Innovative Recruitment Strategies: Leveraging Social Media and Online Platforms

According to the SHRM report, more than 90% of recruiters search for employees on social media and online platforms because this is where the candidates are, where they live, work, and communicate. This method of recruiting, also known as social networking, gained strength since the advent of the digital revolution. Knowing how to leverage social networking for recruitment is the key skill for any HR professional, without exception or exaggeration.

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Social Networking: Benefits for Recruitment

Social media and online platforms are the new territory for headhunters to track down and recruit the best talents. They revolutionize candidate search and selection processes, offering a plethora of advantages: 

• Social networking allows HR professionals to fill vacancies quickly and efficiently, avoiding expensive and time-consuming recruitment programs. It is fast, mobile, and accessible from any device.
• Connect recruiters with the right candidates at the right time. Even if you find the social media platforms’ functionality not particularly helpful for displaying candidates’ phone and email information, smart tools are already here to compensate for this shortcoming. For instance, learn how to use SignalHire extension to a web browser to quickly reveal candidates’ contact information on LinkedIn or Facebook.
• Simplify interviews and distribution of test tasks to candidates. Most online platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, all have convenient voice and video communication functionalities to enable initial interaction and follow-up with the candidates.  
• HR professionals can learn a lot from candidates’ social media profiles about their professional aspirations, interests, hobbies, and social activities. 

In addition, social networking allows HR professionals to find not only active job seekers who are looking for jobs right now. They can also target passive ones who might be interested in changing careers, though they are not taking any action to satisfy their interests.

Social Networking Works Both Ways

People looking for jobs also check employer ratings and read current and former employee reviews about the company. They can quickly gain access to open data about your company from various online sources.

Overall, social recruiting can indeed save money, provided that the person using it knows what they are doing. An HR specialist must understand where and how to look for relevant candidates. Otherwise, time and money may be wasted, and the right talents may never be found.

Leveraging the Active Search Method

Candidate search methods utilizing social media and online platforms can be grouped into two large categories: passive and active: 

• A passive search method is when a recruiter posts a vacancy in specialized communities, or simply on the company’s page on social media, and waits for responses. This might be effective if the company offers competitive conditions. However, only active candidates will find such a vacancy.
• An active search method is when a recruiter creates a separate page on social networks to attract and communicate with the applicants. Active recruiters regularly promote their businesses or organizations on social media, participating in various competitions (e.g., employer of the year, the best employer, etc.). 

An active recruiter also encourages current employees to advocate for the company, write inspiring reviews, create brand awareness, and strengthen the employer’s reputation.

The Key Takeaways

Recruiting on social media and online platforms is much more than posting vacancies online. It’s a powerful tool for developing referral recruiting programs and building an employer brand.  However, it needs to be done actively and systematically to achieve a tangible effect and save money. 

Social networking has also proven to be highly effective in attracting passive job seekers—those who are not taking any actions to change their status quo, even if they are not quite happy with it.

Active social networking enables direct communication with potential applicants and in-depth analysis of their online profiles. It also stipulates consultations and assistance in finding a job, building trust, and establishing mutually beneficial connections with top talents.