Tips to Managing a Successful Social Recruiting Campaign

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While perusing startup recruitment related blogs, I came across an article written by Chris Brablc from Smashfly titled, “Why Social Recruiting Fails!”  Over the past year, social recruiting has turned into an important aspect of my overall recruitment strategy as I work to develop OpenView’s network and database of candidates for the venture capital firm’s expansion stage portfolio companies.  The article above was intriguing to me considering that it defines some prevalent reasons why social recruiting might fall short.  So, thanks to Smashfly, I want to reveal some of them with you below, together with my own assessments…

4 Reasons Why Social Recruiting Falls Short

1. Lack of an overall strategy – Just like everything you do in recruiting, you ought to have an overarching strategy behind your social recruiting.  Who is in charge of managing your social profiles? What variety of content will you share with your followers/contacts as it relates to recruitment?  While experimentation in terms of social networking platforms and how to best employ them for your company’s recruitment strategies is vital, an overarching social recruiting strategy will enable you to remain centered on your objectives.
2. Lack of measurement – In order to measure the success of your social recruiting campaign, observe your metrics like the hits to your Careers site (and which social networks have led them there), Mentions and ReTweets on Twitter, and source data for candidates to input in your ATS (Applicant Tracking System).
3. Not enough time - If you aren’t prepared to take the time to learn and create your social profiles/connections, you in all probability aren’t prepared to begin a social recruiting strategy.  Any social recruiting strategy really should include your company’s management teams, and if they aren’t prioritizing it, there is less likelihood for success.
4. Just another job board – Your startup recruitment projects are likely to fall on deaf ears if the only method you make use of your company’s LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook page is with job postings.  Share articles pertinent to your company and your industry, and be personable! Social networks are a stellar way to showcase the culture of your company, which is one thing a prospective candidate will look at when deciding whether to apply for a job.

Diana Winings Martz is a Recruiting Analyst at OpenView Labs, where she is responsible for recruitment for the firm and its portfolio companies.

Related articles

• Social Recruiting is not BS (robkornblum.wordpress.com)
• The Social Recruit (digitalrethink.wordpress.com)
• Guest blog: Policing social recruiting, is it counter intuitive? (musingsfromsussex.com)
• How social media is making companies rethink recruiting (smartblogs.com)

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