The fundamental basis of good recruiting is good communication. That’s an interesting insight, when you consider that social media has transformed the way that we communicate in the current digital age.
With the advent of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, opportunities for online, written communication have taken off, particularly in our private lives. However, social media hasn’t just transformed our social lives. Sites like LinkedIn provide us with a unique setting in which to communicate digitally within our professional lives.
But does this mean that recruiters and hiring managers really should use social media to inform recruiting decisions?
Recruiting in the Digital Age- What Is Happening?
It seems that a job candidate’s digital footprint may be as important for making hiring decisions as their CV.
Vicki Salemi of Fish Bowl NY reports on a survey that found that 44% of hiring managers questioned search for a candidate on Facebook, whilst a 27% searched a candidate’s Twitter profile.
What’s more, it does seem that recruiters are using the information that they find to inform their decision. According to Caroline Ceniza-Levine, writing for Time, 55% of recruiters have actually reconsidered a potential candidate based on what they saw on their social media profiles.
Two Key Reasons to Use Social Media in Recruitment Decision Making
Here are three reasons using social media effectively can help to make profitable recruiting decisions.
- Social Media Helps You to Get a Picture of the Candidate As a Whole Person
The CV gives candidates the opportunity to present the best of their skills, their experience and their qualifications. However, it is clear that a CV does not provide the whole picture when it comes to hiring. Historically, this is why an interview is required. However, interviews themselves can be difficult to conduct effectively in a way that gleans all the information you need to make the right decision about a candidate.
Social media presents a more complex illustration of the motivations and interests of a candidate which can help to complement your current recruiting strategy. This can help to identify candidates who are a good cultural fit to the organization. The Undercover Recruiter reports on a study conducted by JobVite, which found that 73% of recruiters plan to compete against other employers with their company culture. Understanding the whole candidate may be important for competitive advantage in 2015.
- Identify How The Candidate Interacts and Relates with Others
Social media shows how a candidate interacts with others in a natural way, that the CV or interview really can’t. As many people frequently post online, social media gives you an opportunity to really understand how they interact on a regular basis, not just in the controlled environment of an interview.
In a blog for CIO, Sharon Florentine points out that LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter can be a tool that helps recruiters to hear conversations that candidates are having publically online. This, she mentions, can help to understand how engaged and active they are within their industry and current company.
Social Media Can Be an Important Recruiting Tool
It’s clear that social media can empower recruiters to not only find candidates who are a good fit, but that it can also give recruiters competitive advantage.
Find out more about A Crawford Thomas’ recruiting services.