What is it with the phrase ‘social recruiting’ that is difficult to understand? It isn’t hard to figure out that it is using social media in recruitment - or is it? Too many people are still getting confused (seemingly daily) with what social recruiting actually is, and to be honest with the myriad of ‘so-called’ social recruiting tools/platforms/solutions being launched weekly, I can see why social recruiting apathy can set in!!

So for those of you that are still struggling to grasp the concept, here is my short and simplified explanation of what social media really is:

1. Social Media is not a replacement for your existing recruiting processes, it should be an integrated extension to what you already do.
2. Don’t believe all the stats you see saying the majority of companies are hiring people via social channels like Facebook and LinkedIn. In my opinion they give a distorted view on reality. The big surveys people keep quoting (on social media of course) are carried out on companies based in North America only - they ARE NOT REFLECTIVE of the rest of the world, in my experience.
3. Not all social media networks are equal. One social network will not have all your candidates on, contrary to what LinkedIn will tell you! Take some time and do some searching on the mainstream and less mainstream sites for the types of candidates you typically recruit for. Don’t assume for one second that all the best candidates are on just on LinkedIn - they are not. Top IT candidates with skills such as UX/UI and many oils and gas professionals, are now stripping their LinkedIn profiles of the essential keywords to avoid recruiter contact. They are going elsewhere.
   Try some of these networks………
   ……….don’t assume your target candidates are not on them, they just may be
4. Social recruiting is about jobs, finding candidates and placing them in roles (eventually) BUT IT IS NOT ABOUT just broadcasting jobs - use job boards and your website/careersite for that.
5. All the social network sites are very much about search and discovery. For this reason you MUST HAVE a full profile or bio page, WITH ALL YOUR RELEVANT KEYWORDS on it. These are what people will find you by (most of the time). Don’t get all fancy with descriptions, make sure you tell people what you do - if you are a recruiter, what you recruit for, where and for whom - make it easy. And don’t forget your contact details!!
6. Watch and learn first. Don’t panic and feel you have to have a LinkedIn Page, Facebook Page, Google+ Page, Twitter, YouTube Channel etc all in one go - you don’t. Start with the relevant platforms, follow others, watch what they do, what they post, how they use the different networks. Take the time to read a lot about different ways people use networks. Remember there are no rules in the world of social media - you make your own. Yes they are proven methods, but there is nothing to stop you trying your own!
7. Mobile is no longer an option for you - so stop ignoring it - it isn’t going away. You MUST HAVE some form of mobile site as part of your strategy.
8. Don’t ever think this is a quick or free process. It takes time and resources to build networks, create and share content and to identify and engage with relevant people.
9. Social recruiting is a brilliant addition to the recruiting process if done properly. It allows you to find, reach out and engage with unlimited amounts of people in your industry. Whether you are doing new business, sourcing or researching, networks like Twitter are just fantastic. The quicker you embrace them, the quicker you will start benefitting from them.
10. Don’t spend loads of money on new social media candidate acquisition to start with, when you are (likely) already sitting on a large database rich with candidates. And many of these candidates are already on the social networks. This is a HUGE asset that the majority of companies seem to conveniently forget. What a great start in terms of building a social media following! Just out of interest, when was the last time you segmented the database and sent regular targeted emails to it? Didn’t think so - you better read this then!

We work with recruitment agencies and corporates to help them integrate social media into their existing recruitment strategy and recruitment processes. If you require guidance, advice or social recruiting training, get in touch today.