Should Recruiters Pin their Hopes on Pinterest?
We know that the huge Pinterest user base is a potential goldmine of talent; it’s the 3rd most popular social networking site based on hits, so it deserves to stand alongside the other networks as a potential talent mine. But, potential aside, what can Pinterest really offer to recruiters; is there a pipeline of quantifiable and credible talent, and if so, how can recruiter’s access this talent?
Pinterest, an accidental diversity management tool?
We know there are large quantities of people on Pinterest, but how diverse and representative is the user base? Well, figures from earlier this year presented by Iqaurius Media suggest that 83% of US Pinterest users are female, but in the UK, 56% are male. This means that if these figures have been carried through to the fourth quarter, then US companies can in theory use Pinterest to target female talent as a means of meeting diversity targets. Sectors that have traditionally low female participation such as engineering might be able to target Pinterest to help diversify their hiring. None of the other networks can really boast this ability.
Education Levels
25% of the Pinterest Audience has a bachelors or graduate degree which is similar to Facebook or Google+ w,hich means the Pinterest audience is not as highly educated as the LinkedIn audience with nearly 50% of users possessing a degree. This means that Pinterest may not currently be a good source of talent for more senior roles or roles requiring qualifications, but may be a better source of candidates in office and administrative support positions
Top 5 Job titles Trending on Pinterest
Consistent with the findings on the lower education levels of Pinterest relative to LinkedIn, 12.73% of jobs posted on Pinterest are office and administration support based, (3 times more than internet users than a whole), so a great way to attract these kind of staff.
The next four most popular job titles to be trending on Pinterest in order of popularity are: Sales Related, Education, Training Library, Healthcare Support and Management,and so this suggests that recruiter are successfully sourcing this type of talent through Pinterest.
Actually Using Pinterest For Recruiting
It seems that there is a pretty good audience on Pinterest relative to other social networks, but you do need to focus in specific areas in order to maximum your return at this stage. So, what methods can you use to hire on Pinterest?
Direct Sourcing
Simply search Pinterest for potential talent using keyword phrase variations that incorporate words such as: ‘resume’, ‘cv’, ‘portfolio’. Being visual, Pinterest is a great place for creative types to market their talent and they do just that! Just put in ‘creative resume’ and you’ll get a whole list of amazing info-graphic resumes from designers and you can of course view their portfolio, providing they have pinned it.
You can search by ‘pins’ (people’s interests), boards and people. Pinterest enables you to direct source talent and relate to them in a uniquely visual way which makes it an important addition to your screening process.
Create a Pinterest Page
As well as your direct sourcing channel, you can create a Job Board to market job opportunities within your business. If you are big enough you could have board for each department. You can have career related boards or pins relating to company culture, life on the job, staff profiles, etc… and of course you can include a range of media formats such as photos, info-graphics video and links to more detailed information pages.
Once again it is a great way to build an employer branded visually enriched marketing channel into your business
So, in conclusion, I do think it’s a good time for recruiters to start pinning some hope on Pinterest for talent sourcing, especially in the areas of creative and administration and office support.