Recruitment and selection seduction

Connectivity is making the world smaller despite the growing number of social media users.  In 2017 71% of internet users were social media users, an estimated 2.46bn people.  They are becoming easier to find, but increasingly (and frustratingly) more difficult to engage with when it comes to attracting in a job opportunity.

Organisations of all sizes are eager to recruit accountants, lawyers, software developers and associated professionals now and into 2018.  Nearly all will have the use of social media channels central to their recruitment strategy.  However, very few are well versed in how to maximise their return from direct contact.

Follow this advice and you will increase your response rates from direct contact on social media:

Matchup: if you are seeking to make a manager level appointment then a manager or senior manager should be the instigator of the contact not a junior member of staff.

Personalise your message: it may seem obvious but blanket messaging is see-through and a waste.  Review the profiles of your targets and reference a point that illustrates you have taken time to understand who they are.

Don’t sell a job, offer a career: if you have identified a talented professional, chances are others have too.  Be different, focus your communication on how your organisation can develop that person.

Front load: be specific and clear about why you are making contact, if you aren’t prepared to be transparent don’t use social media.

Start a conversation: outline why this appointment is so important, why you feel this person has the credentials needed.  Don’t send a job specification or advert, send a link and invite discussion upon it.

LinkedIn is not the only social channel: Business users much prefer Linkedin but Twitter has more users who tend to respond quickly and Facebook users can be very accurately profiled as can those on google+.  If you are really savvy you can use Whats-app, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest – but don’t run before you can walk.

Oh, and make sure your message is less than 150 words because attention spans are short and getting shorter!

The visibility of social profiles allows you to assess the suitability of a potential recruit.  The challenge now centres upon seduction, bringing these in-demand, talented people into the recruitment process.  So choose your language carefully, be yourself, don’t do all the taking and hopefully if all goes well you can get their number.

Justin Rush is a career recruiter and Director at Abacus Talent Group.  Who can be contacted on [email protected]