As HR professionals, we know how critical talent attraction is to our success. Without a strong employee value proposition (and prospective employees knowing and understanding that proposition) we will never find our hiring managers the superstars they want, need and deserve.
Fortunately, we have social media outlets to help us promote our company brand and attract new talent. But are we using these outlets to their full potential?
A recent Jobvite study suggests we aren’t. Eighty-two percent of recruiters Jobvite polled believe their social media skills are proficient or less. So what can you do to become better at social recruiting if you are part of the 82 percent?
- Be active on social media. To really understand social media you must be an active user. Be sure to follow other companies and keep up on trends. Also, don’t hesitate to network with other recruiters and HR professionals. This will help you to gain a fresh perspective and keep up with industry changes.
- Spend your time strategically. LinkedIn is the top social networking tool used by recruiters. Jobvite’s research shows 79 percent of recruiters who hired through social media used LinkedIn, followed by Facebook (26 percent), and then Twitter (14 percent). Knowing these stats, you may first want to focus your attention on better understanding and utilizing LinkedIn.
- Work with others. Employee branding should be a team effort. Leverage the ideas and expertise of other departments, such as the marketing and training teams. They may also have resources, mentors, documents and experiences that can help you.
I spoke with my good friend Lucas Croteau, the founder of The Wellington Group Recruiting to get his social media recruiting advice. This is what he had to say:
The goal of social media recruiting is to help build your brand. Showing you are an expert in the industry while also engaging others to share their experiences helps build an image. The big talk about company culture is even more prevalent when you begin to recruit socially.
With Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media outlets revealing the truth about what it’s like to work at a company, it is important to really focus on providing a good company culture prior to trying to brand it. If your culture sucks, using social media will be a waste of your time.
The hardest thing about social recruiting is finding out where to start. What we have found successful is to treat social media like a traditional conversation. Ask a lot of questions, tell stories and share news and events that might be interesting. DON’T JUST TALK ABOUT YOURSELF.
Look back at the most interesting conversation you’ve had and I bet they asked a lot of questions, were very personable and had a sense of humor. That’s what you want to portray. The old adage, “Don’t tell, show,” is a philosophy great social recruiting starts with.
So, how are you going to improve your social media recruiting skills?
Danielle Clark is a human resources manager with more than 10 years of HR and customer service experience in healthcare and retail organizations. Her work with Fortune 500 companies, in addition to a diverse professional and academic background, has trained Clark to be results-driven, people-focused and a thought-provoking leader. Her goal is to educate and inspire professionals to change their way of thinking. She is also an adjunct professor, active community volunteer, wife, mother and passionate lifelong learner.
