Social media is huge, especially for students. It makes more companies recognise the value of social media to enhance their image. Moreover, those companies are able to build a pipeline of young talents.
Why they could simply understand the way social media works for students? They know how to use social media to connect with them, while others struggle with these relatively new methods of communication.
Using social media can drive students’ interest in career opportunities. Here are five tips on how companies can optimise their social media presence to attract students for internship and job opportunities.
Show that there are real people behind your corporate HR accounts. Here’s how: include a line in the company’s bio with the names of the people who update your account or feature their photos somewhere on the page.
Give the people behind your accounts some freedom to inject their own personality, quirks and observations into their updates. By humanising your organisation’s social media presence, students will be more likely to interact with you.
Believe it or not, happy and successful employees are the best marketing for social media. Skip the corporate press releases and sleek marketing videos. Let them show off why they enjoy working at your organisation in real, authentic ways.
Students don’t like feeling “marketed to.” Instead of fancy recruitment videos, try walking around your company with a Flipcam, asking employees, “What is your favourite part of working here?” Off-the-cuff content like this will probably resonate with college students more than a scripted recruitment piece. Plus, it will yield much more interesting nuggets of information.
See: Does Social Media Recruiting Work?
Job postings are great, but they are already listed on your company website. Give your followers and friends something that is not readily available to outsiders: a behind-the-scenes look at your culture or an opportunity to make meaningful connections with people inside the company.
To create additional exclusivity for your social media friends, create real-life connections. Host a Facebook contest and offer the winner a personal lunch with one of your recruiters. Many students would be thrilled with the opportunity to get some insight in a relaxed, non-interview setting.
Students are flooded with information from companies on a daily basis. To make your organisation stand out, provide relevant and useful content through your social media platforms.
When it comes to selecting an employer, students are often interested in knowing about the work environment, mentoring programs, advancement opportunities within the company and whether they will be able to jump in and make significant contributions in the workplace right away. Address these areas.
For example, host a Twitter chat for prospective employees, allowing college students to ask questions and receive real-time responses from current employees. Or live tweet your company’s campus information sessions, giving students from other locations an opportunity to participate in the events remotely and gain important knowledge about your recruiting operations.
When trying to recruit a generation who is ahead of the curve technologically, you need to stay ahead of the curve as well. If you are fumbling with Facebook while your competitor is developing a mobile careers app, students might judge your company in a negative way.
In general, today’s students want to work for companies that are perceived as technologically advanced.
For companies that put time, energy and strategic thought into connecting with students through social media, there is huge potential for pay off in the years to come. Go one step ahead than other companies.
See also: Is Social Media a Great Assessment Tool?
Source: Mashable
