That vapor suction you hear are the baby boomers vacating the workforce in droves, as the age of retirement looms while the ease of technology threatens. So organizations and employers of all shapes and sizes, are engaged in the task of recruiting new talent.
In the past, setting up a hiring booth at the local college was the major method, when it came to hiring professional, technical, or managerial employees with potential. All that was required was sponsoring information sessions at a job “cattle” call, then hiring the best talent.
This once efficiency model is no longer effective, if it ever has been, as the recruiters usually failed to convey the proper information which students were looking for, as the college graduates found the company brochures not that helpful.
It’s been a broken model for job fulfillment. This resulted in students losing interest in attending these college job fairs. So instead, progressive companies are now using social media as a recruiting tool, this to find a better fit of potential graduates.
Social Media Plays Role Reversal
Social media has now become the most dominant tool to communicate, inform, engage, and entertain. To recruit new talent, because of the massive log of information, the challenge employers face is there’s too much information.
Employers when attempting to use social media, continue to find they’re still not attracting the ideal kind of candidate, usually because their recruiting strategies are still under development.
Most continue to rely on establishing a presence on LinkedIn, which is the online version of setting up a booth at the hiring fair. What most employers are unaware of is that LinkedIn needs to be approached properly.
What recruiters don’t realize is that these college graduates are more interested in knowing “how” to get hired, find a job, this rather than reading about the company’s history on their website.
Provide Better Engagement
To successfully recruit students by using social media, what the employers need is to flip the tables by engaging with the students better, this by helping them find the right opportunity within their organization based on their aptitude.
This by giving prospects the exact details of the positions which are available, while intriguing with them in ways which engages their abstract strength, this in a social contextual environment.
A social media recruiting strategy to be effective, should inform the college graduates what they the employer is looking for, which opportunities are a fit, and what it feels like to work for their organization.
A Recruitment Strategy
There are several proposal steps which are recommended which fits in line with the social media environment, such is “Like” “Care” and “Initiate.” A refined social media strategy which should target, attract, and then recruit precise employees.
Since college graduates are more likely to use Facebook rather than LinkedIn, the first step is going where the masses are, this by targeting as many potential students as possible to the company’s Facebook Fan Page.
Then the employers need to be constantly active and online, this by interacting directly with the students, this to enhance and embed their company brand as an ideal place to potentially work for.
The final step involves employers taking the initiative to provide a “Call-To-Action,” this to invite and encourage students to act on a potential job opportunity, and then apply online for the position.
Performing Reversal Searches
Social media is role reversal at its best when needing information. What the employer can now do is search backwards to pinpoint the exact characteristics and the precise aptitude and the exact “profile” of the ideal employee beforehand, and then go chase them.
What social media recruiting affords the employers is the advantage to quickly forge through and analyze potential candidates, this before the student realizes they’re even being targeted.
What employers has is a broad range to a massive number of college students and their profiles. The employers can also reduce their overall college recruiting expenses with fewer “dog and pony” recruitment shows.
Recruiting On A Dime
The employers have the opportunity to fine tune and enhance the branding of their company, along with their overall employment recruitment strategies through the use of Facebook.
As a result, social media recruiting is providing savvy employers, or those who are too small to afford a budget to hire employees, to stand up to and compete with the larger recruiters.
They’re able to reach out into a larger pool of candidates based on their likes and dislikes, while speeding up the discovery and recruitment process, while reduce their overall time and costs.
Students To Maximize Their Presence
Have A Profile Picture
One mistake that many looking for employment will make is not having a professional profile picture, posted across their various social media networking accounts.
Most however would argue “Why is a photo necessary when all that matters are my credentials?” Although technically true, everyone reacts to images first, as humans relate better to visuals.
Skill Sets Facebook FanPage
What some students are now doing is finding creative ways to stand out professionally. Some have created a well thought out and appropriately designed Facebook Fan Page to display their education and skill sets.
Once prospective employers search for you on Facebook, what they’ll then stumble upon is your Fanpage.
Too Many Connections On LinkedIn
Having too many connections might raise a red flag on a professional networking platform such as LinkedIn. What it shows is that you’ll connect with anyone who wants to. Doing so is fine on Facebook but not LinkedIn.
Most recruiters will eventually end up on LinkedIn to find potential candidates, so having more than 500+ connections might raise questions why you have so many connections, but don’t have a job.