Job Recruiters Aren't Taking Advantage of Social Media in Their Search for Rockstar Hires But the majority of job seekers sure are, according to a new study.
By Lindsay Friedman •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Nothing about the job search is easy for either side of the equation.
The Internet presents a flood of choices to job seekers, with hundreds of sites, databases and websites to shift through. So when someone actually sees a job posting shared in his or her social media feed, it's like a gift from the employment heavens.
Bambu by Sprout Social, an employee advocacy platform, interviewed 1,000 online respondents in March 2016 to measure its direct impact on the hiring process. Not so surprisingly, 44 percent of people said they would more likely apply for a job if they saw a listing on social media. Because of the platform, most likely coming from friends and family, job seekers placed more trust in the post or listing compared to other sources.
Related: Why Smart Entrepreneurs Are Swiping 'Right' on Recruiting Apps
But even though folks are yearning to find career opportunities in their news feeds, only about 9.4 percent of businesses use social media as a recruiting tool. It doesn't help that employees want to share company news online, but 77 percent of them don't feel encouraged to.
According to the survey, folks may feel that way because they don't know if the company wants them to share anything in the first place. Others said they didn't have any time or just didn't know what to share. Understandably, some employees were simply afraid to say the wrong thing or wanted to keep a separation between their personal and work lives.
Related: 5 Ways to Cut Down the Cost of Recruiting
The best way to solve the conundrum? Sprout suggests companies open a dialogue, addressing the issue with education and training.
It'd of course also help if companies themselves used social media more. After all, the best way to lead is by example.
