Ways You Can Use Facebook In The Recruitment Process

Facebook isn’t just a platform for political memes and kitten videos. It can also be a valuable tool in the recruitment process. Whether you’re using social media to attract new candidates or get a clearer picture of your current applicants, Facebook has a great deal to offer job recruiters.  Here are just a few ways you can use Facebook to engage top quality talent.

Locate Both Passive And Active Candidates

With more than 2.19 billion monthly active users as of the first quarter of 2018, Facebook could be the largest and most easily accessible talent pool out there. Many of these users are actively looking for a job, and they make that very clear by posting their resume, answering job posts, and discussing their search with their friends on social media. These are considered to be active candidates, and they are the most likely to be ready and willing to interview with your organization. 

However, sometimes the best recruits aren’t actively looking, and Facebook can be used to locate these passive candidates as simply as employing a keyword search on the platform. Facebook will give you a list of members who fit your description whether they’re actively seeking new opportunities or not, and you’ll have the ability to search, screen, connect with, and recruit without any monetary investment. 

Promote Your Organization

Promoting your organization on Facebook is a critical part of using it as a recruitment tool. Your company probably already has a presence on Facebook. But how attractive is that presence to potential employees? If the homepage isn’t designed to draw top candidates in, chances are, it won’t. But don’t despair. You can create a separate Facebook page geared toward attracting talent.

On this page, you can list open positions with job descriptions and contact instructions and add features that spotlight employees with great things to say about the company or those who have experienced exciting growth and promotions. You’ve worked hard to build it, so be sure to include plenty of photos showing your company culture so potential candidates can envision being part of that picture.

You can also use Facebook to promote your organization by posting ads for job openings on Facebook’s business section, creating and publishing videos that educate viewers on your company’s attributes and goals, advertising events like job fairs that potential employees will be interested in attending, and joining or starting hiring groups—or other kinds of groups—directly related to your organization and industry.

Screen Candidates

In addition to finding and attracting future employees, Facebook can be used to research applicants, helping show you if a candidate presented himself honestly. Everyone has a personal life that may not reflect his professional side, but if you see someone bragging about how he’ll never stay at the same company for more than a year…or spouting offensive insults…or getting wasted in every picture… Take these red flags into consideration as you decide who to hire. 

Some consider this type of vetting an invasion of privacy, but a truth all of us would do well to remember is that online your private life and public life are one and the same. If it’s on the Internet people will see and read it, it will never go away, and it will be judged.

Facebook is part of everyday life for most people, and if you’re not taking advantage of it as a business tool you’re missing valuable opportunities to recruit, promote, and evaluate. Just follow the simple steps we’ve outlined today to obtain and retain top talent, social media style.