How to use social media as a recruitment tool

Despite the fact that there are nearly 1.25m job vacancies in the UK today – an all-time high – there remains a skills shortage. According to research by the Open University Business, the total cost of the UK skills shortage is £6.3 billion a year. Here we look at how to use social media as a recruitment tool.

Lack of skills has made it difficult for businesses to find talented workers. ‘Social recruiting’ is now being used to help alleviate this problem – in fact, 92 percent of companies are now using social media as a recruitment tool compared to 56 percent in 2011. But there are certain tricks to using social media correctly. We look at the most important things to consider when looking to understand how to use social media as a recruitment tool:

Choose the right social media channels for recruitment

It is important to understand how each channel works and who the primary audience is. Instagram may be the best fit when targeting people in design, marketing, retail and similar, but may not be the best choice for developers, for example. LinkedIn is still the most popular social network used to find new hires, with over 90% of recruiters using it to fill openings.

Improve your business’s social media profiles

The profiles you use for recruitment should showcase your company’s culture and core company values. While you may use your social media profiles to market products, services or industry developments, include some posts about life at the office and employee profiles to give your company an identity that potential candidates can relate to.

Use inviting but clear messaging, and always include an image that clearly reflects the kind of candidate you are looking for. Hashtags are also important when posting job openings but don’t overdo them. Job seekers are likely to follow obvious hashtags such as #hiring and #jobopening so include those to help you reach candidates faster.

Experiment with paid ads for recruitment 

Using paid ads means better targeting compared to other channels such as job boards. It’s also easier to target candidates by their job titles, locations, interests and many other criteria, making advertising much more targeted. 

Get help from your employees

In a survey from Monster, 65% of respondents would consider a new job opportunity if they heard about it through a personal connection in their network. Just by sharing your job listings through their own social networks, your employees boost your ability to connect with a much wider audience.

Encourage employees to become company advocates by sharing interesting, valuable and impressive information about the business, including successes, employee testimonials, and thought leadership content.

Understand the millennial view

It is vital to understand how millennials, today’s largest workforce, think about employment. Previous generations had different views on work, which included long-term commitment and a secure retirement package. Today’s young people are always looking for the next best thing, so promoting an environment of excitement and flexibility is a key goal.

Get in touch with our expert HR and Recruitment team today for support and advice