Social media is here to stay – and it provides an excellent means for you to connect to high-caliber talent in real time. The exponential growth of social media offers HR managers unprecedented access to vast numbers of job seekers.

To optimize your use of social media to find, source and attract leading candidates, it’s important to build relationships that you can rely on when it comes time to hire. While social media is not a panacea, it’s becoming an increasingly critical technological toolkit, integral to your short and long-term recruitment success.

 
Your Social Recruiting Strategy

Identify your employment brand and hiring needs before launching your social – and overall – recruitment campaign. This should encompass both short and long-term goals and objectives. Then, take these steps:

  • Go where the candidates are. LinkedIn and Facebook offer access to larger audiences. Industry-specific sites and blogs connect you to smaller, more tailored audiences.
  • Post open positions in your status updates. There is no cost and these are viewed by your entire network.
  • Start “at home.” Your current employees are your biggest asset when it comes to recruiting. Encourage them to announce open positions on their social media pages and posts.
  • Help others. As you develop your social network, help others when you can. If a connection is looking to fill a position or seeking advice in your area of expertise, reach out to them. What goes around comes around.
  • Get savvy with searching. Fully utilize the search functions on LinkedIn, Facebook and your favorite engines. Use advanced Google search strings; for instance, “site:linkedin.comCPAHoustonTX” that pull all profiles matching your criteria – in this case, all CPAs in the Houston marketplace.
  • Don’t put all your recruiting eggs in one basket. LinkedIn remains the leading dedicated business network site, followed by Facebook and Twitter. But the social media landscape changes quickly, so be sure to explore other options as well. These include Data.com, Spoke, Technorati, Reachable, Zing Recruiting and Job Target.

As you hone your recruiting strategy, remember that social media is a two-way street. While you’re seeking out top candidates, great employees are looking for a place to work. Be sure your LinkedIn and Facebook pages are current and relevant, providing job seekers with an accurate and attractive view of your company.

 
Develop Your Employment Brand

Employ all your social media channels to communicate your corporate culture and values. In order to develop an effective employment branding strategy, listen to what employees and candidates want. Use personal, engaging and even emotional language – and be genuine and sincere when reaching out to them.

 
Build a Talent Pipeline

It can take months to find the right candidate once a vacancy occurs. Take a proactive “always recruiting” stance by continuously forging relationships with potential future employees. Foremost among these should be passive candidates, those top performers who are not actively planning a career move but could be persuaded under the right circumstances.

Social media has revolutionized how we recruit, as it makes candidates immediately accessible. On the flip side, they’re accessible to virtually all other potential employers as well. By differentiating your company and effectively connecting with possible future talent, you’re taking a giant step toward future hiring success.

 
For additional tips and resources to enhance your social recruiting strategy and build your workforce for future success, contact the expert team at Magellan Search and Staffing today.