Using the POWER of Social Media to Enhance Recruiting

Transcription

1 Using the POWER of Social Media to Enhance Recruiting A Special Report by Building Gurus Discover the Best Strategies to Maximize Hiring Efforts

2 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved 2 Using the Power of Social Media to Enhance Recruiting Discover the Best Strategies to Maximize Hiring Efforts What began as just a way for college students to interact with each other has become so much more than just a fun way to stay in touch. Social media is nothing shy of a worldwide phenomenon and has become one of the most vital tools used by smart businesses across the globe. In fact, those who do not take part in any social media efforts have more of a struggle than those companies who have embraced and take part in the concept. Depending on how long you have been a recruiter, hiring manager, HR person or key decision maker; you may remember the days when most of your job applicants came primarily from newspaper classified ads. Although classified ads do exist, the high quality jobs and even higher quality employees are just not looking through the papers anymore. They re all online. In fact, it may be a sad fact that the only people left who are scouring the newspaper are those who don t own a computer. Yep, newspapers these days are a real ghost town. Even well-known job sites like Monster and Career Builder, who have been on the web for a long time, are no longer the only viable options to post jobs and seek employment. Social media is where it s at. According to a recent Nielson report Global Faces and Network Places, social networks have created a potentially transformational change in

3 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved 3 consumer behavior. 1 It is estimated that two-thirds of the global population online visits social networking sites; which accounts for nearly 10% of all internet browsing time. This chart was created by NAS Recruitment Communications 2 and illustrates just how popular the social networking revolution has become, including; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace: To top it off, many of these social media users do much of their day-to-day browsing and interactions from mobile phones. Smart phones have made the world of social media even more popular by enabling users to log on frequently and keep up-to-date on the goings on of their lives. At the same time, many of these users are also job hunters. They are on the prowl for the perfect job, whether or not they have one already. As a hiring manager, finding these job prowlers is your main goal. Social media makes it even easier to find the best candidates because it opens up many new networks of people. Job candidates utilize all of their resources; including close friends, colleagues, industry networks and other connections to grow their circles and find jobs that are the best match for the types of industries they choose to work in.

4 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved 4 By the same token, corporate recruiters and hiring managers can present their opportunities to better matches while building their corporate brands at the same time. For example, a building supply or millwork company can present their corporate image, company culture and working atmosphere to potential craftsmen who may possess the specific skills of outside sales. Rather than posing a general job description and receiving hundreds of applications that don t fit the job position or requirements, recruiters now have a better chance of finding the most qualified individuals who are looking for that type of work and within such a specific niche industry. This holds true for any type of recruiting office, such as HR departments for medical, office or service related professions. Simply stated, social media drives the right car to the right garage, rather than attracting vehicles that simply don t fit. Using Social Media to Enhance Internal Recruiting Efforts As an HR professional or corporate recruiter, what specific tactics can you use to give your company leverage in today s fierce and ever-evolving job market? The head hunters want quality over quantity, but because of the depressed job market it can be tough to avoid getting an over abundance of candidates who may not be suitable for a specific position. Tough, but not impossible. Then again, you know how precious your time is and how easily it can be wasted by efforts that prove to be futile or by interviewing candidates who were never the best fit from the very beginning. There will always be plenty of workers who apply, yet it may be more challenging to find people suitable for management or high level sales roles. Especially prospects that will stick around and make it worth the investment to train and develop that person into one of your best and/or most productive staff members. Even though there is a sea of people looking for jobs, there are much fewer sharks than there are fish. Finding those one-of-a kind assets is what every great HR professional hopes to accomplish. As a hiring manager, HR professional or corporate recruiter; if you re fairly new to the social media game it can be kind of overwhelming. You only have so many hours in the day and your schedule is already filled to the brim. Therefore, adding one more task to your list of responsibilities may seem like impossibility, and that is when you need to

5 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved 5 focus on the opportunity that social media can bring, rather than the added work it may seem like at first to manage. After all, you ll need another password, login and yet another site to log in and out of to check your messages and create a profile, attract new visitors and interact with newcomers who visit your page. SIGH how will you find the time without getting easily distracted? There s a term for what you are about to take part in. It s called social recruiting. Each social media site has its own set of strengths and weaknesses as it pertains to your particular industry and niche. Therefore, by utilizing and focusing on the strengths of each, you can build your corporate brand while attracting the most qualified job candidates. Let s take a look at each and how they differentiate so that you can use one or more to maximize your time, resources and make connections instead of merely posting a random ad and then having to weed through hundreds of job applications that are not even a good fit for your company. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is perhaps the most useful social network for business building. This is their main strength is that it is intended for business use. While other social media networks such as Facebook or MySpace focus more on staying in touch, LinkedIn s design by nature is for B2B interaction. Here are some of the ways you can recruit building talent on LinkedIn: 1. Setup your profile and begin building connections with people you already have within your network. Past co-workers, local business owners, current clients, colleagues, or even friends who work at similar companies are all people you should search for and befriend. o TIP: Building your network is a great way to find targeted leads for new recruits. You d be surprised how many people within your own circle of influence know someone who knows someone that is either looking for a specific job within your industry or who has a friend, acquaintance or family member that would be perfect.

6 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved 6 2. Fill in all the blanks. After you set up a corporate profile, make sure your company description clearly states the type of work your company does and that it is very direct and focused. Then you can join groups that will further connect you with potential job seekers. Don t be afraid to start your own group discussions by asking questions and answering questions of others. This could lead to finding great prospects. o EXAMPLE: Let s say you are the HR manager of a well-known manufacturing company. Your growing company needs more regional sales managers or wants to expand its territories into other parts of the country. By expanding your network and adding related industries to your list of contacts, you can open up discussions about recruiting-related topics. The right person just might see this and say, Hey, I know just the guy who is looking for a job like that! This works well because instead of receiving random applications from candidates who don t really fit your criteria, you have already presented exactly what you are looking for and now have a field of 20, 50, 100 (or however many people in your network) who are on the lookout for you. They are acting as recruiters on your behalf, making your job a whole lot easier because they can actually bring those qualified prospects right to your door with a friendly introduction. 3. LinkedIn also has a status box that will allow you to broadcast what you are doing, much like the Wall used by Facebook. So, you can just leave a message for all of your contacts to see that reads something like: Searching for a sales manager to cover our northern territory. Do you know someone who fits the bill? If so, get in touch! This is a friendly and simple way to spread the word and get your LinkedIn connections to scout for you. 4. Job Postings. Another way that LinkedIn enables recruiters to find readily qualified candidates is through the job posting service. If you have the budget, the listing costs $195 for 30 days or less if you buy job credits. Here is a link for

7 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved 7 you to read more about it: This tool is specially designed for recruiters. So, if you re more in a hurry to find one or more new employees, you may want to opt for this since it is the shortest and fastest way to start getting applications. Facebook: How many people are on Facebook? Well with so many new people joining every day, it s safer to leave you the statistic page so that you can see for yourself. As of the time that this whitepaper is being prepared, the user count is at 750 million. Out of those 750 million it is estimated that half log on every single day and each user has approximately 130 friends. WHOA. That s a lot of people interacting! Here is the link for the most current update at the time you are reading this: To say that this is one powerful recruiting tool would be an understatement. There are just a few points to keep in mind as a recruiter. If you are using Facebook for both business and personal reasons, you must adhere to proper etiquette. Therefore, leaving any political / religious / distasteful jokes or negative comments even on your friend s pages is seriously frowned upon. Many companies opt to have a separate Facebook presence which works to not only recruit new job applicants but to build the company brand. As an HR professional, you can use Facebook to find new and highly worthy applicants. Here are some of the ways you can use Facebook to recruit: 1. Make a Facebook Page. This is a free place to make a public profile that enables you to share your services, products, opportunities or anything with all of the Facebook community. After the page is created you can then leave posts about anything pertaining to your company, including job opportunities. Having a page will build your brand and can also be a valuable recruiting tool. 2. Set up a Facebook Ad, which is similar to Google Adwords. The one advantage Facebook has over similar sponsored ads online is that it can target a specific audience based on much tailored demographics. Choose the age range, gender;

8 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved 8 work related keywords and region, as well as other criteria if you want to set up an ad that gets noticed by a very targeted audience. 3. Facebook Marketplace allows you to post jobs for free. All you have to do is list the position, job category, location, and other information. The difference between this option and having a Facebook Ad is that you can t tailor it to any certain group so you will be posting the job opportunity in the entire sea of Facebook users. And as we mentioned before, there will be plenty of fish, so you may have to go through a lot more applications and throw a lot of those worthless resumes back into the ocean. Twitter: Just as the other two social media sites, Twitter has its own pros and cons. In general it is less focused but it does have millions of users, therefore you may find it worthwhile for your HR recruiting efforts. The easiest way to use Twitter for recruiting is to Tweet the jobs you have available, but if you don t have a lot of followers then it may help to first expand your network. You can find clients and colleagues, much the same as LinkedIn or Facebook. Another way is to run a search based on a certain keyword and you ll be able to find discussions that will give you literally hundreds of connections. Your search can be even more targeted beyond people you know and will let you choose by industry, interest, location, etc. Once you have a following, simply Tweet the specific topics you want to talk about. For example, you could leave a posting that says, Looking for a branch manager with a background in Windows and Doors / Building Materials. Apply at: (then include the website address to apply). o Tip: Make your job postings stand out even more by using hash tags, which allow you to place a filter on the posting by including relevant keywords. Twitter even has its own special lingo, so once you learn it then you can be all the more clever about your postings. For example, need a job? means NAJ. o Tip #2: You can interact with great candidates by reading their Tweets. Or use your Twitter account to leave postings to inform potential new-hires about upcoming events and relevant news about your company. Not only does this pique their interest, it will help you spread the word about your company!

9 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved 9 10 Ways to Maximize Recruiting Efforts Using Social Media Now that we ve covered many ways you can expand your network of potential candidates using social media, let s talk about how you can further hone in on the best talent to acquire top-notch employees for your organization. 1. Build trust by establishing relationships: Your acceptance rates will increase as your network starts to get to know you. When telling a potential candidate about your job offer, they might say, I have a friend on Facebook who is looking for a sales manager and you d be perfect. You should contact him (or her) and apply. Rather than viewing you as merely just a headhunter or recruiter, your connections will have a higher respect for you. 2. Join groups that people within your industry frequently interact: But don t just join them, become an active participant by taking part in discussions, forums or by leaving comments to get noticed.

10 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved Hone in on your search: Target specific groups of people on social media sites instead of posting generic job listing that may get hundreds of applicants that don t fit your criteria. 4. Use keywords: Especially on sites like Twitter and LinkedIn, keywords will help to attract the most appropriate individuals who will be right for your organization. 5. Use less formal wording: Social media has an advantage of being less formal than a job posting on classified sites such as Career Builder or Monster. By coming across as approachable you may find real people who have a passion for the position, rather than just people looking for a job out of desperation. 6. Dig deeper: Discover where the likely prospects go, do they spend more time on one particular site than another? Do they read blogs or participate in forums and online discussions? Find out where they hang out and be present for them to ask questions. For example, you wouldn t expect IT guys to hang out in discussion rooms that pertain more to the building industry, so if you want people who have experience in the construction or manufacturing industries, find out where they go. 7. Sweeten the pot for referrals: Ask your connections or friends to be on the lookout for you. If they don t know what types of positions you are trying to fill then they will not really pay attention. However, if you make it more specific by posting a message that says, I m offering a $50 gift certificate to the restaurant of your choice to the first person who brings me a high performing sales pro for our northern territory. That makes your offer more specific and your connections will be more likely to spread the word for you since they will have a direct benefit. 8. List job postings from your candidate s perspective: Instead of just rattling off a job posting, think about what will grab your reader s attention. Put yourself in their shoes, what would YOU want to see in a potential job offering? Write it from that angle for better results. 9. Consider lesser-known social media networks: Of course Craigslist has been getting a lot of action and activity, so that is another place that you could scour and post listings. But lately there are a ton of other sites that you could join and participate in, so take a look at all of your options. As they say, you don t always need to be the biggest to be the best!

11 2011 Building Gurus All rights reserved Get introduced: As a recruiter, you may find candidates who would be perfect for a specific position you have but they may be already employed by someone else. If you want to make an offer or get to know someone and see if they might be open to a new opportunity, the best strategy is to get introduced to that person through one of their connections. Especially on LinkedIn or Facebook, where people like to see mutual friendships. Building your Corporate Brand through Recruiting Whether or not an individual accepts a position with your company, the whole experience will either leave them with a sour face or a big smile. Obviously you are hoping for the latter. Social media can be a great tool to use that will enhance the perception of your brand. When potential applicants see your organization as a great opportunity, they will tell others. It gives them bragging rights just to say, I had an interview with XYZ Building Supply Company. How cool is that? The way to do this is to just be real, yet maintain professionalism. These days it s okay to share a little but not too much with strangers and peers beyond the walls of your cozy office. People share experiences and by doing so they can create an engaging environment that others want to be part of. As an HR professional, recruiter or hiring manager, you are in a unique position to make your company seem like more than just a job. You can portray the organization as a fun place to work with benefits that reach far beyond the standard lure of health insurance or getting an occasional day off. Be descriptive, approachable and creative. Use your imagination to attract really great people that you won t mind sharing work time with or that you feel will become a dynamic part of your corporate culture. Social media opens up so many more possibilities than ever before, so seize them with these strategies and you will become the very best recruiter that your company has ever seen! 1 -