Social Media Tips For Recruiters – Your Candidate Might be Keen, But!
Social media platforms can be an effective method of finding out more about clients, companies and candidates. In our own world of Rec 2 Rec, we know only too well the opportunities they have opened up as a head hunting tool and a great way to make introductions.
Although still relatively new – Facebook is only ten years old – social media platforms look set to stay and are increasing rapidly as a way to; recruit, gain employment and make new connections.
As part of the recruiter role, it is imperative that you offer advice to your candidates on the use of social media to prevent them blowing their chances of securing a role with their online activities! There is no rule book when it comes to professional social media engagement and the waters of online etiquette range from grey to muddy, so discouraging candidates from using the internet in an ‘inappropriate way’, may take some gentle persuasion.
A good starting point is to suggest your candidate smartens up their own online presence. When was the last time they used a search engine to establish what information is showing about them? More and more employers and recruitment consultants are performing online searches to find information about candidates over and above what is detailed on their CV.
What does their online presence really say about them? They may be the best candidate for the role, but if there’s a Facebook profile with pictures of a drunken night out or a risqué comment on Twitter, the reader may reject their application without bothering to delve deeper into the actual facts.
Suggest your candidate changes their privacy settings on any personal accounts and for anything they have accessible in the public domain; change their profile picture to a professional looking image and delete any comments that could encourage assumptions or potential discrimination.
Talk to your candidate about appropriate uses of social media platforms and open a discussion on whether they should be connecting with any potential employers. Don’t take it for granted that candidates will presume it’s probably not a good idea to try to connect with personal Facebook, Twitter or Google+ accounts. Many won’t.
There’s the old adage of business should be business and personal should be kept just that, however, the information held on social media platforms has bred a false familiarity with people we haven’t even met. Explain worst case scenarios with your candidate if they are determined to connect with your clients.
Encourage your candidate to use social media as a tool to find out more about potential employers and to research companies. There should be plenty of information in cyber space without the need to directly connect. Work with them if you can, to ensure they find the correct accounts such as LinkedIn groups, Facebook business pages and the professional (not personal) Twitter and Google+ accounts.
Finally, discuss the differences between connecting with a company or business person and engaging with them. Connecting or following can contribute to their knowledge of the employer or brand; however, commenting regularly may significantly reduce the possible opportunity for them.
Till next time,
Cheryl