By Benedicte Flouriot

Companies approach the talent search and the hiring process in a much different way than just 15 years ago. Why? Because the working world has changed.

Let’s stick to the literal meaning of the working world for a minute because these days it really means the world—together with all of its countries, peoples, organizations, talents, ambitions, motivations, and competencies. There are no more boundaries to all of that thanks to the digital era in which we now live, an era which is creating more opportunities for all as the working world becomes a map used to navigate global possibilities.

Because of these drastic changes, the world of recruiting has now gone nearly 100 per cent digital with social media now considered the best way to dive into the world talent pool.

Social media changes every aspect of the talent search. Here is why.

Talent is a Global Commodity
Presence and Accessibility: Talent is everywhere, so you should be everywhere too—and at all times. If you want to attract more talents, more competencies, and build diversified teams, then you need to find ways to reach talents outside of your immediate area.

Remember that when it’s 3 a.m. in Vancouver and your company is closed, it’s noon in France and 6 p.m. in Hong Kong. Thousands of talents are awake and searching for the right fit on the other side of the world. Let your presence run online and give 24/7 access to potential talent on the lookout. By reaching millions of online potentials in real-time, your company can reach its maximum recruitment potential.

Having a website is great, but a minimum; it’s simply a window to what you do and gives limited information. A strong social media presence will offer more interactivity and create better connection with your audience. Talent wants to know more about what’s really happening inside your organization, so show them.

This serves smaller companies particularly well, as they can now advertise and create brand presence to attract the most talented candidates without having to spend too much on their campaigns. This becomes a real competitive advantage that did not exist few years back. They now have the possibility to hire as talented professionals as large corporations would.

Building Online Trust: This is where your e-reputation comes in. Having an honourable reputation is everything in recruiting. Your online presence is the very first thing that talents are going to check. Put yourself in a candidate’s shoes, wouldn’t you do the same? You want to better understand who they are before calling them for an interview; they want to know who you are before applying.

The way you are perceived by talents will strongly impact how they will make decisions about you. Social media can definitely impact these decisions with websites such as Glassdoor or Indeed making it possible to look up a company and see their ranking.

Find ways to use this to your own advantage. Have you ever asked a departing employee whether they would be happy to post a positive feedback on Glassdoor? Ask! Send them instructions with clear directions to do so. Create an incentive. Make the process easy for them so they will take the time to share their positive experience.

True Brand Experiences Translate: Social media is a great tool with which to invite potential talents into your world. Use videos, pictures, and brand campaigns to help candidates experience that world.

Offer unique and valuable content through your social media campaigns, and make them visually compelling as this will only further engage your audience. Give them a dream by showing them the reality of your organization. By developing a positive impression of your company, candidates will trust your brand and recognize whether this is the culture they want to fit in.

Target Specific Competencies in ‘Hidden’ Markets: Again, talents are everywhere, but are not always as obvious— students soon graduating, women on maternity leave, professionals taking a sabbatical year—and they are also often currently employed. This is your hidden pool of talents and most of them are on social media. They are not hiding; they are just not necessarily seeking a job, but may be open to new opportunities.

Hunt for competencies, knowledge, skills, and traits more than job seekers because what you want is to identify the competencies that will support your teams to perform well. Be proactive, develop your network of potential candidates for now and the future, for the current openings and for the ones to come.

Improve Recruitment Time and Quality with Data: From an efficiency perspective, the beauty of social media stands in its demographic data. Analytics are key for making strategic hiring decisions and because you have access to demographic data, you are able to better understand your audience. Use social media to collect important information and data to help you locate the best people for the job.

You want your message to reach the right candidate at the right time. How will you reach the right candidates without understanding who they are? Social media and the demographic data it yields allows you to know more about your core candidates, giving you the opportunity to adjust your strategy as needed.

Personalizing the Online Experience: Because you now know who your candidates are, you are able to better communicate with them. When you finally find these niche candidates, you want to make sure to use the relevant tools and tone to approach them. Show them what it would be like working with you using your social media tools by modelling that behaviour—and look forward to positive results.

Benedicte Flouriot is a career & leadership coach, working with clients across industries and continents to find the career they were meant for and ways to excel within in.

(PeopleTalk Summer 2017)