates that your company is connected and understands
how to communicate with them. Being the employer of choice means candidates want
to work for you and spread that message across social networks, magnifying your brand
and message.

 Automated Hiring –
Syndicate your Job specs, roles, corporate branding across the Social Media
Platforms

 Speed –
Instant message you’re hiring to targeted audiences

 Cost Reduction –
Drive down costs through Direct Applications

 Buzz and Brand –

Get your Brand, Products, Services and Values in front of 000,000’s instantly! Build a
readymade allegiance ready to apply!
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 Followers –
Build an army of company followers on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube
and Slide share and create a personal resource pool.

 Segmentation
Segment your followers in to Niches on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Slide
share your Niche.

 The Fan Economy –

Leverage – Your followers become your loyal Brand Champions Promoting your
brand for you.

 Viral Sharing –
FREE REFERRALS – Sharing through Retweets, Postings, Blogs, LinkedIn Groups
Video LIKE’s, +1’s, Slide sharing.

 Crowd Conversion –
500 Facebook Fan Page followers with 130 friends on average = 65,000 Newsfeeds!
Grow 12,000 Twitter Followers in a year!

 Back links –
The back links from Slide share, Videos, Fan Pages and LinkedIn group your Website
SEO Ranking in Google’s algorithms

 Power Tweets –
Receive 1,000+ C lick Thru Views from a single Tweet with only 2,000 followers!
 Social Media Recruitment 21

 Auto Responders –
Automate message introductions and greetings to every single new

9. Social Media in Recruitment - Drawbacks

Even though social recruiting is more cost-effective than a job board, it takes more time
to yield results than traditional recruiting methods, at least initially, because of the networking
aspect of the technique. There will always be a time commitment, and therefore a cost,
associated with any type of recruiting. However, the yield of quality applicants to posted
positions will be higher and the time-to-hire will be reduced.

While social recruiting does require time and effort, it also allows you to reduce costs-per-hire
and time-to-hire. Being able to directly connect and interact with potential candidates is a huge
advantage compared to receiving dozens of résumés through an automated system like an ATS
or job boards.

It’s also possible to target passive candidates (those not currently searching for new jobs)
through social recruiting. You can pre-screen and “handpick” (directly contact) any candidates
you deem as qualified and a good match for the job opening.

In addition, more candidates (passive and active) are using search engines for their initial
search, and if companies want greater reach, social media recruitment solutions market
positions through search engine optimization (SEO) to various search engines and job
aggregators.

Finally, social recruitment solutions are multifaceted, offering leads through advanced referral
systems, social ATS, two-way communication tools to connect with candidates, access to larger
networks, and job marketing and SEO—all of which focus on the effort to recruit top talent and
avoid the time-consuming job board process.
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10. Social Recruiting Beats Traditional Recruiting

Recruiting top talent has always been a challenge. But with new social recruiting tactics, many
companies are turning to online communities and platforms to source candidates quicker and
easier.

10.1. Making Human Resources Human Again, Digitally

Social recruiting has a major advantage over traditional recruiting: it’s more human.
Compared to the “post a job; wait for hundreds of resumes; let ATS filter through keywords;
never get back to anyone” process many use today, social recruiting is a transparent, active
approach where only the best candidates are sourced. In addition, recruiters can determine
first impressions and cultural fit — even perform a bit of a background check — before
approaching the candidate.
– (Mark Babbitt, YouTern)

10.2. Ability to Connect with Top Talent Now

Social recruiting has made it possible to interact directly with job candidates. These
days, the best candidates are easily found online — and recruiters can weed out job seekers
who are not a match for the position in a simpler way. Use social media outlets to find
recommendations from previous employers can save you time you might have spent contacting
references and former employers.
– ( Sudy Bharadwaj, Jackalope Jobs)
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10.3. Leads to Better Connections Faster

In the traditional hiring process, it could be several rounds of resume reviews and phone
screens before applicants and employers got to really connect on a personal level. Thanks to
social media and video interviews, this connection is happening more instantaneously and with
less time wasted. Now employers can see if a candidate will be a good match for the company
sooner, helping both job seekers and hiring managers save valuable time and resources in the
search for the perfect fit.
– (Josh Tolan, Spark Hire)

10.4. Make Your Job Openings Go Viral

The prime advantage of social recruiting vs. traditional recruiting is that social recruiting
allows your job openings to have viral qualities. Viral qualities can include the language of your
job description, the visuals you use, engaging or funny videos, and social connectability
features. You can’t use any of these tools with traditional recruiting — and why wouldn’t you
want to?
– (Rob Kelly, Ongig)

10.5. Helps you get to know more About the Candidate than just
what’s on Paper

While social recruiting does have its challenges (it’s a legal compliance nightmare if
done incorrectly), it helps you learn more about a person and their demeanor. Social recruiting
lets you engage with candidates and assess not just their skills but their personality and ability
to fit with the culture of your organization.
– (Joey Price, Jumpstart:HR)
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10.6. Discovering Candidates Who Want to Be Discovered

Companies are increasingly using social recruiting to source candidates for employment,
as well as to investigate applicants they are considering hiring. It’s important to be aware of
how to use social media to recruit to discover candidates that have positioned themselves to be
discovered. Social recruiting allows you to see how the candidate represents them and what
companies they are connected with.
– (Elizabeth Moffitt, Christopher Quinn Group)

10.7. Allows Recruiters to Connect With Talent in a More Informal,

Engaging Manner

Social recruiting allows talent acquisition professionals to engage with a community of

talent in a more informal, engaging manner versus “We’re hiring; you’re great, let’s talk.”
Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is initiate a dialogue and information exchange with people
and social channels are an excellent way for this to happen.
– (Larry Jacobson, Vistaprint)

10.8. Relationship-Driven Connections

Social recruiting supports the development and maintenance of relationships that can
reach far beyond the immediate hiring need. By connecting and interacting with candidates
through social channels, recruiters are able to create real connections and build relationships
with interested individuals. You never know who may turn into a great new hire in the future!
– (Dave Tighe,)

10.9. Availability of Relevant Candidate Data

The combination of the quantity and quality of relevant candidate data in social
networks is a game changer. Social connections are now mapped out in a way that makes it
 Social Media Recruitment 25

possible for employers to supercharge the referral process like never before. Employees don’t
have to conjure up candidates – social networks can present quality referrals with a single click.
– (Ziv Eliraz, Zao)

11. Effectiveness of Recruitment through Social Media:

(JOSHUA WALDMAN, 2012)

There are some very compelling reasons that social job search and social recruiting are just
good business.
In a study of over 1,800 individuals by The A-List, over 60 percent of those who used personal
connections to get hired reported being extremely satisfied with their jobs. The rest about 40
percent, who got jobs via other means (think job boards), reported dissatisfaction with their
new work.
The study also looked at 136 companies and found that employees who were referred into
positions, including through social media connections, had only a 12.8 percent turnover,
whereas traditionally hired staff (again, think job boards) had a 19.3 percent turnover. Any
business owner could tell you exactly how much money they lose each year for each
percentage point of turnover. Clearly, it’s in an organization’s best interests to hire through
social media and personal referral. So why aren’t all organizations hiring this way all the time?
The study further reveals that Facebook, more than LinkedIn, is used significantly more by job
seekers. When candidates were asked which social network gets those jobs, 17 percent said
Facebook and only 4 percent said LinkedIn. Meanwhile,
 (Jobvite 2012) State of Social Recruiting study reports that 93 percent of recruiters use
LinkedIn and only 66 percent use Facebook.
This last point reveals a significant disparity between how recruiters think about social media
and how candidates think about social media. From my experience, it seems this disconnect
isn’t getting any smaller.
 Social Media Recruitment 26

On one hand, there’s no better source for up-to-date candidate résumés than LinkedIn.
Recruiters see it as a huge database that they can’t live without. In stark contrast, job seekers
are far more comfortable reaching out for help from their family and friends, who are all on
Facebook.
The average time a user spends on LinkedIn hovers at less than four minutes a day; on
Facebook, that time is over an hour.
Meanwhile, companies (and recruiters in particular) remain reluctant to use Facebook for fear
of invading the privacy of their candidates.
 (ERE 2013) a room of corporate recruiters shifted uncomfortably in their seats when the
presenter asked them who uses Facebook to find talent. No one raised a hand. Most of
the session was devoted to issues of OFCCP compliance and some horror stories where
companies narrowly escaped lawsuits.

 (Greg Corson 2012)Companies update thier Facebook and Twitter accounts with news,
career advice, and open positions and we continually qualify prospective candidates for
our new opportunities. Social media enables them to quickly interact with job seekers,
efficiently communicating new opportunities, and offering all parties the convenience of
sharing needed information on these platforms.
 With the extensive use of the internet, social media sites are all the rage whether it is
for entertainment, personal work or making professional contacts. People seeking jobs
and recruiters looking for employees both have ample platform that they can access to
put out their message. With websites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, social
recruiting has become extremely easy. The three combined have over 535 million users,
which mean that the scope of finding employees is large.

(SAN DIEGO 2012)

 60% of respondents said corporate social media programs are most effective when used
for communications, followed by brand awareness (57%), increasing the effectiveness of
marketing (55%), brand monitoring (52%) and positive press (50%).
 Among the most common metrics for evaluating the success of social media programs,
66% count hires from social networks, 65% count website visitors and 63% count
 Social Media Recruitment 27

Facebook fans. Very few measure in terms of reduced expenses or increased revenue
(27% and 10% respectively).
 Just 5% of respondents rated themselves as “very confident” that they are accurately
measuring the ROI of their social media activities.

 Automotive manufacturer Rolls-Royce has launched a social media recruitment drive

to post its job vacancies and engage with applicants online.
Rolls Royce is working with Staff bay, which provides a career profile builder including
videos, messaging and webcam Skype chat for employers to review, all designed to help
candidate and employer get to know more about each other.
 Nestlé launches iPhone recruitment app
(David Woods, 2011)

Nestlé UK has launched an iPhone app to help raise awareness of Nestlé as an employer
of choice to external applicants, and help them search for jobs.

11.1 Key Social Media Survey Findings:

 In 2011, 1 in 3 respondents cited use of social media when searching for a job, compared with 1
in 5 in 2010.
 Nearly half of all healthcare professionals surveyed said they use social media for professional
networking.
 More healthcare professionals are using mobile job alerts year-over-year and success rates are
up as well. Of those using job alerts, 10% received an interview, 14% received a job offer and
8% secured a job (compared to 1% securing a job from social media in 2010).
 Physicians continue to be the heaviest users of mobile devices among their medical colleagues
for professional reasons; 41% of physicians cited use of mobile devices or tablets for
healthcare-related content or jobs in 2011.
 Facebook was once again chosen by 3 out of 4 healthcare professionals surveyed as their most
favored site for career-seeking opportunities.
 Social Media Recruitment 28

Is social media alone reliable enough to make such important judgments? Can we really tell
only by looking at a candidate’s profile if that person’s overall personality would match the
job profile?

 (Greg Corson 2012)The professionals at Relational IT believe that a thorough evaluation

of a person’s capabilities still goes deeper than social media can provide and can only be
effectively achieved through personal contact and building trusted relationships. Social
media will enhance, but never replace traditional one-to-one recruiting methods

12. Conclusions:
Social networks offer a powerful tool for recruiters to reach a pool of qualified
candidates that they might not otherwise be able to reach. Establishing your company within
social networks also says a lot about your company to potential candidates and will create the
perception that your company wants to connect with them. Social recruiting is another strategy
you can use to find the best candidates before your competition, but it is not a complete
solution. It must complement your other recruiting programs. The legal risks are real, and they
should be considered as you examine your overall recruiting strategy. Once you educate
yourself, establish your plan, and begin engaging with potential candidates, you can
dramatically improve your recruiting results through social networks.
During traditional selection procedures, technical proficiency is usually assessed through
qualifications, and at times, is augmented by in-situ evaluations. Social skills are charted based
on the references provided by the candidate, and validated by means of an interview. In this
paper, we advocate the analysis of social media activity as an alternative for assessing
qualifications and checking references. We show that a diverse set of signals accessible from
social media sites provide insights into the technical and social skills of a candidate. The most
promising set of signals are provided by profile aggregators; these combine and triangulate the
status of an individual from various social media sites. One should be wary, however, of the
inherent flaws associated with the use of social media. Reputation levels could be distorted by
long-tail effects and skills could be misrepresented.
 Social Media Recruitment 29

Those are some benefits of social media in recruitment that would apply to most companies.
Again, some industries will be better suited to some social networks and some may not be right
for social media at all. It comes down to knowing your target audience; knowing where they
hang out online and making sure you have a presence – they already expect you to.

13. Recommendations
The activity and experience documented in social media is easily verifiable, skills can be
more readily assessed, and qualifications can in some cases be gathered with more confidence
than asking a candidate to provide his or her set of references and the list of qualifications.

13.1 Recruiters
I strongly recommend non-technical recruiters to become familiar with social media,
especially with the sites used by developers. Those that I discussed above should provide a
good place to start. When they think critically about the positive and negative signals found in
social media, recruiters will be able to more easily asses and access developers. Moreover, this
initiative should improve the image of recruiters among developers because a lack of familiarity
with the developer communities has been shown in at least one case to create a negative
perception of recruiters among developers.
While I believe that profile aggregators are especially useful for recruiters, they are not yet
comprehensive. Consequently, they should be used as an entry point into a developer’s profile,
with more thorough investigations happening at the social media sites that provided the data.

 (Cara 2012)From the employer and recruiter’s perspective, adopting social media into
their daily activities needs a constantly reviewed strategy to take full advantage of
innovation and change. Being involved in networking to openly communicate with
people is a good start, but to truly ride the wave of social media recruitment to its
advantage, every employer needs to make sure that current and relevant information is
 Social Media Recruitment 30

regularly posted on their networking pages, providing present employees and job
seekers with an accurate view of their company’s competitive advantage to help source
both active and passive candidates.

13.2 Candidates
The main issue for candidates without official degrees or experience in their field of
work is to be recognized by recruiters. Social media have much to offer in this regard. Good
work visible to public has and will be considered by at least some recruiters. Developers with
official qualifications will still profit from participating in social media in general and public
software development. In particular, this provides recruiters with insights about soft skills.
Developers should publish their work, even personal projects that were built for learning. This
will document their progress as developers and demonstrate that they are able to learn new
technologies. In the process, developers may learn best practices and try out diverse
technologies and approaches to problems. At the same time, developers need to be aware that
published content will likely be forever public. This is not to say that developers should remove
any private topic from their online presence. On the contrary, recruiters appreciate authenticity
in developers, just as developer communities prefer authentic recruiters.

 (Cara 2012)From a job candidates’ perspective, social media is the new competitive
environment where new rules apply to the old game of recruitment – may the best
person get the job. The best candidates have learned how to use personal branding to
stand out from the crowd by identifying and articulating a consistent personal message
and brand image across social media platforms. Apart from updating their resume and
cover letter, candidates must also keep their social profiles relevant and consistent
before contacting a recruiter or applying for jobs.

What Not to Do When Using Social Media

 Don't embarrass yourself.

 Be aware that people are reading everything you post.
 Social Media Recruitment 31

 Don't say anything about your boss online that you wouldn’t say to him or her in person.
 Don't take a chance of hurting your career.

.
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 Social Media Recruitment 32

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