3 Reasons Why Social Media Is a Critical Recruiting Tool for Professionals

There always comes a tipping point when the future becomes the present and what was considered a novelty becomes a norm. When it comes to recruiting, that’s what has happened with social media in the past several years.

If you haven’t incorporated social media into your recruiting strategy, you’ll find it really difficult to compete for the very best candidates.

In today’s blog post, we’ll discuss three reasons why social media has become a recruiting must-have when you’re looking for professionals to fill key roles.

1. Professionals are on social media.

This may seem obvious, but there’s no getting around the fact that far more job-seeking professionals are on social media—in particular, on LinkedIn—than those who aren’t. Is it because they’re mostly millennials who’ve grown up in the digital age and do everything on social media? Yes, it’s second nature to them. Unlike older job seekers, they can’t imagine a world without it.

While you will likely get a high volume of candidate applications, posting an opening on social media is an effective way to spread the word. However, it doesn’t help you with screening them to make sure the applicants are a good fit for your company.

2. This approach can help find the purpose-driven professionals.

Success in recruiting isn’t gauged just by positions filled but by who fills them. And right now, it takes much more than an attractive salary to drive the top candidates. One crucial driver of talent is purpose. When you look at a candidate’s profile, you should see a clearly defined purpose with their experience and qualifications aligning with that purpose.

LinkedIn enables their account holders to build a story around their careers and provide personal case studies of projects that they’ve accomplished and courses that they’ve taken. These entries should align with their larger purpose because they allow the candidate to tell you what they value and what they are most proud of.

Recruiters should understand that competency is only one component of the candidate equation. The very concept of work should be screened for as well. Those who work for more than just money and promotions tend to deliver more value and perform their job better overall.

3. It affords two-way transparency.

The fact that a significant percentage of total job seekers have a social media presence makes social media a mainstay tool for recruiting. It also provides full-circle views of the candidates—whether or not it’s their intention. If recruiters find something they don’t like on a candidate’s social media account, they can reconsider their interest. By the same token, if candidates check your company social media page and see something THEY don’t like, they can continue their search.

Brookwoods Group is an professional executive search firm that has helped countless organizations find the perfect-fit professionals for key positions with top companies in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Contact them today to get started.