Digital recruitment: using social media to attract talent

by Richenda Vermeulen
January 17, 2017

In the age of digital media, the recruitment process is rapidly changing. Simply advertising a position on Seek.com may not be the most efficient – or most successful – method of finding the best candidates. More and more, the recruitment process is being outsourced to third parties, and in some cases, even getting more creative!

Companies – like Pizza Hut– are using social media to target tech-savvy and creative people in a new and unique way. The rationale being if a potential employee can sell themselves in 140 seconds, they will be able to sell the company in 140 characters on Twitter.

While it seems obvious for Pizza Hut to use social media to find their ‘Head of Digital Awesomeness’ – you may be asking, “how can I use the web to recruit staff?” and “what is the role of each social media channel in this process?”

Here are a few suggestions:

LinkedIn: the new resume

As the Australian hub for professional networking, LinkedIn is the best channel to recruit staff. Members of LinkedIn showcase their professional strengths and experience online, making it easy to identify stars. LinkedIn has search features especially designed for discovering talent which can be used to find the people best suited to their positions. You can find potential candidates with search filters for years of experience, function, industry and education. Not only does this maximise the chances of finding the right person for the job, but it also allows talent to be found quickly and efficiently.

McKinsey's LinkdIn company page positions them as an industry leader.

McKinsey’s LinkdIn company page positions them as an industry leader.

Don’t forget, the recruitment process is a two way street: while professionals use LinkedIn to communicate their skills to the world, companies can use the site to entice talent to be a part of the team via a LinkedIn company page. Having a company page will connect your staff together, help paint a picture of the personality and values of your company, and positions you as an industry leader. This ensures that when the time to recruit comes, you will have the best pick of candidates.

Your website should tell your story

Your company website is vital in telling the story of your brand as it is often the first port of calls for potential employees. Consider the message that your website sends to potential staff and ask yourself, “would I want to work here?” Your company’s website should reflect what the company is like, and what it is all about. In other words, use the website to sell your company, not just your product or services!

Sitepoint entice potential employees with their unique company culture

Facebook communities love job posts

Employment posts on your Facebook page have some of the highest engagement rates – this makes your digital team happy. job posts reach an audience that are already interested in your company and allows the ‘fans’ to share jobs with their social network. Featuring staff stories on your company Facebook page also provides an inside look into your organisation in a less formal, more personal way.

World Vision regularly shares job opportunities with their Facebook audience.

YouTube makes your story come alive

YouTube can also be used to provide a more intimate picture of what it is like to work at your company. And while videos can show what it is like to be a part of your team, they can simultaneously spread the word of your brand. YouTube’s embedding feature also allows you to position these videos on the same part of your website where you talk about company culture.

MAC Cosmetics give their viewers a look into the MAC world.

Twitter reaches a new audience

Link your website’s job posts to your twitter account so that it regularly shares vacancies to your interested audience. Make sure to use popular employment hashtags (e.g. #ausjobs #melbournejobs etc) to make your vacancies visible. Don’t forget to respond to questions about the jobs you post!

Twitter hashtag #melbournejobs surfaces a myriad of opportunities!

The rules of the game have changed

Recruitment is not just about you chasing candidates for a hiring manager – its about making yourself visible to an already engaged audience. Developing a strong digital presence, whether it be on LinkedIn, the web, or facebook, will increase the visibility of your company and can attract candidates that may not know you exist. Doing this well takes time and some investment, but likely less than the cost of traditional recruitment.