Over the years, the internet has changed the way different industries operate in the market. The market is dynamic and trends seem to change within the twinkle of an eye. As the job market is steadily increasing, it’s clear that the role of the recruiter is becoming more and more crucial. And in order to gain your well-deserved place in this fast paced recruitment industry, you’ll have to buckle up and get ready for reality; the social recruiting ride.

You might have heard it a thousand times ‘Social recruiting is the new thing’ and I guess you might be wondering “So what’s the big deal?” Well, the big deal is, the way things were done in recruitment 5 years, 3 years or even a year ago are not how they are done today! Things are changing; however, do not let this worry you… Here are a few key points that will help you find, attract and retain the best talent through social media.

LinkedIn is not ALL that

Yes, LinkedIn is a social network platform, however many recruiters and employers might think that having LinkedIn (and even some other job boards) is enough to source, attract and retain the best talent. The truth is; it’s not! Having LinkedIn alone is not enough to increase your social media presence and to find the top talent out there. Why? LinkedIn does not give you all the information you need to know. Attracting candidates is all about getting personal on a pro level; it’s about cultivating a two way relationship.

LinkedIn is very limited in fulfilling that task. Don’t get me wrong, LinkedIn is a good tool (when used properly), but it’s not ‘the’ tool. Hiring candidates based on CV info alone is quite risky, and that’s the most you will get from LinkedIn.

Let’s get personal

In case you’re not completely convinced by the above statement, this might help you understand why you should consider other social platforms to enhance your recruitment process.

First of all, social media can be a helpful tool to do a little research on candidates before you approach them. Secondly, social media gives your agency a personality and having a personality will help you attract the right (potential) candidates. We believe that in order to be most productive, recruiters need to spend most of their time hanging around the bigger candidate pool, where they will surely find the yet undiscovered super talents.

According to statistics shared by EduBirdie, 59% of the UK population have an active social media account, with Facebook being the top active social network at 47%, followed by Twitter 20%, Instagram 14% and both Google + and LinkedIn with only 10% of UK users. Again, this means that if you spend most of your time only recruiting on LinkedIn, you’re probably missing out on the 47% of potential candidates hanging out on Facebook, the 20% on Twitter and so on. And… you’re probably missing out on all the fun too! Also note that any front end or CRM system worth its salt will be able to help you harvest all this information.

The best cultural fit

Besides communicating your business’ personality, using social media will also help identify whether an individual’s personality fits your client’s business. Keep in mind that hiring candidates that do not fit your client’s company culture will cost both you and your client.

Other tools you can use alongside social media are personality and candidate pre-testing tools like psychometric testing and ISV’s skills testing platform, which will enable you to identify whether candidates are truly as qualified for the role as they say they are.

Conclusion

The point is in order to recruit the best candidates, recruiters these days have to go the extra mile. Social media enables you to reach out to a wider audience and bigger pool of candidates. Do keep in mind that cultivating a two way relationship does not happen overnight. Communicating your personality takes effort, consistency and a lot of patience. However, in due time, you will experience the benefits of social recruiting for your recruitment agency.

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ISV.Online is the leading supplier of skills testing software and services to the UK Recruitment Industry.  Used by 9 of the top 10 UK agencies, by number of offices, and 7 of the top 10, by revenue, ISV.Online offers candidate skills assessment and evaluation software and online training tools, allowing agencies and in-house HR/recruitment teams to validate the skills of potential candidates and existing employees across a wide range of areas.