Yes, a large number of organizations are reaching out to prospective employees through social networking sites.
Almost 30% recruiters in England are busy looking for the desired employee profiles on these sites; and the trend is gradually. The reasons are obvious. “Because having a perfect CV is no longer enough to land you the job”.
Many organizations are also creating their company profiles on social networking sites to network with future employees and prospective clients. It’s part of the send-in-a CV and suit up for an interview regime in favour of finding staff in cyberspace. Instead of hiring a headhunter or paying for an advert.
Organizations are also extensively using these sites to re-confirm a candidate’s qualification and professional experience as mentioned in the CV. Use of provocative display pictures can also make one loose a dream job.
Here are 3 casestudies of organisations using social networking platform to recruit staff.
Very
Very is asking wannabe candidates for its £50,000-a-year fashion designer job to upload a picture of themselves with a 300-word biography to its facebook page and start collecting votes”- by which it means getting friends to back them by clicking on the page. The four people who get the most clicks will be interviewed and one will “win” that £50,000 job.
The competition is certainly a savvy marketing move: the top four candidates have so far amassed many clicks on Very’s page.
LBi
A London marketing agency has offered two summer work placements to “candidates who submitted the funniest, weirdest, most creative” message on Twitter using LBi hashtag.
Standard Chartered Bank
The bank advertised “ the coolest intern” via Facebook. The prize- a six month internship in Singapore. With a £14,500 salary- was awarded after candidates appeared were audited according to number of their facebook friends, Twitter influence and how many people linked to their blogs. Only the top 10- of more than 1,100 applicants – were offered interviews.
Recommendations:
Social networking sites as a recruitment platform is a booming trend, which will flourish in the times to come. Job seekers are advised to make utmost use of these sites for professional growth, by attracting prospective employers.
Few tips to follow before engaging in a job hunt:
• Use the “block comment” feature to block any comment you do not wish the employer to see.
• Exercise extensive care while accepting a friend’s request.
• Get rid of any provocative photograph or controversial content.
• Do not forget to mention your professional achievements on the profile.