Digital media skills are especially necessary for recruiters and HR professionals to ensure their effectiveness and success. Social media is like a magnet for the untapped capabilities and skills of people in an organization – creativity and innovativeness, digital content creation skills, speaking on camera, storytelling and more.
Isn’t that what everyone is talking about – how to use the potential, skills and knowledge of people in the business beyond their job descriptions and positions to which they are appointed.
In this article, we share some of our experiences in using social media to maintain communication with candidates, both for more infrequent positions, as well as for mass recruitment or for high management levels.
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WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO SEARCH FOR THE RIGHT TALENT?
Because everyone is there…
Much of our everyday life now happens and flows through these channels. People spend several hours a day there, both for entertainment and for learning or finding useful information.
Because of the unique skills that can be useful to our organization
Creating your own original content is increasingly common, which speaks to having both certain skills and a specific (GROWTH) mindset that any business can benefit from.
Because it is more tension-free
Social media changes the strict formal forms of application and communication (or rather the lack of it) between the two parties and allows for bonding in a way that leaves an emotional footprint.
Because it is convenient
It’s easy, creative, and fast. For us – the recruiters, and for them – the potential candidates.
This is the language most recruiters use at the moment
Because a large proportion of the people who work in recruitment, training and development departments are from the generation that best speaks the language of social media.
Because of the supermarket principle
We use social media as consumers anyway, why not learn to use it for our professional purposes as well?
To wake up and shake up candidates who are asleep or inactive (to create a need for change that leads to development)
Because in addition to reaching people who are actively looking for work, we have the opportunity to reach out to those who, although passive (not currently applying), are interested in development opportunities and changes in the labor market. Sometimes interesting partnerships, placements and friendships come out of this. In any case, we and they are expanding our network of contacts, which can be useful in recruitment.
EXAMPLES FROM OUR CATRO PRACTICE
- When we post an ad on a job site, branding it is expensive and does not guarantee more interest because it is visible after the candidate opens it. On social media, we can create various images that reflect different aspects of a position within a company. People today are more visual than ever, and respond better to visual messages. You can guess for yourself what happens after that – more openings, likes, shares, comments and questions that we can answer right away, more followers on our page, a lot more up-to-date resumes for our database, as well as dialogues with people instead of the well known monologue styled “We will only contact approved candidates”.
- We usually discuss the images for each listing with our colleagues whose savviness and personal suggestions are always welcome. In this way, colleagues who are not directly involved in recruitment also have the change to contribute, often in helpful and unorthodox ways. The satisfaction is great while the fun and engagement becomes shared.
- In addition to CVs, we can see many more aspects of a candidate through social media if they choose to share their profiles with us. Because we are looking for attitudes, mindsets, worldviews, and philosophies, not just a list of professional achievements.
- Along with the ad, we can invite our audience to read something useful from our blog that will shed some light on questions that interest them that go above and beyond a simple description, however well thought out it may be. This applies to job seekers and HR professionals alike.
- Lately, in the process of headhunting and attracting so-called “passive candidates” from social media itself, it often happens that people offer us partnerships or tell us that they are excited about the same things as we are. While we don’t get to implement every idea, there are some that come to fruition and exceed our own expectations. One such example is the initiative between CATRO and Razvii se, which has become an unexpectedly good alternative to big career events for high-school and students, as well as interested companies.
- Finally, every interaction on social networks makes our team members develop and gain skills in content creation and analysis. And that makes us better, more confident and inspired.
In conclusion
Whatever you do on social media, keep in mind that you should follow an overall strategy and have a concept, a plan, resources, as well as a team to create and maintain interest in your company, its initiatives, and open positions. This is a group effort and gives good results if there is sustainability, it encourages communication with users, and offers them interesting information or opportunities to get involved in different events organized by you as an employer.