How Do Companies Use Social Media To Find Candidates?

Social recruiting has become a key element in the recruitment strategies of modern companies. Thanks to its ability to broaden the scope of job postings and target specific candidates, companies can more easily find candidates suited to their needs. If you’re looking for a job or hiring new talent, consider the importance of social recruiting in your job search or recruiting efforts.

Social networks are no longer just a virtual “place” to share one’s experiences with friends; they are also a profitable tool to publish or find job offers. The most famous channel for social recruiting is certainly LinkedIn.

1. But what is it exactly?
2. How does it work?
3. And what are the tips for finding work through social media?

What Is Social Recruiting?

The term social recruiting indicates the use by companies of social networks to find, attract, and hire potential candidates. This activity is usually part of a broader recruiting and marketing strategy. The birth of this concept is a symbol of the shift in job supply and demand and the selection process on the web. LinkedIn, first and foremost, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, have long been channels through which it is possible to find a job and make yourself visible to potential recruiters.

Until a few years ago, a social network like Facebook was used by recruiters, above all for “control” purposes, to verify that candidates were not lying or did not have any “skeletons in the closet.”  This method still partially exists, but it is certainly not the most prevalent nor the most interesting to deal with; the advice to check that your social networks do not contain potentially critical content remains valid.

What Are The Advantages Of Social Recruiting?

Social recruiting presents numerous advantages, as it expands the pool of opportunities—both for candidates and companies—and facilitates contact, making the process quicker and more fluid. Many candidates looking for new opportunities are realizing this. This is demonstrated by the data from Randstad’s Employer Brand Research 2023 country report, an independent research project involving 163 thousand people and over 6 thousand companies worldwide, according to which half of those interviewed say they use LinkedIn when looking for a job.

The percentage is 39% when the level of education is lower and 69% with a high level of education. In any case, among young people aged 25 to 35, the percentage stands at 53%. As for other social networks, Facebook remains the most used channel among those who use social media to find work (61%) despite a slight decline. Telegram (30%), TikTok (28%), and Twitter (24%) also play a role when looking for a job, although not yet on a par with Instagram (45%).

The Advantages Of Social Recruiting For HR Professionals

One of the main advantages of social recruiting is that it gives the company broad visibility, reaching a large audience. Companies can share their job opportunities on different social platforms, increasing the visibility of open positions. Furthermore, social media offers advanced tools for audience segmentation, allowing you to target candidates. Companies can target candidates with specific skills, interests, or experiences, ensuring job ads reach the most suitable people. Therefore, for companies, social recruiting is advantageous because:

1. makes job advertisements more visible;
2. allows you to reach a much higher number of potential candidates;
3. allows you to identify the best talents and “passive” candidates, those who are not currently looking for new offers;
4. helps direct the search more precisely, thanks to the identification of specific targets;
5. speeds up the selection process;
6. improves brand awareness.

The Advantages For Candidates

For candidates, social recruiting is advantageous because:

1. allows you to show your skills and experience immediately and clearly;
2. It is a way to expand your network and intercept further opportunities.
3. helps to come into contact with multiple realities directly;
4. expands the range of job offers to search for;
5. allows you to select offers based on specific criteria.

The Critical Aspects Of Social Recruiting

Through social recruiting, personnel search, and selection, staff aim to “find” the best talents. LinkedIn is undoubtedly the platform par excellence, especially as regards “high” profiles, which require a high level of education. Here, the recruiter will pay attention to your CV and how you move, interact, comment, and publish the content.

The web also lends itself to being used as a “shop window.” For example, if you are a freelancer, you can publish your portfolio on an ad hoc website. However, when we talk about social recruiting, the emphasis falls precisely on this modality’s shared “social” dimension. Interactions and the network, therefore, represent vital aspects to consider for those who choose this path.

Equally important is knowing how to choose the right tone of voice, depending on the channels you use. LinkedIn requires a certain formality, or rather, professionalism, while Facebook and Instagram leave room for a more direct and informal tone. Twitter rewards the ability to be concise and intelligent. Especially for some roles, recruiters carefully observe and evaluate these qualities.

How Companies Use Social Recruiting

Publication Of Advertisements

Companies post job advertisements on their social media company profiles. These advertisements may contain details about open positions, requirements, and benefits offered.

Active Search

Companies can also actively search for candidates using relevant keywords or specific hashtags. This approach allows companies to identify candidates who may not have seen the job advertisements but are still interested.

Personal Branding And Social Recruiting

Social recruiting is closely linked to personal branding, which consists of creating, curating, and monitoring your online presence, just like brands and companies do. But what does it mean in concrete terms? What you write and publish on social networks and the web generally contributes to shaping an image in the eyes of those who observe you from the outside. So make sure that these contents—and how you express them, because language is also essential—are coherent and truthful. To take care of your branding, you must:

1. ensure that your skills and strengths are present and highlighted;
2. provide consistent information and opinions on the various social networks, using the appropriate language for each channel;
3. Make yourself recognizable by standing out from the crowd (don’t copy-paste other people’s comments, but express your opinion);
4. provide clear and immediate contact information;
5. cultivate your online presence by cultivating contacts, subscribing to thematic groups, commenting, and sharing posts;
6. Take care of your image in your published photographs, especially on LinkedIn and professional channels.

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