Bright Recruiter: Articles

Social media increases a company’s reach, gives the company a more personal feel, shares their brand and generates leads.

These days, I’m seeing an increase in HR departments using social for these same things – here’s why:

Reach More Candidates

You need to be where your candidates are, and not all of your candidates are on job boards. By creating social media profiles and sharing information about your company, you will reach some of the audience that either isn’t actively applying to jobs or is selectively applying – your profile may make them reconsider that opportunity they saw at your company.

Social is also great for increasing referrals – just make sure your employees have access to social media at work to maximize this. Send out company wide emails and put up posters to let your employees know what positions you’re looking to fill – you increase your reach so much further when you utilize your employee’s networks.

Show Candidates your Best Assets – Your People

Your people can be a competitive advantage when recruiting. Bad management is a top reason employees quit their jobs, so they want to see whom they would be working for if they made a move. With social media, you can create a YouTube video of the hiring manager giving and introduction to themselves, their team and what they’re looking for in a candidate. You can then link to that video in a tweet, share it on Facebook, and add it to your Google Plus page so interested candidates can get a feel for the position and the manager.

Candidates are also interested in an overall culture fit, so share some additional information about the team and other departments. You can do this through a Pinterest board where you share a picture, bio and social media links for each employee, or perhaps a Slideshare presentation where you introduce key members of each department. You may also want to utilize a corporate or employer blog to recognize employees or allow them to introduce themselves and what they do for the company.

By sharing information about your people, you’re giving your company a more personal feel.

Showcase your Employer Brand

Top candidates have a choice in where they work, and they won’t waste time applying for a position if it doesn’t sound absolutely amazing. According to CareerBuilder’s Candidate Behavior Report, candidates look at nearly 15 resources before they even decide to apply for a job, and that includes your social media profiles. So use them to your advantage!

Share pictures of company events, write a blog post about the philanthropy event you just participated in,  or create a video tour of your office. Whatever it is that makes your company, employees and culture unique should be front and center. Stand out from your competition through your employer brand and I promise you, you’ll start seeing better candidates walk through your door.

Make Great Hires

Social media gives you an opportunity to get to know your candidates on a more personal level because you can more easily engage with them. I particularly like Twitter Chats for sourcing and engaging with talent, because you can easily see who is the most passionate about what they do – because they’re talking about it all the time. Linkedin Groups and Google Plus are also great for sourcing candidates based on the conversations they’re having online and the articles they’re posting. So here’s my last tip: use social media to actually engage with people, not just broadcast, and you’ll have the opportunity to meet candidates that are passionate and knowledgeable about what they do.

The goal of any good career site should be to turn visitors into applicants and hires. You spend a lot of time and money driving traffic to your job descriptions, and it’s important to get those qualified candidates to apply. Read on for 3 tips to optimize your career site for conversions.

1. Write job descriptions that make people want to apply.

Some people will actively seek out your company to work, but the first time most will be introduced to your company is when they land on your job description from one of your job advertisements or from a referral. If you want to improve your conversion rate, it’s imperative that you jazz up your job descriptions to make people want to work for your company.

So share some information about what makes your company unique, why your current employees like working at your company, and what your candidate will get out of working at your company.  Adding pictures to illustrate these things is good, but video is better.

Then, share some information about the hiring manager and the team. Again, utilize pictures and video to show the candidate what the team is like, what the hiring manager is looking for, and what kind of impact they would have if they joined the team.

Finally, share some information about the position. Talk about they key goals and include a short list of skills and qualifications (no more than 3-5). Add in the type of person you’re looking for – an outgoing and creative individual, a heads-down thinker, a brilliant mind with a flair for corny jokes. Whatever it is you’re looking for, let it be known – but let it also be concise. This will ensure that you get the right quality and quantity of candidates.

Long story short: sell your company first, and the position second. That way, if the candidate doesn’t feel that the current role is a good fit, you can capture their interest so they apply (aka convert) in the future.

2. Add content other than jobs to your career site, which explains why the candidate should want to work for your company.

Everything discussed above should also be applied on the career site, but in greater depth. You should have different sections for benefits, culture, employee testimonials, employee bios, etc., which are linked from the job descriptions so that your job seekers don’t have to dig to find this information.

You may also want to include a blog – either a dedicated employer blog or your corporate blog where you share information about your company and your positions with candidates. Getting content is easier than you may think – just ask your employees to contribute! Topics can include employee events, new hires, veteran employees, your interview process, or even exciting company news that would interest candidates.

Including a variety of content on your career site keeps your visitors engaged, and helps them understand if your company is the right fit for them. It won’t be for everyone, but you’ll get a better quality of candidates this way. And, as mentioned previously, you’ll more easily retain potential candidates that aren’t currently ready to apply.

3. Provide several ways, other than applying, for candidates to indicate interest in your company.

Since many of your website visitors may be waiting for the right opportunity to apply, it’s smart to include some additional calls to action, other than applying, so candidates can keep in touch with your company. This may include job alerts, but try to go a little further than that. If you’re blogging, create social media channels and a monthly or quarterly newsletter in which you can share your blog posts – and ask your website visitors to connect with you or subscribe. This will help you create a talent pipeline, so you have quality candidates when you need them.

To learn more about developing a great career site, register for our webinar:

Secrets from a Marketing Geek: Building a Career Site that Attracts Candidates

I was just reading an article that I sincerely hope isn't true. It's written by a job seeker about his worst job interview. Here's how it begins:

The interviewer put his feet up and began eating lunch? Then the candidate was asked to complete a writing sample and was forgotten about?? What a horrifying candidate experience!

The worst thing about this candidate's worst job interview? He doesn't even realize that this kind of experience isn't ok. Maybe he was desperate and unprepared - but that's no excuse for the way he was treated. This brings to mind an article I read last year on HRFishbowl about candidate courtesy: "you just have to show a little respect". The premise of the article is simply to encourage basic communication. Let the candidate know where they stand.

If you know you're not interested, say so. Even if it is 10 minutes into the interview and the candidate hasn't given a writing sample. Don't waste people's time. This is common courtesy. It's ok to say, "I'm sorry, but I don't feel that you're the correct candidate for this particular role and I don't want to waste any more of your time". Don't be a wimp - tell the candidate that they're no longer in the running for the position. However, I would also encourage you to perhaps soften the blow a little with some constructive criticism. In this case, the editor could have let the candidate know that he wanted someone that wanted to work his company, not just any company. This sort of advice would have helped the job seeker learn from his failure.

Especially in this case, the job seeker had never had a full time position before and was simply unprepared from lack of experience. Recruiters should understand that younger candidates don't have interview experience, and don't know the rules. Even more seasoned candidates might have recently rejoined the interview circuit, and are slowly relearning how to interview correctly. Not everyone is a great interviewer, but most get better with practice.

Think about your first interview: were you nervous? Did anyone tell you to write a thank you note? Did you print out several copies of your resume and references? Did you know that, when asked for your weaknesses, that you should spin it in a positive way? Try to remember what it's like to be a candidate.

If this candidate had more interviewing experience, he may have gotten the role at this company. He got the next one he interviewed for. A bad interviewer doesn't necessarily make a bad employee, so don't let simple inexperience get in the way of hiring someone that could actually be a great addition to your team. And for goodness sake, treat your candidates like human beings.

Your employer brand is a major factor in your ability to recruit and hire top talent. According to the RolePoint infographic below, 7 in 10 job seekers say the job and the company are equally important in deciding whether to accept a position.

According to CareerBuilder's Candidate Behavior Report, job seekers use nearly 15 resources per job search - including employer review sites such as Glassdoor, your social media pages, and, perhaps, your current and past employees. Your employees, their online contributions, and their verbal recommendations can really make or break your ability to attract the best talent on the market. So use them to your advantage and create an army of recruiters from your current workforce.

How?

First of all, make sure your current employees would recommend your company to their friends and family (6/10 would). Try doing an internal survey to get the general sentiment, and ask for specific suggestions that would make the employee happier (and therefore more likely to refer a candidate). On the same note, perhaps ask outgoing employees during an exit survey if they would recommend your company.

Next, encourage your employees to share their experiences with your company online. That includes getting them involved in social media - ask them to share pictures they've taken at company events, to comment on Quora questions about the company, or share company news on Linkedin. Also encourage them to review your company on Glassdoor and CareerBliss.

You may also want to get your employees more involved in the actual recruitment process. Ask them to make an appearance on your recruitment video, explaining why they like working for your company. Invite them to company happy hours where they can do a meet and greet with potential hires. The options are endless, so get creative.

Finally, recognize your employees for their efforts. If you know a hire was the direct result of your employees, let them know. According to the infographic, "Employees ranked public recognition as the #1 incentive that would motivate them to refer someone".

Read More about Employer Branding:

Increase your Quality of Hire with Employer Branding

To Learn More about Employer Branding, check out our webinar:

Increase your Quality of Hire with Employer Branding