When talented, high-achieving candidates rely on social media to look for work, how do they use these tools? What sites do they visit more than others? And most important, how can you take advantage of social media resources to place yourself in front of these candidates and encourage them to apply for your open positions? Here are the three best ways to attract the most competitive job seekers on the marketplace.
Start a Carpet Bombing Campaign
The first and last work in social media recruiting is “presence”. Be everywhere your audience spends their time. This may require a little effort and time on your part (which may mean hiring a digital marketing firm or full-time employee specifically to handle this responsibility), but candidates won’t know you exist until they see your name. And in order for that to happen, you’ll need to become active on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. And you’ll need a blog with fresh, high-quality, and frequently updated content. You’ll need to monitor these feeds and generate new posts at least a few times a week.
Track Your Traffic
Once your name is available to socially active candidates, you’ll want to stay on top of your site visits and track which messages have the highest impact. While you’re keeping records and tweaking your efforts in order to stay ahead, keep records on the rest of the hiring process as well. For example, when great candidates apply, ask them how they found out about the position, and ask them about the details that convinced them to reach out.
Research Your Target Audience
Don’t fall into a pattern of adverse selection. In other words, there’s a difference between attracting hundreds of candidates and attracting the right candidates. Make sure you aren’t driving away or discouraging great matches by, for example, painting an inaccurate picture of your workplace culture. If you want messy, free-spirited collaborators, or you’d rather attract rigid, rule-abiding loners, be honest with yourself, and be honest with your audience. Then go after the candidates you need while allowing others to self-select and remove themselves from the running. Do this by targeting the blogs and websites your best contenders visit the most, and by tailoring your updates, tweets and re-posts to attract the positive attention you need.
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