The Pros and Cons of Recruiting Via Social Media

September 2, 2009Maureen Minehan

Wondering whether you should add Facebook. LinkedIn, Twitter and other social networking tools to your recruiting process? While the jury may still be out on their efficacy, enough employers are turning to social media that failing to do so may put you behind your competition.

The numbersAccording to a survey of social recruitment practices released in May by Jobvite, a provider of e-recruitment solutions, 80 percent of employers currently use or are planning to use social mediato find and attract candidates this year. Two-thirds (66 percent) of employers recruiting via socialmedia reported successfully hiring a candidate who was identified or introduced through an onlinesocial network.Among those using or planning to use social network sites for recruiting, LinkedIn is the mostpopular (95 percent), followed by Facebook (59 percent) and Twitter (42 percent). Thepercentage of employers using Facebook rose by almost two-thirds between 2008 and 2009.Early adopterInternational law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle was an early adopter of social mediafor recruiting. Andrea Stimmel, director of business development, says the firm made the decisionin early summer 2008 while planning its upcoming recruiting season. It was the first member ofthe top 200 law firms in the United States to incorporate social media into its talent search."After surveying our summer class last year and our younger associates, we recognized the needfor it. If that's where the people are that we want than that's where we need to go," Stimmel says.Stimmel says using social media has helped brand the firm as a good place to work. "Ourpotential new hires are used to communicating and researching via Facebook. They want to knowthat there are people like them at the firm and that they will fit in."Stimmel says one difference between her firm and other employers that have since incorporatedsocial media is the robustness of the effort. "We've completely integrated. Our website feeds ourFacebook page, we have RSS feeds that feed the wall on our Facebook page, we Twitter and itgoes back to the Facebook page."In addition, the firm links itself to other groups and communities with similar interests onFacebook and other sites. "We seek to link ourselves with other like groups, such as law schools.We appear on their pages as a fan and they appear on ours. It's branding reinforcement. Even ifwe don't end up interviewing or hiring someone from one of the groups, we want them to knowour name and understand who we are," Stimmel says.Fostering relationshipsKara Nickels, general manager of the Chicago office of Hudson Legal, a legal recruiting andtalent management firm, says her use of social media has enhanced the relationships she has

with potential contractors. Through Twitter, Nickels regularly provides information on industrytrends, job activity and available positions."I felt I could give more to the relationship than just telling potential temps or contractors what wasavailable during periodic phone calls. I wanted to stay in touch with candidates on a more regularbasis, letting people know things that are relevant to the market and the types of job opportunitiesthat are available," Nickels explains.Twitter also appealed because it allows quick dissemination of vacancies to a broad audience."Through Twitter, I can get information out quickly when I need to staff assignments. Recently, Isent a tweet about an opportunity from the train on my way into the office. Within 10 minutes, Ihad 10-12 qualified people responding they were ready to go," Nickels says.Adding, not replacingDespite their positive experiences, neither Stimmel nor Nickels view social media as areplacement for other recruiting processes. "It's a channel, but not the only channel," Stimmelsays. "So far there have also been too many other variables such as the economy to say we'regetting different people than we would through other channels."Nickels agrees. "We see it as an enhancement, not a replacement. It's another tool in thetoolbelt."Strategy suggestionsSimply throwing together a Facebook page or conducting a few searches on LinkedIn doesn'treally qualify as using social media for recruiting. Instead, employers interested in incorporatingsocial media should:Define goals and messages at the outset. "In the beginning, it takes a lot of thought aboutstrategy and what you want to communicate. Approach it just as you would any other recruiting orcommunication campaign," Stimmel says."Look at competitors and companies in aligned areas to see what they are doing. We looked ataccounting and consulting firms. Compare it to yourself. Involve your marketing department to gettheir help with writing, messages and so on," Stimmel advises."Make sure whatever you put out is relevant to your goals," Nickels says. Tweeting about a newindustry trend and how your organization is leveraging it is meaningful; using Twitter to announcethe victor of the intracompany softball game is not.Be active. Social media tools are only as good as the effort you put into them. "You have to reallyparticipate and take the time to develop and become part of communities," Stimmel says.Nickels agrees. "You really have to be consistent. A lot of people only go half way with it. Youhave to give something to get a return on it."

Be cautious. Just because someone was found through a social networking communitydoesn't mean they are necessarily qualified or accurately representing theirskills/backgrounds. "Prudent HR professionals are using social media as an initialscreening tool, but still conducting face-to-face interviews and traditional backgroundchecks," says Mark Spognardi, a partner at Arnstein and Lehr in Chicago.Don't forget your legal obligations. "Social media are such new phenomena that we don'treally know breadth of legal pitfalls," Spognardi says. One given is that federal and state