It used to be that the recruitment process was fairly straightforward. As a company, you advertise in the relevant trade press and use recruiters to find a pool of suitable candidates to interview. With the digital revolution, that’s completely changed and there are now far more layers to the process.
Use social media
First impressions are everything, and when it comes to recruiting, candidates will make an initial impression even before they arrive for interview. One third of all employers admit to using social media to recruit. For job seekers, it’s important to make sure your feeds are either private or checked for writing or grammatical errors and any unsavoury references. That’s not to say you should hide your personality, but make sure that you appear responsible and trustworthy. Remember, nothing posted online ever really goes away.
As a recruiter, make sure you do a sweep of the main social channels – Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook – that your candidate might be on. There is a goldmine of information here and much of it is often publicly available. An estimated 61% of recruiters say that they are likely to reconsider a hiring decision based on a candidate’s social media profile. Even if social media isn’t directly relevant to the job in question, what someone posts online can say a lot about their work ethic, personality and attitude.
How do you look?
Seven out of 10 18- to 34-year-olds say they have found a job through social media. As a recruiter, candidates are likely to search for your company on social media to get some background information.
Make sure you make the most of your online presence by assigning someone to manage and monitor your various feeds. This should be a key part of your marketing strategy anyway, and can provide valuable opportunities to speak to your audience – both potential recruits and your customer base. Nothing looks worse to a potential candidate than a Twitter feed that hasn’t been updated for six months, or a request for more specific information that goes ignored. You want to seem attractive the best talent out there, no matter what sector you operate in.
Getting the right applicants
It’s crucial to write thorough job descriptions and communicate with candidates in an honest way online and via your adverts. As well as explaining the available role, this is a good chance to showcase the company culture, and sell the benefits that you offer. Avoid listing every job requirement of the position – you can go into more detail at the interview stage – as this may deter people unnecessarily.
Buzzwords should also be avoided. Ditch words such as ninja, brand warrior and chief visionary officer, and steer clear of cliches like self-starter or team player. These are so well used that they have lost their meaning. Candidates spend hours looking through role descriptions every day, and will zone out when the same words crop up again and again. Use a genuine tone of voice that represents your business and you should attract candidates who share your values.
Finding the right candidate ultimately comes down to the interview, but it’s important to maximise your chances of attracting the right person in the first place. Tweaking your recruitment process to make use of digital tools could benefit your business hugely.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Kia Fleet sponsor of the Guardian Small Business Network Accessing Expertise hub.
