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Social media for recruitment is sometimes  perceived as a platform reserved for edgy Gen Y start ups.  But we are happy to report  that businesses of all shapes and sizes stand to benefit from the role social media plays in recruiting top talent.

Candidates are relying on social media more than ever before to gain an insider’s perspective of the organisational culture of their potential employers. Employers themselves however, have been much slower to include social media as part of overall recruitment strategies.

Survey statistics by employer review website Glassdoor show 79% of job seekers are likely to use social media in their job search, yet 3 out of 4 respondents say their employer does not (or does not know how to) use social media to promote job openings.

When organisations embrace the role of social media in recruitment, the benefits speak for themselves. Jobvite reports employers who use social media to hire find a 49% improvement in candidate quality over employers using traditional recruitment channels, it’s easy to see social media is a valuable hiring tool.

Employment Office Managing Director, Tudor Marsden-Huggins says using social media for recruitment is a no-brainer.

“Capitalising on free platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter makes sense in today’s recruitment landscape because it’s where candidates spend a lot of their time. There are millions of candidates online every single day and if your organisation isn’t trying to create a presence where they’re ‘hanging out,’ you’re already on the backfoot when you try to reach them through a job advertisement.

“With so many candidates on social media, and so few employers recruiting there, a huge opportunity is presented to promote organisations as employers of choice by simply dedicating time each week to enhancing social profiles,” he says.

Social media not only acts as an exciting space to promote your organisation’s job vacancies and company culture but it allows employees and customers to be brand ambassadors on your behalf.

“Having a presence on social media platforms means you’re providing existing staff with an outlet to share personal experiences they’ve had with your organisation. Encourage your employees to share positive stories about your company. A positive comment on your social pages speaks volumes and is far more effective than anything your organisation can say about itself.

“If a negative comment is posted, chances are it would have been posted online somewhere else anyway so when it does happen it’s far better to be ‘driving the bus’ and in control of your social pages than scrambling to defend your organisation after the fact,” Marsden-Huggins says.

Starting small is better than not starting at all when it comes to recruiting via social media, so begin by creating a profile on each social platform and posting industry updates, events and photos on your page at least twice a week. You’ll soon be able to take advantage of the tools and resources which allow your organisation to move beyond traditional recruitment methods.

If you would like assistance with social media strategies, content creation or if you simply need some help getting started, Employment Office offers assistance with all social platforms for recruitment including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and more. Call 1300 366 573 or email brooke.chapman@employmentoffice.com.au today.