COLD CALLING IS DEAD. Well, kind of.

If you’re reading this, you don’t need me to tell you how recruiting has drastically changed in the past decade. What was once a staple of any hiring strategy has lost its kicks due to an intrusive reputation and let’s be honest, a generation that would rather not pick up the phone – me included! 

Although it’s only been around since the mid-2000s, social media is where people are spending A LOT of time. Did you know that the average internet user has more than FIVE social media accounts? In fact, if global usage continues to look like what it does today, the average person will end up spending more than 5 years of their life on social media, so what better place to find your next best hire?!  

It’s online networks that help talent acquisition teams across the world attract top talent in an increasingly competitive landscape – many of whom would never be found through traditional sources. So, as a generation of digital natives step into the world of work and Millennials transition into more senior roles, social media is going to become indispensable in the hiring process, and you better take advantage!

With 86% of job seekers using social media when looking for work (CareerArc), Instagram recruiting more than doubling between 2017-2020 (Jobvite), and 73% of Millennials (currently aged 26-41) finding their last position through social platforms (Aberdeen Group), this blog post is going to be your handbook on how you can utilise your social media accounts to make the big bucks – let’s get into it!

1.     Use Filters

First things first: filters are your friend! No, I’m not talking about those filters that clear up blemishes or exaggerate a sunset. I mean search filters on LinkedIn. As recruiters in Life Sciences ourselves, LinkedIn is the social media platform we use the most and this is our secret tip to make your life much easier! You can track down ideal candidates for your openings by narrowing down your search by location, current and past company, education level plus several other factors – winner, winner!

2.     Be Yourself

This tip might seem pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised at the number of people who fabricate a personality and adopt new characteristics once hidden behind a screen. As an in-house recruiter, you want to remain as genuine as possible – after all, you’re the face of your brand! But, what’s more, people can read people, and promoting what you’re all about and remaining consistent is only going to help you gain trust from your network.

3.     Get Involved in The Right Conversations

If you’re looking to source talent on social media, the key is to cut through the noise and find the right people in the right space. Remember, at the core of social media recruiting is, well, being social! This means your conversations should be a two-way street and you should ALWAYS be prepared to answer questions as well as ask them.

I’m sure you’re no stranger to posting, but are you actively sharing and commenting on articles in your market to connect with like-minded people? It’s the best way to become known in the space you’re hiring into!

4.     Exercise Polls

Growing up on BuzzFeed quizzes, I have to say I love a social media poll! They’re a fun and interactive way to find out what people in your network value, what divides us, and what trends are happening with job hunters. Finding out what shifts are happening in your markets and what potential candidates are looking for will only benefit you as you can tailor your job ads to suit their wants and needs.

5.     Join Relevant Groups in Your Markets

Being active in groups relevant to your field is a great way to get your name and your job openings in front of a large crowd of people who might want to apply. HOWEVER, you don’t want to look overly promotional and draw negative attention to you or your company. Instead, be an active participant by sharing articles, opinions, and polls before making one-off posts about job opportunities. By laying the groundwork and becoming part of that community, you’ll be trusted to provide value to group members, meaning they’ll be much more receptive to your posts that promote job opportunities.

6.     Make Sure Your Profile Is Complete

This is social networking 101, but if you want to become known on social media for being a success at what you do, don’t sidestep the admin involved! Ensuring all your profiles across all your social channels are complete will only make you more credible when it comes to hiring talent. Oftentimes, if a candidate is interested in a role you’re advertising, they’ll click through to have a nosey on whose posting about it. By keeping your profiles up-to-date and backed up by testimonials, you’re only going to be more likely to succeed in converting applicants into placements!

7.     Use Hashtags

Hashtags are the perfect way to get your posts in front of the eyes you hope will see them. As you know, news feeds can easily get overwhelmed with irrelevant posts (another teary-eyed selfie on LinkedIn and I’ll lose my head!), but using hashtags can help your posts be seen by both candidates and clients in the right locations, industries, and seniority levels. With that said, for optimal results stick to a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 in each post.

8.     Put Some Personality into Your Ads

Applying for a job is a full-time job in itself, and although there are thousands of job ads out there, there are very few that are memorable! Your job ads have one aim: to sell the role and your company. It’s basically your elevator pitch, so make sure you keep it short and snappy to engage your target audience. As mentioned above, being yourself will gain trust, so get creative, stand out from the crowd and let your personality and employer brand shine. Once you establish yourself and your brand within your network, you’ll have the pick of the best bunch of talent out there!

Also, when it comes to social media, DON’T just hit the share button on your ads. Add a little zest to boost your engagement, for example, pop some interesting stats about your company, relate to trending articles, add colourful graphics, or come up with something witty (but appropriate!) that will pique the interest of the right kind of candidates.

9.     When Reaching Out, Make It Personal

You don’t need me to tell you that experienced and talented people hear from heaps of hiring managers and talent acquisition teams day in, day out. While it’s handy to have a template message to send out, DON’T copy and paste it to everyone you try to connect with. It’s glaringly obvious to the recipient when no thought has gone into it, and likely, you’ll find yourself getting ghosted by the majority. Instead, grab their attention by posing a question about a post they’ve recently shared (it doesn’t even have to be industry related) or mention what it is about the candidate that made them stand out (a little flattery never hurt nobody!).

10.     Promote Your Employer Brand

Recruiting in general goes way beyond posting open roles from the company account. You need to develop an active and positive social media presence to organically entice eager candidates. Sharing content that highlights your people, your values, your team events, and other company culture touch-points gives candidates a real behind-the-scenes glimpse of just how great your workplace really is! After all, company culture attracts the top 20% of candidates, so a strong reputation and online presence carry A LOT of weight – particularly with passive job seekers.

11.     Tweak Your Personal Profile To Reflect Your Organisation

When you network on social media for work, you’re a representation of the company you work for. Whilst ensuring that you and your personality shine, don’t forget to follow your company’s brand guidelines. If job searchers come across your or your company’s page, you’ll together have built a cohesive image to help sell them on why finding a job with your organisation is in their best interest.

It’s not just your company page that should be a shining example of just how awesome your workplace is – as talent acquisition, your profile should match that energy too! Social media is its own platform that allows job seekers to learn everything they need to know about your organisation, so share honest, relatable content that showcases just how wonderful working for your company can be. It will help build authenticity and trust, which will hopefully lead to your audience itching to become a part of your team!

12.     Count On Your Teammates

It’s highly likely that the majority of people in your workplace use social media in some capacity, and who knows, they might just know the perfect person for the role you’re recruiting for – good people know good people! Encourage your colleagues to share your openings and like your posts. That way, your reach will inevitably increase, boosting your ability to connect with more diverse talent.

Actually, did you know that employee content is shared 25 times more frequently than when the same content is shared by brand channels? What’s more, if you have a celebrated company culture, your workmates will be your biggest advocates. Feature them in your posts (such as asking them to share their experience working for your company) and you never know, they might be the marketing tool to pique the interest of a potential future co-worker!

13.     Don’t Overlook Niche Networks

Listen, I get it – when it comes to hiring, not all social media platforms were created equally, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think outside the box! These days, everyone and their cat is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, but you can find your ideal and most qualified candidates by taking some initiative and working out where they’re most likely to spend their time online. For instance, the developers and software engineers our MedTech team recruit are known for sharing knowledge on places like GitHub, and Healthcare marketers are always bouncing ideas off one another on Moz.

In marketing, you need to meet your customers where they are, and recruiting is no different. Become more agile in your search by researching where your model candidates are doing most of their scrolling and tap into those platforms!

If you’ve found other tips and tricks that have benefited your hiring tactics, let us know and we’ll continue to update this article so you and your team can source and place candidates as smartly as possible!