Recruiting

A Brave New World of Recruiting with Social Media

Yesterday, Kelly Dingee introduced us to why social media is so important for sourcing and recruiting. Today we’ll learn what makes it so different and why it’s just the powerful tool you’ve been looking for.

Dingee is the director of strategic recruiting at Staffing Advisors. She highlighted some helpful tips in a recent webinar presented by BLR and HR Hero.

Engagement: How Social Media Can Attract Interested Candidates

Social media can bring the brand to life, especially with a little visual content, says Dingee. Just by posting videos, images, and other content through social media, the recruiting arm of a company can:

  • Expand the reach of your company for almost no cost. The further your reach, the more likely you are to attract candidates.
  • Create a face for the company that makes potential candidates feel at home before they even apply.
  • Engage your audience by personalizing the content.

Dingee discusses how social sourcing provides unique and interesting ways for employers to recruit. For example, she says, one company made a custom playlist on a music site to engage their potential candidates. Some companies, like Zappos.com, use only social sourcing to find their candidates, and to great success.

She also mentions Amtrak as another great example of how a company can use social media to completely improve the face of the company. Amtrak uses Instagram to showcase how much fun its employees are having while doing their jobs.


Recruiting via social media has seen double-digit growth—ensure you don’t get left behind! Read the free best practices report from iCIMS®, Scaling Up Social Recruiting: Three Steps to Successful Social Media Recruitment. Download Here.


The Nuts and Bolts of Sourcing

Let’s face it. There is a veritable cornucopia of social media sites out there. Searching through all of them for candidates would take a very long time. According to Dingee, a lot of it comes down to how you search, and that depends on what you are looking for.

For example, if you are looking for someone to fill a technical position, you might consider Stack Overflow. If you are looking for a more creative or design oriented person, YouTube might be best.

Dingee also says that narrowing down where to do your search can help save you a lot of time. Instead of searching for candidates on dozens of sites until you finally find the one social media site where they are active, ask yourself the following question: What social media site would the kind of person you are looking for most likely use?

The fact of the matter is, many of your potential candidates’ day to day experiences revolve around social media, but using social networks as a recruiting channel is new to many organizations—which means they need to adapt and use new tools in order to effectively deliver content, job postings, and branding material. But it’s worth it—posting job openings on social media can increase candidate applications by 30% to 50%! And with a little strategizing, it’s easy to take advantage of. Want to learn more? Start with the free white paper from iCIMS®, Scaling Up Social Recruiting: Three Steps to Successful Social Media Recruitment.

Download Here


Make your company brand go viral—and boost your talent acquisition. Download the free best practices report, Scaling Up Social Recruiting: Three Steps to Successful Social Media Recruitment. Learn More.


It’s getting to the point where a business can’t afford NOT to have a social media recruiting strategy in order to stay competitive. This best practices report demonstrates how employment branding, candidate experience, and the constant interconnectedness of social media can come together to give organizations the edge in the recruiting game—and provides three steps to point you in the right direction.

You’ll learn:

  • The importance of carefully strategizing the online presence of your company’s employment brand
  • The ins and outs of attracting both active and passive candidates via social media
  • The best times of day to post to popular social networks in order to maximize exposure
  • Why it’s important to consider how easily your content is shared
  • And much more!

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