Social media is one of the most powerful online tools available to global HR professionals today. Of a world population of 7.4 billion, a huge 2.3 billion of us are active social media users. So it’s an area that you can ill afford to bypass.
When you think of social media, possibly the first platform that comes to mind is LinkedIn. A key benefit of the professional social networking site is that it enables you to look at a potential candidate’s profile to get an idea of their credentials and accomplishments without having to get hold of their CV. LinkedIn contacts also often refer potential candidates to roles for which they may be suitable. As a sideline, however, it is worth bearing in mind that it is only one of many social networking sites that are useful in a recruitment context. Here are some interesting facts and figures:
• 1% of recruiters use Twitter exclusively
• 19% employ LinkedIn and Twitter together
• 48% use only LinkedIn
• 21% employ Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to find and interact with potential candidates
• Twitter boasts nearly twice as many job views as Facebook, a situation that makes sense given the proliferation of job-specific Twitter accounts
• Twitter generates 8.4 times more job applications per contact than Facebook and, interestingly, 2.8 times more than LinkedIn – so don’t ignore it.
LinkedIn benefits
A major benefit of LinkedIn in particular, however, is that it makes it easy to build and sustain business relationships. It provides both employers and employees with a way to stay in touch with valued and trusted former colleagues, who may fit the bill as new employment opportunities open up. LinkedIn can also be an efficient way for recruiters to find candidates that tick all of their boxes. Keywords can be employed to find people with the required qualifications as they are likely to be listed on their profile.
If any of your co-workers are active on the social networking site, their recruitment-oriented posts may help to catch the eye of potential candidates. Employee referrals are great as people often know and trust the person being referred.
Another advantage is that LinkedIn also notifies users of job opportunities that may be of interest whether they are actively looking or not, which is useful for employers that have invested in LinkedIn advertising.
“LinkedIn has established itself as one of the best online forums for recruiters to hang out on.”
More targeted
Furthermore, the social networking site can be more effective in finding the right candidate than job sites such as Indeed and Monster. With online listings companies, anyone can apply, which means that employers are often inundated with applications from unqualified candidates. By using LinkedIn, however, you are more likely to find a bigger pool of quality, professional candidates.
As to how Greg Buechler, chief executive of Off the Hook Jobs, uses the site, he says: “I do advanced searches to identify potential candidates and typically will send InMails rather than trying to get to a person via the introduction route. If an individual has an email address posted in their profile, I may also send an email directly to the person…I have filled several jobs over the years and typically they are at the executive level.”
All in all, LinkedIn has established itself as one of the best online forums for recruiters to hang out on. Its members work for all of the Fortune 500 companies, are employed by companies across 130 different industries and include well over 100,000 recruiters. So potential candidates use it because they know employers are actively engaging with it too.
Social media is one of the most powerful online tools available to global HR professionals today. Of a world population of 7.4 billion, a huge 2.3 billion of us are active social media users. So it’s an area that you can ill afford to bypass.
When you think of social media, possibly the first platform that comes to mind is LinkedIn. A key benefit of the professional social networking site is that it enables you to look at a potential candidate’s profile to get an idea of their credentials and accomplishments without having to get hold of their CV. LinkedIn contacts also often refer potential candidates to roles for which they may be suitable. As a sideline, however, it is worth bearing in mind that it is only one of many social networking sites that are useful in a recruitment context. Here are some interesting facts and figures:
• 1% of recruiters use Twitter exclusively
• 19% employ LinkedIn and Twitter together
• 48% use only LinkedIn
• 21% employ Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to find and interact with potential candidates
• Twitter boasts nearly twice as many job views as Facebook, a situation that makes sense given the proliferation of job-specific Twitter accounts
• Twitter generates 8.4 times more job applications per contact than Facebook and, interestingly, 2.8 times more than LinkedIn – so don’t ignore it.
LinkedIn benefits
A major benefit of LinkedIn in particular, however, is that it makes it easy to build and sustain business relationships. It provides both employers and employees with a way to stay in touch with valued and trusted former colleagues, who may fit the bill as new employment opportunities open up. LinkedIn can also be an efficient way for recruiters to find candidates that tick all of their boxes. Keywords can be employed to find people with the required qualifications as they are likely to be listed on their profile.
If any of your co-workers are active on the social networking site, their recruitment-oriented posts may help to catch the eye of potential candidates. Employee referrals are great as people often know and trust the person being referred.
Another advantage is that LinkedIn also notifies users of job opportunities that may be of interest whether they are actively looking or not, which is useful for employers that have invested in LinkedIn advertising.
“LinkedIn has established itself as one of the best online forums for recruiters to hang out on.”
More targeted
Furthermore, the social networking site can be more effective in finding the right candidate than job sites such as Indeed and Monster. With online listings companies, anyone can apply, which means that employers are often inundated with applications from unqualified candidates. By using LinkedIn, however, you are more likely to find a bigger pool of quality, professional candidates.
As to how Greg Buechler, chief executive of Off the Hook Jobs, uses the site, he says: “I do advanced searches to identify potential candidates and typically will send InMails rather than trying to get to a person via the introduction route. If an individual has an email address posted in their profile, I may also send an email directly to the person…I have filled several jobs over the years and typically they are at the executive level.”
All in all, LinkedIn has established itself as one of the best online forums for recruiters to hang out on. Its members work for all of the Fortune 500 companies, are employed by companies across 130 different industries and include well over 100,000 recruiters. So potential candidates use it because they know employers are actively engaging with it too.
