Social Recruitment- How You Can Use It to Your Advantage

Kendall Cramm

The Social Job Search

The market is saturated and the competition is tough. If you are a job-seeker in this day and age, social media has most likely become a central part of your search. Whether it’s tapping into LinkedIn, following job prospect accounts on Twitter or watching for great company shout outs on your Instagram feed, the best way to stay connected with who is hiring is through social. According to a recent Glassdoor survey, 79% of candidates are likely to use social media to find jobs. Among younger workers the number is even higher: 86% of people in the first 10 years of their career said they are likely to use social media in their job search (via Hootsuite).

Recruiters Are On Social

Coming from personal experience in my early job hunting days especially looking to find a career in social media, LinkedIn and Twitter I found to be the most useful platforms to find new opportunities. Increasingly recruiters are looking to LinkedIn to search specific keywords and use geo targeting filters to find potential candidate for jobs. Even if you aren’t necessarily looking, LinkedIn is a great tool to showcase your career accomplishments and increase the strength of your profile so that you may be found and offered opportunities you didn’t even know existed.

Social media not only allows you to showcase your experience and skills, but allows employers to gain a better glimpse into your lifestyle and values. Fitting into company culture is a crucial component for many companies and often trumps experience in some cases.

So how can you use social media to find your dream job?

1. Clean up your online persona– think like a recruiter, the first thing they are going to do is Google you, what are they likely to find? If it’s something you wouldn’t want your mom to see, chances are a recruiter wouldn’t either. That being said be sure to update all of your social profiles regularly, especially if you claim to be the next social media guru. Keep your resume up to date on LinkedIn and use an appropriate headshot across all platforms, at least while you’re in the job hunting phase.
   
2. What are the current employees saying about the company– there are great websites like Glassdoor where former employees give feedback on their experiences with the company. Instagram is also a great view into a company’s corporate culture and the people you might be working with. If employees are happy about where they are you will often find them posting photos of office potlucks, outings and company happenings.
   
3. Soak it all in- if you’ve found the place you know you defiantly want to be, follow that company on all their social feeds to stay updated with what’s going on. Following companies you love and would want to work for on social media will keep you motivated and in the loop of the kind of people they are looking for.

The social sphere is a big, wide open space that offers endless possibilities and connections. So flex your social muscles, create meaningful conversations and connect with companies that will challenge and inspire you.

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