Utilizing Current Social Media to Recruit Good Employees

If you’ve been struggling to recruit good employees, you may want to use social media. Why? Because millions of people are on social networks, e.g., Facebook and LinkedIn, and the employees you want to hire may be looking to work for your company.

In this Guest Post from Amy Klimek, an experienced HR recruiter and VP of Human Resources for ZipRecruiter, a company that simplifies the hiring process for small to medium size businesses, she shows you how you can use social media to recruit good employees for your business. 

Use Social Media to Recruit Good Employees

Not all that long ago, employers relied on traditional methods such as the newspaper to inform the community they had a job opportunity available. Things have changed substantially in just the past few years, and there are now a number of useful and productive ways to find the best employees to represent your product or service. Social media is not only effective, but it is largely free to use, and knowing how to utilize it puts the power in your hands.

How to Find Good Employees Via Social Media

The Power Duo

If you are new to the social networking arena, there are two platforms in particular you need to familiarize yourself with. Facebook is a place where users are able to interact with friends and coworkers as well as share updates and spread the word about new opportunities. LinkedIn, on the other hand, is geared toward the professional world. Users here are able to present their talents and skills as well as connect with others in their field and power their careers. Here, you can search for people looking for employment in your field and reach out to them. Once you have someone in mind, you can go back to Facebook and learn more about their personality by seeing the type of material they commonly post. Furthermore, users can also reach out to you through these platforms.

Find Relevant Candidates

Learn to RecruitGood Employess Via Social Media from Zip Recruiters.

Photo from Free Digital Photo.com

Let’s face it. When you introduce a job posting, many of the candidates who show up have little or no experience in your field. This requires you to have to sort through stacks of resumes and sort out serious candidates from those desperate to find any kind of job. Starting with the largely known sites including LinkedIn and Facebook, you will have access to larger databases, and they can allow you to search for candidates in your specific industry. Over the past six years, the use of this type of method has skyrocketed, and it is estimated that 94 percent of employers plan to or already use social media for recruiting. Make sure you are on the bandwagon.

Networking From Within

The reach of the Internet is worldwide, and, for those new to recruiting using this powerful tool can become overwhelmed with the vast possibilities. What many fail to realize is that they can begin their search at the office. Your current employees have value you may not be utilizing, and what they have to offer can be used during your social media recruiting. For starters, you can offer internal incentives for employees who actively promote the business on their LinkedIn account and Facebook status updates. Valuable employees can also be approached to see if they know qualified people who may be interested in the job. By expanding exposure in this way, you can increase your chances of joining the 89 percent of other recruiters who have succeeded in filling a job position successfully using LinkedIn.

The Google Search

In the past, employers had to rely heavily on a thorough interviewing process in order to assess the overall personality and reliability of a job candidate. Unfortunately, even the most scrupulous of recruiters can have the wool pulled over their eyes by crafty applicants. Those days are over. Search engines such as Google can provide you with the information you need to know at the click of a mouse. Simply type in their name or alias, and you may be surprised at the results. It is estimated that 30 percent of Google searches are directly related to employment.

Don’t Go Too Fast

According to an Aberdeen study, 73 percent of 18-34 year olds secured their last job using social media. These numbers are staggering, and you are likely convinced and ready to start building up a strong network. While this is the obvious first step, there is a word of wisdom to keep in mind. While quantity is important, don’t overlook the quality of the people you are developing professional relationships with. Connecting with people you know on these sites makes it far more likely they will prove effective in helping you utilize social media. If you have 1,000 people in your network with a large percentage of them not remembering how you connected, your campaigning efforts are likely not going to be as successful as someone who has just 100 people who do recall. This does not mean you cannot add new people. Just ensure you maintain regular communication.

Now is the Time to Start Using Social Media to Recruit Good Employees

If you have not yet joined the thousands of employers using social media to recruit good employees, you are missing out on a proven way to find the right people for the job. By using these techniques and staying patient and consistent, you can soon be on your way to building a solid staff.

P.S.

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About the Author:

Use Zip Recruiters to Recruit Good Employees.

Amy Klimek is an experienced HR recruiter and VP of Human Resources for ZipRecruiter, a company that simplifies the hiring process for small to medium size businesses. Prior to that Amy has held similar roles at Rent.com, eBay and US Interactive.

For Amy, corporate culture isn’t about dogs and free lunches; it’s about empowering employees and creating an enriching environment for people to excel.