What is Social Recruiting, And Why Should You Use It?

We are spending more time than ever before online, predominantly engaged in Social Media. It's how we form connections, network with others and learn about what is happening at a local and international level. Companies create and control their brand through coordinated Social media activity. As a result, it's easier to engage with a targeted demographic and send your message directly to those you want to hear it. This ability makes social media the perfect addition to an IT recruitment tool kit.

 

What is Social Recruiting?

Social recruiting, also known as social hiring or social media recruiting, is about connecting with potential candidates through the use of social media. It's all about leveraging connections to spread the word and reach candidates that might otherwise be unaware of your job vacancies.

 

In theory, social media works as follows:

You post and share a new vacancy on your company's social media platforms.

Your followers and employees then share that post with their personal network.

Your post then continues to be shared across social media reaching potential candidates you may otherwise never have found.

  

Benefits of Social Recruiting

What are the benefits of Social recruiting compared to a traditional hiring approach?

 

●     Engage with passive candidates: Passive candidates are those that are open to new opportunities but aren't actively seeking them out. Social media is a means to present an opportunity and pique a candidate's interest. Passive candidates will only apply for roles that genuinely interest them. They need to feel that the opportunity and your company are a good fit, and they will base this decision primarily on your social media presence. You may receive fewer applications through social recruiting compared to a job board posting. However, the relative quality of applications in relation to the role should be significantly higher.

 

●     Showcase your employer brand: Company culture is playing an increasingly important role in the recruitment life cycle. Poor company culture is one of the main reasons candidates will actively look for new opportunities. It's also one of the deciding factors when candidates consider new job offers. Social media allows your company to craft a brand showcasing company culture and values in a way that appeals to prospective talent.

 

Platforms for Social Recruiting

There's more to social recruiting than posting a vacancy on a chosen platform and waiting for applications. The aim is to get meaningful engagement, and to do that you need a targeted message. It's essential to consider which social media platforms to use for the job you are trying to fill. Obviously, you can use well-known platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. But you should also consider using the same social media as your target audience. For example, try GitHub or StackOverflow to engage with Software Developers.

 

IT Recruitment Agencies and Social Recruiting

Identifying how to target talent is when teaming up with an IT Recruitment Agency can be useful. They specialise in connections and networking. IT Recruitment Agencies are always trying to find new ways to engage with candidates and identify passive job seekers. As a result, they know the jobs sites and social media platforms to target and what content will create interest. Combining your brand with an IT Recruiter and developing a recruitment campaign combining social and standard practices can be highly effective.

 

If you are interested in working with an IT Recruitment Agency that has extensive experience recruiting through social media channels, then talk to the team and HW Select. A specialist ITRecruitment Agency London, our experienced team of recruiters can kick start your recruitment campaign and find the talent you've been looking for.