Social media offers several tools that may aid recruiters in reaching a lot of applicants. Through these tools, the recruiters can focus on getting the job done without wasting time brought by evaluating unqualified applicants.
Advantages of Social Media in Recruitment
The recruitment process may become more efficient and faster through the use of social media. Here are some of the pros that social media provide.
1. Greater reach in candidates
Social media aids in reaching more candidates. As compared to job boards and sites, you can reach other possible candidates besides applicants who are looking for new jobs.
Using social media, the job opportunity may also reach those who are not actively looking for a job. These candidates are currently employed individuals but are open for new opportunities.
This method works well when you are recruiting for specialized jobs such as those in the field of IT and Engineering. It eliminates the risk of getting a small applicant pool due to reasons like skills shortage.
2. Free Service
There are a number of features on social media which you can use without cost. Aside from this, it allows you to reach a number of users with a wide variety of skills.
There are several paid features such as advertising and premium account privileges which allow you to go the extra mile. Nevertheless, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are free to use.
3. Candidate Screening
Aside from being a sharing platform, social media is a generally effective tool that employers can use for candidate screening. You can perform a check and identity verification on the candidates based from their publishes profile.
In today’s time, recruiters no longer focus on common applicant information such as skill set, personal qualities and relevant experiences. Most companies also take interest in a candidate’s values and adaptability on company culture. Social media plays an important role on this aspect.
4. Efficient recruitment process
Most of the time, applicants may be passive with the information they provide to companies. Social media helps in improving the recruitment process by giving companies tools in screening candidates.
With some tools in social media, you can instruct the candidates to answer job-specific questions. Moreover, you can allow them to create cover letter and custom messages to further evaluate their viability for the position.
The advantages provided by social media offer recruiters features not usually found on regular job boards. Whatever the case is, social media is a powerful tool that should be utilized well for the good of both recruiters and applicants.
Disadvantages of Social Media in Recruitment
Though there are many benefits a recruiter may get from utilizing social media, there are some cons that should be considered. These include privacy and compliance concerns which may arise when you use social media for applicant pooling and screening.
1. Privacy Concerns
Some individuals may deem that the companies looking through their social media are invading their personal bubble. This can make the applicants feel uncomfortable and lose their interest with the opportunity.
2. Compliance Concerns
There are also potential compliance concerns as screening through social media may provide bias to employers. More often than not, employers will favor individuals with clean and good record on their social media profiles.
In general, social media provides pros as well as cons to recruiters. You should address the cons properly to ensure a balanced and effective applicant screening.
