Using Social Media to Recruit

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It’s next to impossible to not be on social media today. Whether it’s your personal accounts or company accounts, you probably have some sort of interaction with social media sites on a daily basis. The use of mobile devices is on the rise and that rise is driving the importance of social media. Many companies are now using social media networks as tools for recruiting top talent.

While this sounds like a fantastic idea (and it may very well be) there are certainly right and wrong ways to go about using social media to recruit talent. Here are a few things you need to think about before launching into using social media for recruiting:

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Finding and Keeping Top Talent

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A lot of thoughts and theories exist out there when it comes to finding top talent for any industry. You have to choose from dozens of different online job boards. Then there are traditional postings like newspapers. And in today’s world, many companies are turning to social media to find talent. But at the end of the process, you need a specific type of talent. You need to find and keep top talent.

Wanting the best of the best is not enough to actually get you the best of the best. It takes time and effort to succeed at finding and keeping top talent. However, the efforts you make will be worth it in the end because you can reduce your costs and turnover rates by finding top talent in the first place.

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Checking References

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When you start collecting all of those resumes, there is a lot of information to take in. You’ll look at education, work experience, skills, and accomplishments. One thing you’ll look at is references, though you’ll probably avoid it as long as possible.

Really, you don’t need to check references until after your initial applicant screenings, but keep in mind that reference checking is an important part of the process. Once you determine which applicants would make great candidates, you, you can start checking references. Applicants should have provided you with their references, but you may need to ask. Once you have the references, it’s time to start checking them. Here are a few tips on how to properly check references:

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4 Resume Red Flags

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As you start sifting through all of the resumes you’ve collected from job applicants, you might find that they tend to all look the same. Flipping from resume to resume, they start to blur together and you just don’t know which one is which. It can happen and that makes finding the right candidates even more difficult.

When resumes start to look the same, you can easily overlook small mistakes that candidates made or even miss something huge like incorrect information. While you probably don’t want to be skeptical of candidates, you need to treat resumes with a certain grain of salt. Fact checking is important when it comes to hiring new employees. But what do you look for? What could candidates be lying about? Here are four resume red flags to be looking out for:

  1. Listing a university, but not a degree.  You may see that the applicant studied at a prestigious school and think that it would be a great thing. However, you need to make sure that there is also a degree listed. If only a university or school is provided, it can be a resume red flag for not having completed the degree. When screening the candidate on the phone, be sure you ask why they left out the information.
  2. General employment dates.  Gaps in employment history can look really bad for an applicant, so in an effort to hide those gaps, a resume may contain years instead of specific dates for previous positions. Applicants are able to hide up to 12 months of unemployment by doing this. You need to know the circumstances around those gaps, so ask for a detailed work history with more specific dates.
  3. Exaggeration of job titles.  Trying to make themselves appear more important, applicants modify their job titles. While this looks impressive, it can cause work histories to not have a natural flow. If someone moves from an entry-level position to a director position, a resume red flag should be thrown. Don’t just look at titles. Read job descriptions to make sure those titles make sense and the responsibilities match.
  4. Overstating accomplishments.  It’s no secret that awards, certifications, and achievements look impressive, but sometimes there isn’t any real substance behind them. While some applicants certainly earned their awards, some may have simply paid for their awards. If you find that an applicant has a few different awards and you don’t recognize them, take a few minutes to do some research. You can easily find out the requirements of an award and it can be achieved.

These white lies may seem harmless to applicants, but they can end up hurting you and your organization in the long run. When you don’t know the truth about applicants, you can end up hiring someone who seems impressive, but doesn’t actually have the knowledge or the skills you are looking for. Take the time to look at resumes closely, ask questions when you see a résumé red flag, and spend time with anyone you are thinking about hiring before making your decision.

Call us today at 317.803.2910 so we can help you detect those resume red flags and make sure your candidates are qualified before you ever meet them.