How to Use Social Media to Make Recruiting Easier

When you work as a recruiter, things like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn become huge assets. Use social media correctly and your job instantly becomes much easier. However, it’s important to learn how to leverage social media most effectively in order to recruit. Using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for recruiting purposes is far different than how you might use these platforms to interact with friends and family members. Here’s how you can become a highly social, effective recruiter:

Work with what you have

Instead of trying to start from square one, build upon the contacts you already have. Take some time to figure out who your contacts know and then politely (and appropriately) ask for an introduction to people you’d like to meet. If you’ve since lost touch with a potentially useful contact, send a quick e-mail in order to get reacquainted. Recruiting is all about relationship building, so a good portion of your day should be spent nurturing existing relationships and building new ones.

Be bold

If there’s a professional you would love to work with, don’t be afraid to reach out. It doesn’t matter whether they seem fully settled in their current position or not, everyone enjoys receiving a compliment. Send them an e-mail offering kind words about their work. A low-pressure, short e-mail is likely to generate a response, and can help to kickstart a professional relationship that may end up benefitting both of you in the future.

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice

Many young recruiters are afraid to ask more experienced professionals for advice. When done properly, there is nothing wrong with asking someone above you to share their experience. If you admire someone in your field, send them an e-mail telling them so, and then ask if you can buy them a cup of coffee and chat for half an hour. Putting a time limit on the discussion helps them to know that they won’t be getting whisked away for a three-hour conversation, while still allowing you to get the information you need to help your career.

While it’s important to use social networks to meet new contacts, understand that productive networking often happens face-to-face. Join local organizations, attend cocktail hours, and partake in other networking events where you’re able to have face-to-face conversations with professionals in your community.