Using Social Media effectively to hire the best employees - Business Works
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Using Social Media effectively to hire the best employees

Cameron Tyler, freelance writer Online social networking has become the most powerful bridge building tool in contemporary society. Much of what is discovered about people all over the world is tweeted, uploaded, posted, re-tweeted and shared socially. Old acquaintances are reunited, friendships are forged - it seems that more and more of our lives are being lived out online. Currently, employers and recruiters are using social networking sites as gold mines for hot talent and as buffers against poor potential employees. Everyone from high tech cloud hosting companies to marketing agencies to coffee shops are starting to use social media networking.

Social Networking to find hot talent

Recruiters are using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to search out the best possible candidates for the positions for which they are hiring. Think of social networking as a moving résumé or cover letter. Your tweets and posts on Twitter and Facebook reinforce the true you. It's a good way for companies to compare who you say you are with who you really are. Traditionally, an HR recruiter would meet you and only be able to determine your personality by the hour that you spent with them. Now, they can get a better sense of your personality if your social media profiles are easy to find and public. While it may seem like an invasion of privacy, if you tend to come off as stiff or too formal in interviews, it’s not a bad idea to allow potential employers a glimpse into your regular, everyday life.

Instead of relying on potential employers to take the time to contact your former employer for that glowing review, LinkedIn will allow them to see it at a glance, with little work on their part. Even better, if you and your former boss interact on Facebook or Twitter, potential employers will be able to see that as well.

Even some unlisted, yet important skills and traits may be gleaned from your social network interactions. Your ability to lead or organize groups of people could be seen by your delegation of tasks when planning a cookout, for example.

After the interview

Remembering one important rule of thumb in the search-recruiting-hiring process helps all parties involved. That rule: absolutely everyone involved is terrified of what is going to happen after the interview. You already know potential employees are afraid that they won't get called back if they like the job. Recruiters and human resource personnel, however, are also terrified. Most of their apprehension has to do with whether or not they're making a good hiring decision. One hiring mishap could hurt the company or the department morale, or, in the least, ruin the hiring manager's reputation as a competent recruiter.

Recruiters and hiring managers have learned to better siphon out potential mismatches in hiring by using social networking. Much of the usage of social networking in regard to screening a candidate is done by observing comments, likes, responses and even profile information. Social networking pages tend to be microcosms of the candidate's personal world. This gives the recruiter a window into the individual's habits, likes and dislikes, social interaction tendencies, and so forth.

So, social networking is an easy way to pinpoint potential problems or to identify those candidates with highly sought-after qualities. One way to approach the idea is to observe that, in the exact same way that a bad post can get someone fired, a good presentation online page can get someone hired.

There are laws that restrict usage of data protected under law which include race, gender or political beliefs. Companies could be sued because of suspected discrimination. While it is illegal to acquire and use certain information, it is not illegal to peruse through an individual's page and gather information.

Social media have become the social litmus test of our time, and is presently changing the ways in which businesses are looking to staff their ranks. Employers carry out the vision or standard of company. Social networks provide employers with more tools to make more accurate and fair assessments when hiring.



Cameron Tyler is a freelance writer, working on strengthening digital businesses for deserving brands and administers www.technected.com




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