Social Media – The Emperor’s New Recruitment Tool?

This is part 4 of a 5-part series on E-recruitment. Resource Management sponsored the “RPO and E-recruitment Forum” which took place on the 29th September.


Last week, we went back to basics and highlighted some of the problems with e-recruitment, and what to do about them. This week, we have a look at whether social media as a recruitment tool is really worth the effort.

Just a fad?

A recent discussion spreading across the web has debated whether social media is just a passing fad, or more of a revolution (See this video on the Social Media Revolution). So is recruitment via social media just another bandwagon to jump on?

The general consensus on social media platforms, especially Twitter, is that they are here to stay. There will always be a place for micro-blogging, socialising and networking online given the rate of growth for each platform. Linkedin for example, racks up approximately a million new users every 15 days.


But what about e-recruitment?

According to a recent survey by Aftercollege.com, graduates felt that using social networks for job seeking was ineffective compared to more traditional methods such as job boards. (71.9% of the 670 students surveyed said they would simply search a job board for a job.) In fact, social media applications like Facebook and Twitter were ranked last of a choice of 15.

However, this survey appears to be at odds with the trend of job seekers rushing to social networks reported by “My CV and Me” who claim that 1 in 3 now use Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter to find a job. However, social networks and job boards did rank second to “finding a job through professional contacts”, which came in at 40% of the study’s participants.


The demographics

Almost three million people in the UK are now unemployed, with almost a third of those under the age of 24. Given social media is a relatively new concept in technology, one would assume that the younger generations would be quickest to take it up. Not exactly.

The 35 - 54 age group is the largest demographic of Twitter uptakers, (accounting for almost 30% of its overall users), however, they are being rapidly caught up by the 18 – 34 age group.

(Source: comScore Media Matrix)


However, does the age of our job seekers really matter? If we can target the 35 – 54 demographic with e-recruitment, then surely it must be worth doing?


Combining strategies

The social media sphere is still growing rapidly, making it a great target for Twitter and Linkedin-based recruitment, however at this stage, its use should be combined with other methods, including job boards and press advertising.


Next week we look at the future of social media and e-recruitment.

[Image credit: Shuttrstock]