Recruiting? 5 Reasons Why You Need Social Media

By Billy McDiarmid - Sourcing and Recruitment Technology Specialist - Glasgow

It still surprises me when I can't find one of the employers that we recruit for on social media. 

No Facebook, Twitter, even LinkedIn. No personal or company pages. 

Candidates use social media to find jobs and more importantly, research people within businesses before an interview. Before any major decision is made, we research online. We tell every single candidate to thoroughly check out a potential employer online before they attend an interview. So why is it crucial that you have that presence on social media as an employer?
 

1. If You Are Not Online, You Don't Exist. A bit dramatic but Millennials (and this is a trait that occurs across all demographics to some extent) expect every single brand, whether dealing with them as a consumer or as a potential employer, to be online. If you are not, you effectively don't exist. 
    
2. You Will Miss Potential Candidates. If people want to go direct to find a job instead of using an agency, they will go to social media then search on Google. If you are not on social media, you can't be found on social media! Having a presence on social media will help your search engine ranking. 
    
3. Millennials Are First Class Researchers. Those in their twenties and thirties have a thirst for knowledge. They want to know everything that they can about an employer before an interview. If you don't provide this, then they will be left feeling like you are hiding something.
    
4. Don't Think You Are On Social Media? You Probably Are. If you don't have a social media presence, someone will be talking about you. Employer review sites such as Glassdoor allow employees and prospective employees to post information about your business and processes. Additionally, social media allows for real time conversation. Anything can be said about your business and if you are not monitoring it, then you won't know. Did you see the recent Subway story in the press? It started on Facebook. 
    
5. People Want Culture and Atmosphere. A job isn't just a job. People want more than that. Use social media to demonstrate this. You are probably a great employer with a huge amount to offer. Benefits, working environment, corporate social responsibility etc. Talk about it, post pictures and blogs. ?

It's easy, it's free, and it doesn't need to be time consuming. Sort your social media presence out now.