While the growth and penetration of social media, hiring managers have another important recruitment tool to access newsworthy information and check for candidate’s information and conduct social background check on platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to name a few. However, accuracy of information posted by a candidate on social media profile is the bigger question.

Social media recruitment is an effective tool to reach out to passive job seekers, who might not otherwise apply for traditional job postings. While LinkedIn is commonly used to associate on professional networks, today job seekers and employers alike are connecting through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, blogs and more.

To testify the seepage of social media into recruitment sphere of HR operations, Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) in collaboration with and commissioned by Ascendo Resources conducted a recent study that revealed two-thirds (65 percent) of employers have hired an employee by sourcing through sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.

In the war for talent, employers are turning to social media sites to find and hire new talent. When it comes to using social media during the hiring process, employers say the top things candidates can do to their social media presence to make themselves more attractive include (order of importance):

1. Having a complete profile including employment history, education, skills on relevant sites (77 percent)
2. Keep public content professional (73 percent)
3. Join groups relevant to career (47 percent)
4. Focus posts on accomplishments and skills that are helpful to employers (39 percent)
5. Make frequent updates to profile (38 percent)
6. Only have connections and followers that are relevant to career focus (35 percent)
7. Link social media to email address for quick, direct contact (32 percent)
8. Include a professional-looking headshot (31 percent)

See: Recruiters, Stop Abusing Social Media

“Sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook have been game changers for the hiring and recruiting industry,” said Gustavo Pena, managing partner of Ascendo Resources, an award-winning executive sourcing firm. “It is another resource for us to make many great connections for our clients while ensuring a seamless hiring process.”

Depending on industry, the need for a professional social presence varies greatly. In fact, the categories for which social media is important include communications and public relations (82 percent), marketing and sales (79 percent), advertising (76 percent) followed by IT and human resources. The least important include military occupations, skilled trades such as electricians and plumbers, administrative staff and transportation workers such as drivers.

Revealing Insights

• 87 percent of HR professionals said it was very or somewhat important for job seekers to be on LinkedIn
• 54 percent of employers feel it is very important for candidates to have a professional social presence on LinkedIn; least important include Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram
• 64 percent of companies have outsourced recruitment
• 49 percent have used outsourcing recruitment to speed the hiring process
• 36 percent used recruiters to gain access to a greater talent pool

Privately and publicly-owned organisations are more likely than government organisations to emphasise on the social media presence of an employee on LinkedIn. Organisations with 1 to 499 employees do recruitment in-house than those with more than 500 employees who outsource their recruitment activities. Is social media recruiting, the hiring manager’s new fad?

Also read: 5 Must-Have Facebook Apps for Social Media Recruiting

Image credit: flickr.com

News source: businesswire.com