Social Networking Effective Tools in Recruitment

Earlier executive or candidate sourcing was done purely on the basis of internal networking, and then it was partially swapped with the print and communication media. At present along with above mentioned sources social media plays a pivotal role in the recruitment process. It has become an effective tool for executive searching and background verification. Nowadays Social Networking sites are gaining popularity in job search and recruitment. According to a survey conducted by one of the job portals betwee
February and March 2012 among more than 2000 hiring managers and human resource professionals, nearly 37% i.e. 2 in 5 companies utilise social networking sites to search for candidates.

Recruiting through social networking sites or social media is also known as social recruiting or social hiring or social media recruitment. The social recruitment is the process of sourcing or recruiting candidates through the use of social platforms as promotional channels by employers and recruiters. The most popular social networking sites used for recruitment are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and so forth.

Social Recruiting is categorised in two different types viz internet sourcing and social distribution. Internet sourcing means searching for passive, as well as active candidates through social media profiles, blogs and online communities. Whereas recruiting through social distribution means using social media as a platform and network to distribute or display job vacancies. The majority of the companies are using social recruiting to source candidates, as well as to investigate applicants. Even all major Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) companies utilise social media recruitment for their clients' executive research. Therefore, it is very important for job seekers to understand the techniques used by companies for social recruiting. One can use an employer's recruitment tactics to his / her advantage and position themselves to be identified by the companies.

Essentially to understand public and online persona of an individual social media helps a lot. The profile detail, pictures, friend groups, comments and status mentioned on social networking sites, give an overall picture of the candidate. It also helps to carry background check for the candidate. Social networking sites are ended up being a regular manifestation of conveyance today. Hiring managers check following things on social media while recruiting an individual.

If the candidate present himself / herself professionally.
If the candidate is good fit for the company culture.
Learn more about the candidate's qualification.
Communication Skills of candidate can be judged from the comments and status.
Reference posted by the other people in his / her network.
Hence it is advisable for job seekers to use the social profile messages and media content customised to their advantage. They should filter the information which may tarnish their professional image.