Social Recruitment

The latest trend of online recruiting and why:

The latest trend among employers is embracing the emerging media in an attempt to understand where their target audience is, whilst at the same time they are strengthening their employer brand as an innovative workplace.  Huge emphasis on streamlined mobile and social media marketing plan has been key as employers are now, more than ever, in need to plan ahead for the future as opposed to tackling it one project at a time.

As time passes, the war for talent is picking up. As a result, employers need to focus on being where their target candidates are, instead of expecting the talent to find them. However, utilizing messaging and online assessment functionality remains important to ensure that the candidates entering the recruiting pipeline are the right ones. Thus, we can say that online recruiting is all about making connections with quality candidates.

According to Global Web Index, an average internet user has more than 5 social media accounts. People tend to go to different sites with different communities of people to share what is on their mind and converse with like-minded people. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other such sites offer tremendous opportunity to connect with candidates some of whom, you would have never found through traditional sources but not all of these companies are doing their recruitment online successfully. CareerBuilder survey reveals that 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates before hiring. Thus, it is always wise to pause before you post and think about the consequences and whether it is questionable or inappropriate.

To post vs. Not to post?

Social recruiting is a new thing that is coming up in the sector of hiring candidates. Now, 3-10 employers hire professionals solely to get some scoop based on your online persona.

Based on that, we can say that the employers are searching for a few key traits when recruiting candidates via social networking sites:

• Information confirming their qualifications for the job.
• If at all the candidate has a professional online persona.
• For any other reason at all to not hire a candidate.

Given the fact that more than half of employers are finding reasons on social media based on which they are making decisions for recruiting candidates, pause and remember these few reasons that will turn off a candidate’s online presence for an employer

• Posting provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos or content.
• Posting information confirming a candidate’s use of alcohol and drugs.
• Making discriminatory comments related to race, gender or religion.
• Speaking ill about their previous company or a fellow employee.
• Lying about your qualifications.
• Having poor communication skills.
• Link to any sort of criminal behavior.
• Sharing of confidential information about the previous company.
• Unprofessional username or account name.
• Lying about absence.
• Posting too frequently on social media.

Using social media to your advantage:

Don’t worry about how your online persona looks and most importantly, do not treat it like a problem. Sites like Twitter and Facebook have actually helped increasing the chance of employment. Using it as an opportunity to stand out but in a positive way and showcasing your personality are great ways to begin!

Research reveals that few of the primary reasons why employers hire candidates based on their social networking sites were mainly:

• To know about the candidate’s background
• Find proofs for their professional qualifications
• Know about a candidate’s communication skills
• Look for a professional image
• Look for creativity

It is essential to not try and avoid the stress altogether by deleting or hiding your profiles as it can be more detrimental than beneficial to you. In fact, more than 44% of employers find their content for verifying candidates on social networking sites and almost 57% of them are less likely to call a candidate in they are a ghost online.

Conclusion? It has now become extremely important to think before posting content online because there are always people watching.