Social Recruiting: Identify, Follow, Share, And Contribute

In the new world of social recruiting and employer branding, best hiring practices go beyond traditional methods of advertising your job opening. One must identify, follow, share, and contribute to grow relationships, build rapport, and woo the top talent to your organization. When it comes to recruiting job seekers, take a look at the history of recruiting technologies to see how we have arrived at the five stages of social recruiting:

Step 1: Recruiter Builds Relationship. Relationship building happens as a part of employer branding, professional networking, identifying top talent, or sourcing candidates online. Much of the new world of social recruiting is about connections, reputation, and relationships to drive candidates. While companies can effectively source candidates using a variety of paid and unpaid tools, top candidates have options so it pays to establish communication channels and create an engagement strategy to demonstrate the importance of employees, culture, and relationships for that prospective and future employee.

Step 2: Candidate Applies or Joins Our Talent Network. Whether it’s using a recruiting software, applicant tracking software, or emailing their resume, the most engaged job seeker will apply for the job opening. [Editors’ Note: Conversion of people viewing the job opening to actually applying can be increased with an Easy Job Application Form]. If a current opening is not available, they choose to join our talent network and community to be alerted immediately when a job comes available online.

Step 3: Resume Stored & Screened. An important part of HR and Recruiting is rooted in HR technology and compliance. We are required by law to store our applications and interviews for a period of time. Qualified job seekers are identified and screened to determine if they have the skills and qualifications necessary for the open job posting.

Step 4: Candidate is Interviewed. A more formal relationship is developed where the job seeker and the potential employer meet. If a company has done well sharing and building relationships through their employer brand and social recruiting channels, unqualified candidates will self select themselves and opt out to not apply. Candidates ask questions as does the recruiter interviewing the prospective employee continuing to contribute to the conversation regardless if that candidate does not or does move from a potential to actual employee.

Step 5: Candidate is Hired or Resume Stored. Top candidates are selected and job offers are made. Companies who have invested in an online relationship and presence provide personalized communications to the candidates who were not selected. Their resume is stored, and they are encouraged to reapply. Perhaps candidates receive feedback or resources to improve or further their job search going forward with or without this employer.

This is the flow that companies are establishing with a focus on identify, follow, share, and contribute in the conversation, the relationship, and growth of that potential employee. Social recruiting puts the recruiter in direct contact with the candidate no longer able to hide behind the applicant tracking and HR software technology. The change is happening. The question is whether or not you and your employer are willing to dive in to the discussion and untap the potential that social recruiting brings.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. When she talks, people listen.