With 600+ million members Facebook should logically be a great place to find candidates, but many companies are still struggling with it. Two things usually hold us back. One, potential candidates are there to waste time and “hang out” with friends — they’re usually not there to look for work. Two, many recruiters see the platform as a personal one and don’t want to mix it in with work. Here are a few ideas I have on how you can leverage Facebook to find new colleagues.
First I think it’s important to realize that the world has changed. It’s something that gets thrown around a lot, but the reality is that personal and professional lives are merging, we’ve talked about this before and I think it’s going to be one of LInkedIn’s biggest challenges. No matter how long you’ve been a recruiter, increasingly that separation is diminishing; that’s a reality. Without being a market of one, most of my Facebook Friends are colleagues, ex-colleagues and bosses and because of that I’ve had some great career opportunities. That simple reality just shows how recruitment is different now that it was even just a couple years ago.
Four ways to use Facebook for recruitment
The way I see it there are four basic ways to leverage Facebook to attract new employees: Ads, corporate Facebook Pages, career Facebook Pages and personal Facebook Profiles.
Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads are probably the easiest way to use Facebook as a recruitment tool. Using them to attract people to your page or career site is easy. You could even go all out and use Premium Ads to supplement a recruitment event or campaign. Creative uses of ads can go a long way. Remember the story of Alec Brownstein who creatively used Google AdWords to find a dream job? Try thinking out of the box to find candidates.
Facebook Pages
Facebook Pages are where companies go to leverage Facebook. If your company already has one or more strong Facebook pages, use them to find new candidates. Use the wall, pictures and video to promote your employer brand and corporate culture; use events to promote recruitment events or open-houses you might be holding; use apps to display all your job openings like Starbucks did. People already like your brand and products so turn those ambassadors into employees.
Similarly, if you have the resources look into building a Page dedicated careers at your company. If you go down that route, it’ll be important to have the staff to contribute. The goal of the page will really to showcase your company and get others excited about working there. Get current employees involved, answer questions, add pictures and videos.
Personal Profiles
Personal Profiles are arguably the best way to find new employees. Through your profile you can get in touch friends, family and ex-colleagues that can put you in touch with the right people. One of the biggest challenges is that it’s difficult to search members’ experience, but applications like BranchOut, that allow you to find candidates just as you would in LinkedIn, are changing that…
Try leveraging your employees’ networks by encouraging them to share openings, company events and pictures as well as Facebook check-ins. According to a 2009 Nielsen study, 90% of internet users trust a recommendation from people they know, whereas 71% trust corporate websites and even less than that trust “traditional” advertising. So the more your employees are sharing company stuff on Facebook, the more your employer brand will grow and gain trust. That’s the new reality…
Facebook is a great place to find new candidates. Because users are there to keep up with friends and acquaintances, it might actually be one of the best places to recruit.
How do you use Facebook to find new employees?
(Photo credit: dullhunk)
