Recruitment was always social, are you?

Justin Rush, Director at Abacus Talent Group, explains why it’s worth getting your head around social media to boost your chances of attracting the right talent.

A recent survey of UK-Based executives, published in HR News, stated that 59% of employers are against using social media to publicise their own vacancies. Nearly all cited that, they feared the potential negative effects that using social media as a means of promotion could incur.

Justin thinks that it is fair to say that these executives just don’t get it. They fear that people may talk or comment about them online when really they should be more worried if people don’t talk about them.

Here is what they don’t get:

• Employer brand is not controlled by the employer, it is influenced by them.
• Social media is always a means of communication, it is a two-way conversation.
• Engagement drives application, not just incentives.

Most employers in Northern Ireland know they can position their employment offering to a target audience very easily. However, the mistake that most employers make is that they stop after they position their offering, they fail to engage.

The fact is engaging with potential candidates is not scary, it’s just time-consuming. The onus is on the employers to communicate openly about their culture, their work environment and the challenges they face as a business to potential candidates. Social media is perfect for this.

Whichever sector you operate in, your better competitors are in the 41% who are using social media to help them recruit the top talent. They get it and this is what they are doing:

• They identify their target audience and think hard about how to engage them.
• They search for candidates on social channels AND reach out to them with relevant messages.
• They treat everyone with respect and ensure a positive interaction, whether they are relevant or not (‘tomorrows candidates’ as Justin likes to think about them).
• They generate positive interactions and their message is then shared.

If you are thinking about why you should bother with social, here are just two choosing points to consider:

The median number of friends on Facebook is 200. If you have 20 employees in your post you will reach 4,000 people. If your employees comment positively about working in your organisation, then you will gain significantly more visibility.

Active job seekers represent approximately 10%-20% of the employees in a segment at any one time. With demand for professionals at its highest since the boom years, how visible will your advert really be? Passive job seekers, who are accessible via social media, are at least five times this number. The smart play is to focus on attracting and engaging this group who aren’t pursuing multiple opportunities.

Around 10 years ago, if Justin was to tell you that you that you could present your employment offering to a target audience quickly, easily and at pretty much zero financial cost you would have laughed at him. Now we have the means, many have the understanding but few have the wherewithal. You know where you should be…

Justin Rush is a career recruiter and Director at Abacus Talent Group. Justin can be contacted on [email protected]