In a climate where competition is tough and talent is hard to come by, creativity in recruitment is essential. When candidates can access resources at the touch of a button, traditional sourcing strategies may not be enough. Garmin recently hosted the TeamKC network at “Let's Get Social: Best Practices in Social Media Recruiting,” where we heard from DEG Director of Social Media, Jen Forrest. Jen shared why social media is imperative to talent recruitment, and offered a few tips for stepping up your social media game.

Here are the top seven takeaways:

1. Social recruiting is a big deal. And here are the stats to prove it:
   • 73% of 18-34 year-olds found their last job through a social network
   • 59% of job seekers use social to research the company culture of organizations they are interested in
   • 80% of employers say social recruiting helps them find passive candidates
   • 93% of recruiters are currently using or planning to use social networks as part of their recruiting efforts
2. Branding is everything. A bad reputation could cost you:
   • Your corporate brand is directly affected by your employment brand and a poor reputation could mean spending 10% more per hire.
   • Companies with strong employment brands drive twice as many qualified applicants, this leads to a 50% decrease in cost per hire.
3. You have options. Social recruiting can take many different forms:
   • Create your own channels? Or integrate recruitment into existing brand strategy? What channels do you choose? Which platforms are best for your company?
   • Conduct research on your competitors and current brand status to make these decisions, then develop a strategy to implement your ideas.
4. Realness is key. Be genuine and make it personal:
   • Stock photos won’t show off your company, use real images.
   • Candidates are looking for a culture that fits their personality.
   • Using an employer branded hashtag may encourage authentic sharing.
   • Don’t be a robot. Have an appropriate balance of automation and authenticity.
5.  Engage in one on one conversations. Use personal accounts to reach out to potential hires:
   • Job postings from brand pages are less engaging and less personal than 1:1 interactions.
   • Rather than creating a new network, strengthen your own. Use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to build your network.
   • Design your online presence by including links to your company pages, writing messages that earn responses and establishing credibility on your personal profiles.
6. Utilize your employees. The inner voice of your organization:
   • Current employees have the inside scoop on company culture. They can testify on the treatment of employees, financial earnings, business procedures, innovation efforts, etc.
   • Successful employees have stories that can be told! Develop content that highlights roles in the company and is easy and fun to share.
7. Referrals, referrals, referrals! The largest external source of hires:
   • Consider creating an incentives program for employees who post job listings or make referrals.
   • Invest in keeping your talent happy and work with HR to better understand the impact of external employee reviews.

To learn more about TeamKC and its events contact Jessica Nelson.