MightyRecruiterYou would be hard pressed to find a college student who doesn’t have at least one social media account. In fact, most college students or entry-level professionals have multiple accounts across several social media platforms. Small and large companies alike are beginning to realize just how important social media is not only to their candidates, but to their business. The result is an increase in social media recruitment tactics. Perhaps the most important aspect of the recruitment process is finding out whether your prospective candidates are who they say they are. Taking to the World Wide Web will help you determine whether these people are the type you want to work for you. It’s just a matter of knowing which platforms to use.
Do a Search on Facebook
Practically everybody has a Facebook account these days, making it one of the easiest places to begin your social media recruitment process. Scroll through several pages of your candidates’ public Facebook posts to see how they interact with people. Are the posts mostly positive or negative? Do they respond to comments in a positive manner? Do they not respond at all? You can also get a good idea of their personalities by viewing what groups they are a part of and which pages they like. Don’t forget to go through the pictures. All of these things together will give you a good idea of whether these candidates are people you want working for you. However, keep in mind that Facebook is a social site. If prospective employees have a few pictures of them at the bar with friends, don’t assume that means they have a drinking problem that could undermine their work ethic.
Look at Twitter Profiles
Twitter is another useful social media recruitment tool. Millions of people around the world use the microblogging platform to post about their days or simply to retweet funny tweets or follow their favorite celebrities. Look through potential employees’ tweets to see how they relate to others and whether they show cultural sensitivity. They should use appropriate usernames and post photos that you wouldn’t be embarrassed for a client to see. Check out who they follow and who follows them for a better idea of the type of person they are. Pay special attention to major media sources or other high-profile Twitter accounts they might follow.
Don’t Forget Instagram
Instagram is becoming an increasingly popular tool for sharing with people around the world and therefore should be a part of your social media recruitment plan. If any of your candidates have a public Instagram account, look through their pictures. Look for positive interaction with friends, family members, pets and other Instagram users. Just like you did with Twitter, ensure all of their public pictures are ones that wouldn’t embarrass you if a client saw them. Check out who they follow to see if they associate with the kind of people you’d expect them to.
Check Out LinkedIn
You probably won’t find much about potential employees’ personalities on LinkedIn, but you will be able to check out their professional history, so don’t forget it during your social media recruitment. Look for endorsements from colleagues or former bosses, check to see which industry groups they are a part of, and check that the information they gave you on their resumes matches what they have in their profiles. Of course, candidates can write whatever they like on their resumes and in their LinkedIn profiles, so never assume the information is accurate. Always verify references and previous employment.
Google: The Final Frontier
Search Google for your candidates’ names. If a potential employee has an uncommon name, you might want to do this first because he or she cannot control Google’s results as well as a personal social media profile, so you might get better results this way. However, common names can be frustrating to look up on Google, in which case social media is probably your best bet. If you do search on Google, look for social network accounts you might not have thought of, comments they’ve left in the blogosphere, or other information. For the best results, check back at least five pages and actually click on the links. Meta descriptions can be deceiving. No matter which websites you check out during social media recruitment, remember to keep an open mind. Personal profiles don’t always reflect a person’s work ethic, so go with your gut when speaking to candidates. Would you like to learn more about how social media can affect your small business? Find more articles and tools at Mighty Recruiter.