The Role of Social Media in Recruitment

Is social media important for recruitment?

Social media is quickly becoming one of the top recruitment methods which more and more employers are turning to, with 84% of organisations now using social media to recruit. Sites like LinkedIn are quickly becoming a key resource in sourcing candidates, as they increase the employer’s reach more than traditional advertisement methods. Social media brings a fresh perspective to recruiting and changes the dynamic of communicating with candidates. If you aren’t already using social media for recruitment, you should be.

The Candidates

By targeting specific audience demographics in order to access the market of passive job seekers, social media can be vital in finding the best candidates.

Social media can bridge the gap between passive and active job seekers, giving recruiters a larger and more easily accessible pool of candidates to contact. More and more candidates are using social platforms in their job search, with 86% of job seekers saying they use social media in their job search.

With the increase of spam calls and emails, contacting candidates digitally is becoming harder and harder, but social media can create a softer and more personal approach to contacting potential candidates. Social recruiting can also tap into a market of young, emerging talent, diversifying the candidate pool.

Company Image

While social media can provide new channels for recruitment, it is also a fundamental tool for building brand image. Social media is not only your company’s way to advertise but to convey its identity. 75% of candidates state they research a company’s reputation and brand before applying, showing that it is vitally important to have a positive online presence. Your posts can supplement your website and candidate packs and give prospective employees a sense of what it’s like to work for you, giving them an idea of the genuine culture and working environment as a whole.

Your company’s online image has an impact on everything from client relations to internal recruitment, so considering your online presence carefully is very important. If you have little to no online presence, you rely on word-of-mouth to strengthen your reputation online, and social media is an ideal tool for this – both for future clients and potential candidates. For clients, you can broadcast company-wide progress and accomplishments showing the overall success of your company.

Overall, social media is an integral part of the recruitment landscape in 2024, for better or for worse, and modern companies must embrace social media as an important tool in their recruitment arsenal.