Are you currently looking for new workers to fill either temporary or permanent roles in your company? If the answer is yes, you might have at least considered using social media to find potential hires. While there is ample proof that social media can help fill jobs, actually it depends on what kind of job you are trying to hire for. So, step one is to be very clear on what exactly you are looking for.

Jobvite Survey provides a comprehensive overview of the social network recruiting market. Take a look:

• 2.8 billion people are on social media in 2019 and are predicted to continuously grow. 
• More than half of recruiters (59 percent) ranked candidates they solicited as top-quality, and 21 percent of job seekers reported finding their dream job through social channels. 
• Many hiring managers use social media long before an interview to meet a candidate, because social platforms often tells a lot about a candidate’s personality. 

See also: 5 Tools to Boost Social Media Sourcing 

Social media works better for recruiting active than passive talents

It seems relatively straightforward to recruit active employees via social networks, for example people who are actively searching for a new role. Brands like Taco Bell and UPS have created Pinterest boards, Twitter handles and Facebook pages, dedicated exclusively to this purpose.

Active recruiting can be earned or paid, such as earning would be engaging with prospects in a LinkedIn group while paid could mean placing an ad or posting a job on LinkedIn. But this approach might not work if you are looking for a highly qualified superstar — somebody who is currently employed and might not even be thinking about making a move. In this case, posting your job on LinkedIn or Twitter is unlikely to have much impact.

Combine social and traditional for passive recruiting

Jim Coughlin, Creative Director at ClubVMSA, said that for passive talent, a social media strategy alone might not work, especially if your business is not a well-known brand. Ask yourself: Why would somebody who is in high-demand leave their current job to join your company? The answer would often be “recruiting passive candidates is a better tactic in competitive recruiting”. However, passive recruiting also requires that you position your company as a great place to work – social media is suitable for this end.

Make sure you make your recruiting efforts an extension of your brand, for instance portray an accurate image of your company so that people know if they will fit into your corporate culture. One way to do this inexpensively is by letting employees create short videos and blogs about why they enjoy working at your company. Maybe you allow moms to be flexible and telecommute or you encourage ongoing education. Advertise it.

The Job Seeker’s View

Jobvite also released a report on the social job seeker, outlining the ways people looked for and found jobs via social channels in 2019. Excerpts:

• Online job boards and employer career sites remain the top two places for candidates to actually submit their applications. 
• 37 percent of job seekers say they learn about job opening through professional networks, while 35 percent of survey respondents say they find job openings on social media.
• Younger workers (41 percent) are most likely to search for jobs on social media. 

Don’t forget about referrals

Whether one of your employees refers to an acquaintance or you hear about a job opening via a friend, referrals have the highest probability to result in a mutual fit. “The highest rated candidates come from referrals, direct sourcing and internal transfers,” Jobvite cited. 

So, whether you have an official referral program or not, encourage your (happy) employees to promote your job openings on their own social media channels, and in-person.

Read also: 10 Expert Social Media Tips to Help Your Small Business Succeed