Contributed by Eva Wislow
When you’re evaluating potential employees, you’re probably checking out their social media profiles. That’s a smart thing to do. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all other social media profiles give you an impression of a candidate’s character. But that’s not all social media can offer a hiring manager.
Social media not only helps you evaluate a potential candidate, it also enables you to act as a recruiter.
Through social media, you can attract influencers and passive job candidates who have the skills you need and will push your company towards growth.
To get the most out of social media recruiting, you should consider exploring Snapchat just as much as Facebook and Twitter. Snapchat is newer to the scene but is proving a viable tool during the recruiting process.
1. Before You Start Recruiting, Become a Master of Snapchat
You can’t use a tool you don’t understand, right? And you shouldn’t use a tool your barely understand either since you’ll be representing a company here. Get to know Snapchat well so that you can make a great impression.
So first thing: learn what Snapchat is all about. It’s a platform that enables you to communicate with people through temporary messages, images, and videos.
Download the app and create an account. Snapchat won’t let you change your username later, so choose something professional now or use the name of your business. Add a profile photo and add some colleagues.
Since you’ll be using Snapchat for recruiting, it’s important to keep the connections professional. Add your colleagues and LinkedIn contacts. Then, you’ll be all set up to start sending snaps (direct messages to individuals) and stories (temporary videos and images that all your friends can see).
2. Share the News
The greatest value of Snapchat is in the stories where you can share important messages with all your friends. This is how you will attract talent towards your organization.
But first, you have to let people know that you’re using Snapchat on your company’s behalf. Make sure to share the news via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other networks. Promote the link at the official website, too.
3. Start Posting Creative Content
Snapchat is all about creativity. You can combine videos and images, and alter the stories with clear messages. Snapchat itself got creative with recruiting. They used their own app to recruit Uber engineers. It worked like this: If a Snapchat user was near Uber headquarters, they could use a filter with cute little images of taxi cabs and that read, “This place driving you mad?”. But the filter also led the users to Snapchat’s job page. Now that’s a creative way of recruiting talent from other companies!
You can’t exactly create your own recruitment filter, but you still have the ability to share videos and images on Snapchat. That’s more than enough potential to explore.
4. Show What Happens Behind the Curtain
A potential candidate, even a passive one, is always curious about company culture. They can’t really taste it through the website or the photos you post on Facebook. However, they can really feel it through a Snapchat story.
Lilian Riken, a senior recruiter for CareersBooster, tells us how to do that:
“Show what goes on inside the building. What do people really do there? Showcase an ordinary day at the office, but don’t turn it into a boring video. You can film a video of the team celebrating a member’s birthday. You can show how much the office cat loves you all. You have the opportunity to show videos and photos. That’s enough for you to convey your company’s culture in its best light.”
5. Post Job Ads as Snapchat Stories
This is the most obvious way to use this platform for recruitment. It’s a really effective way to advertise an open position to a narrow target audience. Share the news on other social media. Tell them you have something really special for them on Snapchat. If the ad is good, the people who see it will quickly spread the news.
So how do you create a job ad on Snapchat? Easy: just take a photo or video of your employees, the office, or yourself. Add a creative message and make the job description as clear as possible.
Don’t forget the main purpose of Snapchat. It’s the same as any other social media platform: communication. So don’t turn this ad into a one-way piece of information. Ask people to send their own snaps, with explanations why they are the perfect candidates for this job.
Snapchat is different from all other social media platforms you’ve been exploring. It’s more playful, vibrant, and creative. It’s raw. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being honest and showing the real culture of your company. That’s what really attracts great candidates.
Eva Wislow is a career coach and HR Executive from Pittsburgh. She is on a mission to help people find their true calling. Eva maintains a strong interest in bringing the digital revolution in human resources. She writes at assignyourwriter.co.uk and finds her inspiration in writing and peace of mind through yoga. Connect with @evawislow on Twitter.
