Tag: Social Media

Which is the Most Powerful Recruitment Tool in 2014: Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn?

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

image_14When it comes to staffing your business, the Internet provides many avenues for finding qualified professionals. Social media has become a prominent method of attracting possible future employees. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all have their individual benefits and drawbacks. Which one is the most powerful recruitment tool for you?

Facebook

A Facebook profile is a great way to keep consumers connected to your business through status updates. It’s also a great platform for connecting to specific individuals through advertising. Facebook allows you to fine-tune who sees a job announcement ad based on specific criteria such as location. While this may cost you a bit more, it can be valuable in the search for specific individuals.

As much as 83 percent of active job-seekers use Facebook. [1] This social hub is the second most accessed website in the world.

Twitter

When it comes to sharing messages and tidbits of information with a large audience, Twitter is an excellent tool. With a simple hashtag targeting those looking for employment, you can reach thousands of potential candidates almost instantly. The downside to using Twitter is that your message can quickly become buried as other people join the conversation, making your Tweet less effective. Supported advertising may still be a viable option for recruitment to keep these messages on top of other conversations.

In 2014, 54 percent of recruiters utilized Twitter to find candidates [2]. As there are 560 million active users, the outreach for recruitment is significant.

LinkedIn

Although it’s not as popular of a social media outlet as the previous two, LinkedIn was developed to connect professionals together. Businesses can post job openings while searching for candidates that fit specific criteria. The most significant disadvantage of this social hub is that it isn’t as popular and thus provides fewer potential candidates. However, the site has grown consistently each year and may be worth your time.

Although LinkedIn has only 240 million active users as of the beginning of 2014, the level of professionalism is much higher. Currently, 89 percent of recruiters have hired someone from this professional social network, and the site continues to grow [3].

Each of these methods can attract candidates for employment. Success of the process may rely more on strategies and your organization’s use of each social outlet, and you should determine what’s easier for you to implement. What works well for one company may not have the same impact for another.

 

[1] https://careershift.com/blog/2014/03/how-to-really-use-social-media-to-get-a-job/

[2] http://employerblog.looksharp.co/social-media-recruiting-using-twitter-find-diverse-professionals/

[3] https://www.recruiter.com/i/attention-candidates-how-to-get-in-the-digital-game/

Leveraging Social Media to Recruit the Best Talent

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image_30The key to building a successful workforce is to be proactive in finding and recruiting the best talent that you can get. It is not enough to wait for people to apply and then pick the top applicants. You must make a concerted effort to locate these people and get in touch with them.

One way to do this is by harnessing the power of social media. Thanks to sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, people are now more connected than they have ever been before. Networking has always been important, but it’s simpler than it has been in the past with the easy-to-follow digital trail that connects each person to the next. In fact, according to MediaBistro, “92 percent of companies use platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for recruitment[1].” To make use of it, though, you really have to be able to look past the chatter and noise to find the recruits you want.

You can start by looking for those who are showcasing their work. For example, many graphic designers and calligraphers will put their work up on Pinterest. They may also run personal blogs that are linked into various networks. They share this work with their followers simply because they are proud of it, but you can use it to easily assess what they are capable of. It was found that 73 percent of companies “hired successfully with social media”, so this is clearly a tactic that works[2].

The beauty of this system is that it puts less emphasis on asking for portfolios of work and doing interviews. You can often learn everything you need to know about their dedication, their quality of work and any special attributes that they have before you even get in touch with them. By the time that you reach out to them for an interview, you will have a very good idea of what they can provide and whether or not you want to offer them a job, making it take “less time to hire” as MediaBistro found was the case with 20 percent of the companies that used social media[3].

Finally, you can use social media to learn a lot about their background. Looking at their education level and their extracurricular activities — such as semesters spent studying abroad or participation in a college athletic team — can give you some idea of their personality, so you can determine whether or not they are a good fit for your team.

 

 

[1] [2] [3] http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-recruiting_b50575

 

 

 

Why I Killed My LinkedIn Account

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In a new article on HRExaminer.com, Heather Bussing details why she deactivated her LinkedIn account.

“I deleted my Linkedin Account last week. It’s not because I hate Linkedin…I killed the account because I don’t agree to their Terms of Service, and I don’t need LinkedIn enough to put up with it.”

Read the full article here.

Generation Y: How to Find and Attract High-Quality Millennial Employees

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

The Huffington Post[1] defines Generation Y, or those born between the late 1970s and the middle of the 1990s, as Millennials. Today, many of these young people are just entering the workforce, but their expectations are different from generations that have come before them. Millennials don’t mind working hard, but they want to pursue something that interests them, and they want to feel like they are making a difference. The following tips can help businesses find and attract high-quality Millennial employees.

Emphasize a Fun or Casual Workplace

One solid way to attract a potential Millennial employee is to emphasize the creativity or uniqueness of the office space. According to a recent study from CNN[2], Generation Y believes that having an engaging workspace is a top priority, but baby boomers put that towards the bottom of the list. Workplaces don’t have to be a messy hangout to be appealing, but creative touches or casual dress codes can go a long way in attracting high-quality hires.

Use Social Media To Advertise Jobs

Millennial employees are rarely going to read the classifieds in a newspaper to look for a job, but social media and other Internet-based resources are the best way for businesses to advertise employment positions. Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn are effective and visible ways to attract Generation Y.

Detail Clear Deliverables…

A lot has been said about the desire of Generation Y to have fluid careers, but it is also important to have clear deliverables in place during the interview and when the job begins. Millennial employees will appreciate that they can clearly identify success in terms of objective goals, something that was not an issue for older employees.

…But Make Room For Personal Creativity

Although the guidelines stated above are helpful for retaining younger employees, it is also important to emphasize the potential for self-fulfillment and personal creativity during the interview phase. Hcareers[3] recommends asking candidates about how they feel they could best succeed in the company, which helps them feel personally fulfilled and helps the company utilize their strongest assets.

On the surface, attracting high-quality employees from Generation Y involves the same major factors as salary and potential for growth. However, there is also a heavy emphasis on personal fulfillment, creativity and positive reinforcement.

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/generation-y-unhappy_b_3930620.html

[2] http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/20/business/generation-y-global-office-culture/index.html

[3] http://www.hcareers.com/us/resourcecenter/tabid/306/articleid/450/default.aspx

Before the Interview: Screening a Candidate Through Social Media

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There are a range of different factors that might be taken into consideration when businesses look at  potential employees during the hiring process. A person’s education, past work history and references are all important, and how a person conducts themselves during an interview is also notable. However, even some of the most tech-savvy companies are forgetting about social media. A potential candidate almost certainly has a social media presence, and hiring managers can learn a lot through this.

Inappropriate Photos or Language

According to a recent survey from Career Builder[1], roughly 39 percent of companies are currently using social media as a way to screen potential hires. The largest reason to do this, according to many leaders in the HR field, is to weed out those candidates who feature inappropriate pictures, drug use or racist language in their profiles or online communication.

Great Communication Skills

While the presumption is that candidates can be taken out of the race through their social media presence, employers should also be looking for evidence of solid communication. Tweeting to a brand, linking friends in photos and even a solid LinkedIn profile with numerous endorsements can say a lot of great things about a potential employee. While some hiring managers will treat the social media screening as a kind of witch hunt, be sure to look for the positives as well.

Legal Issues For Pre-Employment Screening Online

Although the practice of screening employees before hire through their social media profiles is certainly a common practice, Fast Company[2] reminds managers and business owners that there are some legal issues that can come into play. By checking a candidate’s profile on Facebook, for example, you will come across details like their age, gender, religion and even pregnancy status. Although you might not let these details influence you, it can be hard to deny that in court. A safer approach is to let someone not associated with hiring conduct the social media searches and only bring relevant information to your attention.

There are clearly numerous benefits to looking a candidate’s social media presence before hiring them. However, care should be taken to avoid any legal issues surrounding this online screening.

[1] http://thehiringsite.careerbuilder.com/2013/07/01/two-in-five-employers-use-social-media-to-screen-candidates/

[2] http://www.fastcompany.com/1843142/using-facebook-screen-potential-hires-can-get-you-sued

The Use of Social Media and Infographics by HR Recruiters

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Infographics (information graphics), by definition, are graphic visual representations of information, or data intended to present complex information quickly and clearly to an audience. The use of infographic productions by human resources professionals to interact with job applicants is a growing trend. Relying on social media sensations like LinkedIn, YouTube, FaceBook and Twitter to identify top-notch recruits is proving to be a cost effective means of showcasing an organization.

Modern infographics combine multiple technologies and media formats to communicate a diverse array of information in a clear and concise manner. From simple drawings to sophisticated three dimensional images, interactive infographic presentations allow job applicants to easily explore the diverse aspects of a potential employer. Infographic designers blend art, music, video, motion and animation to tell the story of a complex company. Job applicants can take control by clicking links to unveil graphics, maps, charts, tours and informative discussions.

Social Media Recruiting

Human resources professionals are turning to social media to find highly qualified job candidates. The use of social media sites has increased dramatically in recent years. Recruiting software developer, Hire Rabbit, reports that 92 percent of U.S. companies used social media to recruit job candidates in 2012. At least 70 percent of these companies hired one or more employees with the assistance of social media.

Nearly 40 percent of all job applicants are active Twitter users. As many as 225 million social media users from over 200 nations now access LinkedIn’s network of career professionals. FaceBook has become an advertising and recruiting superstar. Recruiting videos allow companies to build their brand and attract job seekers from around the world. Traditional recruiting techniques involve a painstaking geographic search for talented job applicants. Social media presentations serve as a digital recruiting magnet, saving time and money.

Infographic presentations are visually appealing and entertaining. Recruiting videos possess the power to efficiently communicate an organization’s purpose and culture. Job listings that are accompanied by a video presentation receive significantly more visits than standard job listings. Infographic profiles become even more effective when they are properly tagged to attract focused digital traffic.

Showing a job candidate what it’s like to work for a top tier company is an extremely powerful recruiting strategy. Not only is it vital that HR departments employ social media to recruit talented employees, the use of social media is the new frontier of an increasingly competitive global economy. Social media has become an indispensable recruiting tool for successful HR professionals.

“Can I Tweet You My Resume?” The Tension Between Social Media and Professionalism

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There is no question that marketing a business in today’s world involves some kind of social media outreach. Whether you are recruiting interns via tweets, using hashtags to draw awareness to a new advertising campaign or hoping that a popular video uploaded to Facebook goes viral and spreads the word about your brand, you can’t avoid social media. If you are searching for a job, you might think seriously about erasing your Facebook profile before you start sending in applications. However, there are ways to utilize social media platforms like Twitter, Google+ and Facebook and still maintain a professional online appearance.

Keep LinkedIn Completely Professional: No Cat Memes or Funny Pictures Here
Although employers don’t expect applicants to be professional in every single aspect of their lives, LinkedIn is still one social media platform where professionalism should be embraced wholeheartedly. Keep your resume up to date, truthful and free from grammatical errors. Skip updates about unrelated topics, and don’t spend time chatting with friends or sharing political views. Facebook and Twitter are still acceptable places to express personality, but a LinkedIn profile should remain 100-percent dedicated to your career objectives, goals and job search.

“Like” Less on Facebook: Your Friends Will Understand
You might be surprised at what comes up when you click “like” on Facebook. Even if you carefully delete any unprofessional photos and limit who can post to your wall, the things that you click to “like” can still pop up when employers search through your profile or look at your recent activity.

Apply For Jobs Traditionally, Follow Up Using Social Media
Social media can open new doors to job opportunities, but don’t push too hard with nontraditional methods. If you see a job advertised on Twitter, don’t engage in an abbreviated conversation online with a hiring manager. Search for the company, click to see job openings and proceed through the traditional channels. If several days pass without a confirmation, a follow-up Tweet or private Facebook message might be acceptable.

Although social media obviously has a place in marketing, in business advertising and in finding new employment positions, it is still important to maintain professionalism. These tips can come in handy whether you are holding onto you existing job or looking for a new one.

LinkedIn: New Feature Available

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LinkedIn Adds “Mentions”
LinkedIn recently added a new way for you to connect with your network by mentioning companies and connections in your posts. This feature is similar to the tagging functions which are available on both Facebook and Twitter.

For organizations, the new LinkedIn functionality provides great opportunities for increasing brand awareness. According to industry studies, it will take five to seven mentions before people start to remember brand names.

How Do You Use “Mentions”?
It’s easy! Just start typing the name of a connection or a company in the status update box or a comment field and a drop down will appear from which you can select the intended party that you’d like to mention. “Mentions” are first rolling out for English-speaking LinkedIn users.

How Will “Mentions” Affect Your Use of LinkedIn?
1. Organizations can now mention consumers and other businesses in their posts on LinkedIn. Effectively using mentions will increase your organization’s visibility on LinkedIn. Any individual or company that you mention in a post will be notified of the mention, and connections of the individual that you mention will have the ability to see your post as well.
2. If partner organizations or individuals on LinkedIn post noteworthy news or information, you can now share that content and credit the original poster via a mention.
3. Twitter has integrated with the LinkedIn mention feature. So if you mention an individual on LinkedIn and choose to push the same post to your Twitter account, the individuals name will be automatically converted into the associated Twitter handle.
4. As an organization, you now have the ability to publicly recognize employees for outstanding work and achievement.

While the ability to connect with consumers and other organizations is important to brand recognition, it is also important to keep in mind that mentions should not be used to spam. Use of mentions should be meaningful and aimed to inspire conversations with multiple parties.

Is it Ethical To Research Candidates Online?

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This is an age when a growing number of available candidates for many job positions have a significant presence on a variety of social media sites. The press increasingly takes note of issues of recruitment, hiring and privacy related to this development. At the same time, it points out that many recruiter human resource departments are grappling with how to best use these new tools.

At least two ethical issues are immediately identified when discussing recruitment and social media. The first is how not to become an abuser by spamming the market with opportunities and listings. The second issue deals with deciding where to draw the line in the ethical use of social media to screen candidates and prospects.

It is this latter issue that generates stories of young people losing out on opportunities because of online indiscretions. Some recruiters have allegedly asked potential employees for passwords to personal social media accounts. It is clear that the evolving issue requires the establishment of reasonable boundaries. What is not yet clear is where those boundaries will be drawn.

It is generally agreed that gross indiscretions on largely public sites are fair game. Anyone wanting to be considered a responsible candidate for most positions should understand that such postings and information are highly prejudicial. Appropriate discretion is the first rule that should apply to any social media information. In fact, the more public and sensitive the prospective position, the more such discretion is required.

Drawing the Lines

A second emerging question is the redefinition of what is and is not considered an indiscretion. Using LinkedIn and Facebook to access relative experience and background is to be expected. Going to private postings related to vacations and family gatherings is a direction that many now question, again with the truly gross indiscretion exception.

A third immediate area of concern is the question of the right to access non-public areas of social media. Some employers come down on both sides of this issue, depending on the specific position being considered. The candidate always has the right to refuse what is considered an invasion of privacy, but what if it costs being considered for the position?

There is no question that the issues related to the ethics of recruiting and social media are under scrutiny. Anyone in the business or dealing with human resources will increasingly have to decide what rules apply in their approach to the profession relative to social media.

Facebook vs. LinkedIn

Posted on by Buyer Advertising
Recruiting and retaining top talent requires a keen understanding of the forces that drive your business as well as your potential hires. In today’s market, it’s simply not enough to go the traditional route to attract candidates. As Forbes recently reported, professional networking sites like LinkedIn are growing at an extraordinary rate. Ignoring social networking as a recruitment tool can mean missing out on a pool of young, eager, educated talent. But how do you successfully navigate various networking platforms and tie them in to your tried and trusted recruitment strategies?

New Insights, New Features

For starters, you’ll need to differentiate between two of the largest social networking giants. While Facebook has traditionally been a site where friends and family connect to share informal insights into their daily lives, the site currently has 1 billion users, making it a major communication outlet for businesses looking to draw potential hires and customers to their brand. In addition, a recently released study by Facebook may urge its users to start using the site as a networking tool. Facebook researchers Moira Burke and Robert Kraut found that users with strong ties who frequent the site regularly recommend job openings via messaging and chat channels. These findings indicate that Facebook may be a valuable tool to spread job opportunities through an already established network or close friends and colleagues.

On the other hand, LinkedIn has always been geared towards professionals looking to network. Most recently, LinkedIn announced a new search feature that will allow businesses and candidates to search for their next professional connection. HR professionals looking to use LinkedIn can now search for specific attributes and qualifications, allowing them to target potential candidates in less time.

Social media is becoming an increasingly powerful tool in our personal and professional lives. With new features and growing insight into the workings of our digital identities, HR professionals have more leverage than ever before to make connections between talented professionals and growing industries.