Students are very active social media users. Most have a Facebook account are members of one or more social communities.
This has made social networks like Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and to a lesser extent YouTube and MySpace not to mention a variety of local and niche networks into sought-after recruitment vehicles.
It is especially those searching for the high-flying talents, this being professional recruiters or potential employers itself, that has entered the social media arena to make sure they pick the best talents before anyone else.
But social media also have its code of conduct which it is important to be aware of if you want success with your activities. Big, multinational, well established or famous is no criteria in itself to be successful in the social media world.
First of all, if you want to use social media as a recruitment channel you need to spend time learning how these media work. And, having learned that, actually spending time there. It is not enough to establish a “page” and forget it. Social media are organic communities where you need to active to thrive.
Not everybody need to be present in social media. If you recruit, is it natural for your prospects to seek information through this channel, or will more traditional sources be the place to seek out information? If the latter is the case focus on those channels. Even though the social media population is growing older and older still it is the young generations that will typically use social media to seek out employment information. Important for recruiters to know.
Not every student on Facebook or Twitter is there to find information about or interact with potential future employers, though. Far from it. Many use social media for leisure virtual “partying”. Many users even think you should keep off. This should, however, in my my opinion not make you stay away from entering the arena if you think you can benefit from it. Much of your communication future lies within the social media so it is wise to get used to it.
What you should be aware of, however, is which community you use for what purpose. This ought to be part of your initial research. If you’re into music, MySpace is the place to be. If you are after plain mainstream management talents then focus on Linkedin. Facebook and Twitter cater for everyone and are perhaps not so much for recruiting as it is excellent places to gather followers for your company through communicating with your market.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember when entering the social media is as mentioned above; these are not static communities, but very much alive. It is all about creating conversations. That is the biggest pitfall for corporations and the like well grounded in one way mass communication. Those used to communicate to the world on a macro level need to sit down and understand that social media is communication on a micro level. Conversations with small groups or even one-and-one. If you have neither time nor will to do that, stay away as social media mass communication will do more harm than good.
And one more thing. If you want to get in touch “with me” you have to speak my language, otherwise I will not respond. “I” don’t understand what you are saying. There is a lot of talk about generation X hiring generation Y. It can be hard for Y to understand X, but no conversation will be established until that is in place. From there they will have to establish some common ground for communication where both are closing in on each other.
So, depending on the industry you are in, you should consider whether social media is a recruitment channel or not. If you are after the young starts not yet out of university my recommendation is to get yourself established within the social media universe. And if you that strange or even frightening, hire someone you trust that also have knowledge of this channel and how to best get into the conversation with your target audience.
Your comments are appreciated.
