How Can HR Teams Effectively Use Facebook to Attract Top Talent?

How to Optimally Use Facebook in HR Recruitments

To effectively utilize Facebook in HR recruitments, it is essential to understand the best practices for leveraging this platform. Facebook can be a powerful tool for reaching a wide audience of potential candidates and engaging with them in a more informal setting. Here are some key strategies to optimize your use of Facebook in HR recruitments:

1. **Create a Compelling Company Page:** Ensure that your company's Facebook page reflects your employer brand and showcases your company culture. This will help attract candidates who align with your values and mission.

2. **Use Targeted Advertising:** Facebook's advertising tools allow you to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, making it easier to reach the right candidates for your job openings.

3. **Engage with Your Audience:** Regularly post updates, job openings, and company news to keep your followers engaged. Respond to comments and messages promptly to build relationships with potential candidates.

4. **Leverage Facebook Groups:** Join industry-specific Facebook groups where your target candidates are likely to be active. Engage with group members and share job postings to expand your reach.

5. **Utilize Facebook Live and Video Content:** Live videos and other visual content can help humanize your employer brand and provide insights into your company culture. Consider hosting live Q&A sessions or virtual office tours to attract and engage candidates.

By implementing these strategies, you can make the most of Facebook as a recruitment tool and connect with top talent in a meaningful way.

I do not trust that recruitment can be effectively done through Facebook, at least in India. Indian individuals do not update their personal details on a regular basis. I would suggest utilizing other social networking sites such as LinkedIn, etc.

Guys, please share your opinions as well for better clarity.

Regards,
Janardan

I conduct 80% of recruitment through Facebook. The steps I follow are:

Steps to Recruit Through Facebook

1. Find targeted groups according to the job vacancy.
2. Post about the job vacancy.
3. Collect resumes.
4. Screen them.
5. Schedule an interview.

What I feel is that Facebook can be a good source for requirements. I agree with Akshat. We can post about the job vacancy and collect resumes, which can be further sorted. However, it is a time-consuming process.

It depends on your requirement as to what kind of hiring you have to do. If it is for frontline or executive/freshers, then we can post the openings on Facebook because for these profiles, we may not find the same data on LinkedIn. There are fewer chances there. Facebook is used by almost everyone, whether they are working or not. Additionally, we can create groups, make friends, and then post the openings.

I think that we cannot depend on Facebook for recruitment because it is completely focused on social life, not on the professional sphere. Facebook may be used as a branding tool or for data/resume collection from a small segment. Your screening begins with limited applications. If you require specific skills and client-specific candidates, then Facebook becomes an inadequate source of recruitment.

Regards,
Nitin Vats
Manager - Client Relations

I do not trust that recruitment can be effectively done through Facebook, at least in India. However, Indian individuals do not regularly update their personal details. Could you please explain how you utilize other social networking sites such as LinkedIn for the recruitment process?

Regards,
Aanchal Jaiswal

Please create a company page on Facebook. Join groups that are your target audience, such as the unemployed, colleges, and freshers. Contribute your ideas through posts, forums, etc. Post your job vacancies on Facebook and in all relevant groups. Focus on educating people about your skill set rather than selling yourself. Avoid overdoing it as it may put people off. You will see results.

With best regards,

Facebook is actually the best way to recruit people. There are many videos available on Facebook itself or on YouTube that explain how you need to look for people through it. Especially in cases of specialized requirements, it is the best place to look for people. Do some research, and you will find out how easy it is to recruit from Facebook. Along with recruiting, you can also determine the candidate's background and the groups they associate with.

Don't look at it from one angle, but several angles. Then you will love recruiting from Facebook.

I also do not support the idea that Facebook is a good source for hiring people. It is primarily a social networking site designed for connecting with friends and family.

Regards,
Anoop Hazare

As of now, our focus is not on "Social Sites" for recruitment. For those who are finding it useful, are you finding a DIFFERENT set of data than against any Job portal? AFAIK, Job portals perhaps have more relevant data available such as salary, immediate contact details, etc., and much more search capabilities.

So, if anyone has any data on this - that the resumes on the social sites such as Facebook (and even LinkedIn) are NOT available on the job portals, please comment in. It could also be due to the level - we work on middle/senior level profiles while most postings I see on Facebook are for entry levels/close to that.

In fact, we have an ongoing survey on this subject at:

Effectiveness of Job Ads on "Social Media" like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

You are welcome to post your thoughts as well - last I checked, about 50% of respondents had NEVER applied to any job via any social site!

Indeed, some months ago we had positions (both closed now...) with almost diametrically opposite recruitment strategies... check out:

Recruitment Conundrums.. your views please! - from Helping Top Talent Stand Out!

If you have any views, comment in there as well!

I personally do not use Facebook as a recruitment tool. Like others have said, Facebook is used more for personal social networking purposes. But on occasions, I do use it on our company page and group.

Reasons for Not Using Facebook for Recruitment

- Facebook does not give much access to candidates' profiles, and searching them is a big task. Unless you know the person, it is difficult to search, especially if they use high privacy settings.
- Creating a group/page or joining a group/page with a lot of professionals can lead to posting jobs becoming a 'nuisance' to the members, and you could be banned for spam.
- Posting jobs on Facebook will get more 'likes' than profiles unless you have a 1000+ friends list.
- Many companies block social networking sites, especially Facebook, and opening/requesting access to them is a hassle.

Although we get very few responses on Facebook when it comes to recruitment, I think it's high time to start using Facebook for recruitment. For example, if we create a company page on FB, it will take time to get likes and build a reputation among job seekers. The usage of FB is limited in our country, but it is going to increase manifold. So, my point is to get prepared for the future and start using Facebook.

I would like to tell you that recently I sourced a candidate through FB, which I could not do with a job portal database and LinkedIn together.

Regards,
Anupam

The Role of Facebook in Recruitment

Facebook is more aligned with personal social networking. While it can be a good platform for employer branding, for recruitment, I would recommend using LinkedIn and job boards. I am sure your company wants to hire the best talent available in the market.

All the best.

I am using both LinkedIn and Facebook. I search for people on Facebook from specific locations who work in the X industry. If I obtain their contact details, I either send an email or call them. Otherwise, I search for them by their names and cities on LinkedIn, and vice versa. I believe both platforms are very good sources for recruitment nowadays. In India, people are conscious about their public profiles and regularly update their professional career details.

I think that we cannot get help by using Facebook for recruitment; it is totally related to social life, not a professional setting.

Akshat, how do we get resumes from Facebook?