Like it or not, some trends are here to stay. Many workplaces have resisted the infiltration of Social Media in office cubicles, and even gone to the extent of banning Facebook and the likes. Today, however, a growing number of organizations are realizing that Social Media is the best hunting ground for new talent.
According to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 56% of HR professionals today are capitalizing on the power of social networks to recruit candidates. Here’s why it’s a wise thing to do:
Don’t waste resources advertising to someone you don’t even want to recruit!
Unlike traditional media, Social Media allows you targeted advertising. Interested in an English Literature Major only? Thanks to the ‘interests’ of members listed on Social Media sites, you can ensure your job advertisement appears only to English Literature Graduates! So now tailor the audience of each job posting as per the vacancy’s specific requirements.
Why pay for Job Postings when you can do it for free?
A large number of recruiters are beginning to capitalize on status updates and connected networks to advertise job postings free of cost. A single update by Sopra, for example, will reflect on the newsfeed of all the people who ‘Like’ Sopra’s Facebook page, which means only interested people see it. Furthermore, these people can ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ the posting to make it viral among their peer and friends. Thus, Facebook, LinkedIN, Yahoo groups, Bulletin boards and various online communities are now enabling low cost, specific-targeted job postings.
Get the kind of people you want
Friends of existing employees are often like-minded and of similar interests. Many companies rely on Referrals as a mode to recruit because such hires tend to know more about the company through their friend. It has also been proven that recruits through referrals show a much lower rate of employee turnover. Social media allows an organization to target employees’ friends virally and thus, attract the kind of people they want.
So, in a nutshell: save time, save money, reach out to the right people and discover talent that is perfect for your organization! If you’re wondering where to begin, stay tuned on our blog. Our next article will be on Social Media Recruitment platforms, that is, where exactly should you go talent-hunting online!
