Recruitment context: Steps and plan for recruitment through social media Platforms
By: Sanjana Choudhari
Tags: Social Media Recruitment, LinkedIn, Recruitment, Linkedin Recruiter, The Sparks Foundation

In an era where every work is performed on a virtual platform, the recruitment process stands not a way ahead. Organizations nowadays have many ways of recruitment to follow up with. Not every job is the same in nature which abstractly means the hirer needs to use various tactics to establish the best recruitment. Various types of recruiting methods can be used within the same business, depending on the role & responsibility and the department.

Steps for Recruitment through Social Media Platforms:

Participate in the right conversations. The key to recruiting on social media is to cut through the noise and find the right people. Being active in LinkedIn groups and using hashtags are great ways to get your job openings in front of candidates you want to apply for. For example, #devjobs or #NYChiring can help you reach the right candidates on Twitter.

The key to recruiting on social media is to cut through the noise and find the right people. Being active in LinkedIn groups and using hashtags are great ways to get your job openings in front of candidates you want to apply for. For example, #devjobs or #NYChiring can help you reach the right candidates on Twitter. Take a soft approach and promote your culture. Social media recruiting goes beyond posting open roles from company accounts. You should also share content that shows your company is a great place to work so you can organically attract candidates. People love talking about companies with unique cultures so this type of content often gets a lot of shares.

Social media recruiting goes beyond posting open roles from company accounts. You should also share content that shows your company is a great place to work so you can organically attract candidates. People love talking about companies with unique cultures so this type of content often gets a lot of shares. Don’t overlook the niche networks. Sure, everyone and their parents are on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter these days. But you can find specific candidates by perusing niche networks and forums. For example, developers are sharing knowledge on GitHub and StackOverflow. Marketers are bouncing ideas off each other on Moz and Warrior Forum. And your next great leader may have just provided a thought-provoking answer on Quora.

Sure, everyone and their parents are on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter these days. But you can find specific candidates by perusing niche networks and forums. For example, developers are sharing knowledge on GitHub and StackOverflow. Marketers are bouncing ideas off each other on Moz and Warrior Forum. And your next great leader may have just provided a thought-provoking answer on Quora. Involve every employee. You likely have some social media power users in your workplace. Encourage your entire staff to share openings and, in general, be an evangelist for your brand on social media. Some companies have strict social media rules but allowing your employees to talk about their work experiences in a responsible manner can pique the curiosity of a potential candidate.

As we know, LinkedIn has been a wide-ranging recruitment social media platform in this era, here are some tips on

How to get Referrals on LinkedIn for Recruitment:

There are three steps to getting a successful referral through LinkedIn:

Find the right person

Send the right message

Followup

To Whom Should you Send The Message?

Find people who are working in your target company.

Prefer people who are working in the same domain. As in, if you’re a frontend developer, it is better to ask a frontend developer to refer you for the available position. They can judge you better based on your resume and your skills.

LinkedIn allows you to send messages to a limited number of people. Prefer people who’ve been active on LinkedIn in the past one month. Here, activity means a like/comment/post/share.

What Should You Send In the Message?

Follow these DOs and DONTs to decide what to send.

Cut the small talk and get to the point. Don’t drop a “Hi” and wait for the other person to respond back to continue the conversation.

Provide proper context. Don’t just send a straight “Can you refer me?” without any context.

Keep the message informative. Send your message with the proper job id and URL of the opening (from the company career page, LinkedIn, etc).

Sell yourself. If you’ve something to showcase, mention that.

Example: any tech talk that you’ve delivered, any open-source contributions that you have made, your personal website, etc.

Example: any tech talk that you’ve delivered, any open-source contributions that you have made, your personal website, etc. Create a template. Following a proper template of the referral message which includes the above points will make it easier for you to apply to multiple roles.

If your message is concise and appealing, your chances of getting a reply will be pretty high. The referrer may even suggest some improvements or provide some valuable feedback. Either way, it’s a win for you.

What To Do After Sending The Message?

With the right message sent to the right folks, you will most likely get a lot of referrals from multiple amazing people.

People are busy and may not respond to or even read your message immediately. If you do not get a reply, send a follow-up message after a few days. Send at max 2–3 follow-ups spread across 10–15 days. If it still doesn’t work, try to find someone else for a referral.

You can use the site to attract active candidates and connect with passive ones. Here are a few tips for getting started at LinkedIn recruiting.

Fully complete your brand page. A completed company page shows up in LinkedIn search results and gives you the opportunity to showcase your company culture. Job searchers will find the page, see your openings, and learn everything they need to know about your organization.

A completed company page shows up in LinkedIn search results and gives you the opportunity to showcase your company culture. Job searchers will find the page, see your openings, and learn everything they need to know about your organization. Use filters to find the right candidates. Since there are so many people on LinkedIn, recruiters are able to use filters to find potential candidates. For example, you can search by location, current, and past company, years of experience, and a number of other factors that help you zero-in on candidates who check all the boxes.

Reach out with a personal touch. Experienced and talented people hear from a lot of recruiters on LinkedIn. Don’t copy and paste the same message to everyone you try to connect with. Instead, mention what about the candidate caught your attention and makes you think they would be a good fit for your company.

All The Best!