LinkedIn has emerged as a popular way for recruiters to find candidates as the recruiting capabilities have improved. It now has corporate recruiting solutions such as LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate, Recruiter Professional Services, Referral Engine, and Talent Direct. With LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate Edition in particular, there are three key components to assist recruiters in finding the best candidates for their open positions:
1. Access LinkedIn’s Entire Network
Expand your reach far beyond your personal network to reach qualified passive candidates | Master even the toughest searches with powerful search refinement filters | Target candidates precisely based on company, location, industry, skill set, keywords and full user profiles.
2. Contact Candidates Directly
Contact candidates directly through InMail – LinkedIn’s trusted messaging environment | Get response rates far higher than cold calling and emailing | Speed communications with InMail templates and one-to-many InMails.
3. Manage Your Pipeline
Organize your workflow with project folders and reminders | Synchronize team activities with shared folders, searches, profiles, and candidate notes | Track sourcing activity for insights and to support OFCCP compliance.
There are several other ways recruiters are using LinkedIn to find qualified candidates. Some use the LinkedIn Advanced People search to find candidates with specific keywords in their profiles. This is why it is so important for candidates to have a completed LinkedIn profile.
Recruiters also reach out to people they find on LinkedIn to see if they have any available referrals they might know who are not yet on LinkedIn or who may not have complete profiles. In addition, LinkedIn user groups have become very popular for posting jobs and starting discussions on new opportunities within particular skill sets.
These are just a few of the ways recruiters use LinkedIn to find qualified candidates. More than likely there are several more ways to use LinkedIn for recruiting with so many new features being added and more people creating profiles every day.
On the other hand, recruiters could use Facebook to disqualify potential candidates. Let’s explore how Facebook can be used to review applicants and gain insight into the person, their personality/style and potential as a candidate. Recruiters will search for the pages of leading applicants looking to see the professionalism of a candidate. With the informal setting of Facebook, the integrity, work ethic, and professionalism will generally be apparent.
Facebook users post and share information online with the clear intention of limiting information to their network of friends. They post information intended to be viewed by their friends rather than considering the impact this may have with recruiters or potential employers. Most don’t realize their profile may be seen by a potential employer.
Recruiters reviewing an applicant’s profile may take information out of context such as something that was simply meant as a joke between friends. They may come across information about the individual they do not agree with, such as political affiliation or sexual orientation. A wrong statement could potentially affect candidates from being hired even before they are interviewed for a job.
There are many other possible scenarios in which recruiters or employers may discriminate against a candidate based upon their Facebook profile. Although this may be seen as an invasion of privacy, candidates should be aware it could happen.
According to a CBS News report, “Only seven percent of employers admit to having rejected candidates based on information discovered using social media such as LinkedIn, FaceBook and Twitter. But one percent of companies aren’t shy at all about blackballing you based on your social media activity–they said they disqualify between 11 and 20 percent of candidates based on what they find out about them on social media sites.”
“But a significant percentage, more than a third, say they do look at candidates’ social media profiles during recruiting. For a sliver of them–four percent–social media screening is an official part of the recruiting process. So even if company recruiters say they won’t reject you outright because of the pictures they found of your tasteless Halloween getup, it’s not going to go unnoticed, either. Hardly the best way to make a first impression,” stated in the CBS News report.
It’s interesting how social media has started playing a more important part in the recruiting process. As social media evolves, so does the need to be ahead of the online recruiting game. Candidates must complete their LinkedIn profiles if they want recruiters or potential employers to view them as a qualified candidate. It is also extremely important to remove photos or wall posts on Facebook which may be inappropriate or paint you in a negative light.
Professionalize your Facebook page by:
- Hiding inappropriate personal photos
- Removing offensive wall posts, even if you didn’t write them
- Keeping your wall private
- Reviewing your security settings making sure only your friends can see personal content
- Completing your info page with past and current employment
Learn more about social media features in our staffing software solution, 1Staff.
