Hire your next great employee using social media
If you've ever had an opening at your company you know how challenging it can be to find the ideal candidate, let alone the challenge and expense it can take to get to the right applicants. The average job posting on Monster or Careerbuilder costs upwards of $500 for a 30-day ad and most of the time you don’t even get a good candidate.
That might be why a whopping 92 percent of companies are using social media to hire their team. While LinkedIn is a helpful tool for recruitment, it’s not the only place people are posting their job openings, either. Places like Facebook are becoming great resources for finding qualified, interested applicants for a low cost.
But businesses aren’t the only ones using social media for hunting; In the United States, 14.4 million job seekers are actively seeking new careers on social media.
So how can you use social media to hire your next great employee? There are a couple of great ways that are working.
Start by knowing the law
There are a couple things you definitely don’t want to do. You would never want to ask an applicant for their social media passwords, as it creates a real risk of violating the Federal Stored Communications Act. Read up on the laws in your state to see what is and isn’t okay when it comes to hiring on social media. If you’re using social media to vet people, the best practice is to have your human resources person look at profiles to see what the candidates are posting, not what others are posting and tagging them in.
Create a vibrant social media presence
A great idea is to give some insight into what your work-life is like. These “behind-the-scenes” posts show what it’s like to work within your company. You can share posted content from day-to-day happenings, photos, your team members, or tours of your office.
People want to be part of something and want to see if they can imagine themselves as part of your company culture. Use social media to show off what makes your company culture unique. Do you ever have theme days? Take pictures and post them. Have you ever traveled out of the office to do something fun? Take a fun video. Do you develop your team into leaders with training? Share how on social media. If you’re a fun, vibrant place to work, let people know!
You can also use your social media pages to share industry news and talk about what is going on in your industry. The people who are interested in a job within your organization are probably also interested in the latest news. Additionally, post about what is happening in your community.
Have your HR share information that will help people be more successful in your organization. These can be items like writing resumes, how to nail interviews, or how to become a better leader. And, ask your audience questions. What’s their best interview tip, how do they hope to become better employees or more effective leaders, or what’s one thing they’d like to know about your organization?
Lastly, post your job openings! This is your ultimate recruiting tool. You need to let people know if you have a position available. Consider asking people to share the post with those they know need jobs. Almost everyone knows someone who needs a job or is looking to switch jobs. Posting to Facebook opens up a whole world of prospects in an easy and free way.
Other ideas:
- Use Facebook ads and boosted posts on your page
- Post to Facebook Groups
- Try using www.OhioMeansJobs.com
- Check out Facebook’s new job section
Whatever you do, don’t tell people, show people
Funny people don’t talk about how funny they are. They just say and do funny things. Having a conversation about your culture works pretty much the same way. Be yourself on social media. More than likely, the people who are the best fit for your company will find you and be interested based on your presence online. So show everyone what your company is about!
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