Skimming and roaming job boards is not enough for the job seeker, and if you’re only using job boards to recruit top talent, well you are missing out on a big percentage of qualified talent that are not searching for jobs on job boards.
For the Employer/Recruiter:
According to Media Bistro, social media for hiring purposes is at an all-time high with nearly 92% of companies reporting to use platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for recruiting purposes. Almost three-quarters, 73% of recruiters say that they have made successful hires through social media. LinkedIn, however remains the number one favorite among recruiters.
LinkedIn best practices for Employers/Recruiters:
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Keyword Searching
They use certain key-words to search for candidates with the necessary skills in their geographic radius.
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Join Industry Specific Groups
The best recruiters will join industry specific groups to reach out to top talent who are also members.
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Follow their network
Recruiters who really use LinkedIn to their advantage are the ones who log-in and use the platform! They follow their network and stay in touch! Sounds easy but staying in touch can be hard to do.
For the Job Seeker:
Still using a resume to get you the job of your dreams? That’s great but you may want to start getting your face out there in the social media world and most of all, NETWORK!
Recruiters and employers may not even broadcast their opening on a job board. They may be searching for the best candidate that has experience and skills that fit their opportunity and reaching out to that particular individual through social media. Employers and recruiters are getting more interactive with job seekers through the web. If you’re not on social media, you’re missing out.
Top social media channels and websites for Job Seekers:
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LinkedIn
Many recruiters and employers are hunting candidates through social media sites instead of posting positions on job boards – I DO! This is a great way for them to review profiles of prospective candidates before contacting them to see if their skills and experience match their open position. It also gives recruiters/ employers a chance to see a candidate’s recommendations, referrals, what groups do they belong to, their website( if they have one) etc. My advice to job seekers is that your LinkedIn profile is kept up to date and fully filled out.
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Twitter
Recruiters and employers are using this integrated social platform to source candidates by searching for keywords and hashtags in people’s bios. Also, it’s a great way for a candidate to take part in discussions and be considered knowledgeable about industry topics, which could be seen by a potential employer. TWEET TWEET AWAY!
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Twellow
This website is good for jobseekers to follow experts or professionals in their field. There are also several categories of interests from industry experts all over… if you follow them, they will probably follow you and the rest could be history!
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Facebook
Personally, I use Facebook for networking with friends and family but it could be a great tool to check out various companies. Also, you can join groups and “friend” other professionals in your field.
One third of employers rejected candidates because of something that they found in their social profiles. Social media can be a powerful self-branding tool, if you keep it clean and professional.
All-in all, we are becoming a more digitally-connected world and there are things you can do as both a recruiter/employer and job seeker to step up your networking game.
TeamPeople is a media staffing company. We work with clients ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to government agencies to recruit, hire and manage creative and technical media production and AV talent. We combine extensive industry expertise with a passion for what we do to deliver best-in-class solutions for our diverse clients.
