5 Myths of Social Recruiting

July is Social Recruiting Month at Recruiter.com, and we’re kicking it off by busting some myths, courtesy of Alexander Ruggie. 

Myth No. 1: LinkedIn Is the Best Place to Find Candidates

LinkedIn is a great site for finding certain candidates and for posting jobs in general, but in terms of finding the people who are right for a given position, it is definitely not the only social recruiting source out there — and sometimes, it’s the least effective.

LinkedIn is perfect for finding people with the sort of skills that easily fit into the site’s endorsement schema, but if you’re looking for people with abilities that fall outside this range, it won’t be as viable a tool. For example, if want bring a doctor on board as an expert provider of health-related advice in order to amp up sales of your fitness products, you would be more successful posting a query on a site like HARO than you would searching for a candidate on LinkedIn.

Myth No. 2: Facebook Profiles Can Prove Whether a Candidate Is the Right Choice

Facebook profiles are undoubtedly a great way to get an idea of a candidate’s personality, but what you see on a candidate’s Facebook page is really only the tip of the iceberg. Grammar mistakes and provocative photos found on Facebook shouldn’t necessarily rule a candidate out for a position, simply because these things probably aren’t the sum total of who the person is. Sometimes, people don’t know how to set their social profiles up; sometimes, they just don’t know that everyone can see the cheerleader hover-hand photo they just posted while inebriated.

What Facebook profiles really offer is a partial view of a candidate’s social life — not a view of their ability to do the job you need of them. Social profiles can help us learn more about candidates, but they don’t tell the whole story — and so, we should never use them to make decisions about a candidate’s viability.

Myth No. 3: Occupation-Based Social Sites Are the Only Way to Recruit Through Social Media

These sites might be the best options for some employers attempting to recruit through social media, but they are definitely not the only option. Many employers forget that social media is a diverse field, with people pursuing their interests throughout a vast array of sites.

Facebook might be a great place to recruit a social media manager or go surfing through your existing network of connections for people who might make good employees. Pinterest might be a great place to search for a creative director, a graphic artist, or a product designer. Twitter might allow recruiters to find brand directors, event planners, or customer-service managers.

Ultimately, all social sites can be used in one form or another for recruiting. Just remember that each platform has its strengths and weaknesses, depending on the type of talent you need.

Myth No. 4: Millennials Are the Only Candidates You Can Find on Social Media

Millennials may be the first generation to truly grow up around computers, but they aren’t the only candidates hanging around in social media spaces. Many Gen. X-ers and baby boomers are putting themselves out there on social media sites, and these candidates are perfect for a host of jobs across the board.

Additionally, the fact that these older generations are willing to go the extra mile and join the social-media ranks should be a direct indication that they adaptable, passionate, and committed to their careers.

Myth No. 5: Social Recruiting Is Free

Recruiting on social media is truly cheap, but it is not free by any means. In fact, if you truly want to find a quality candidate on social media, it’s going to cost you.

Finding candidates on social media requires time, effort, and of course, some money. Recruiters have to make connections and build rapports with potential employees. And, if recruiters really want to find the best candidates, they have to make use of tools like targeted advertising to reach the right audiences — and that’s not free.

So, social avenues may be truly cost-effective ways to find the right people, but they are by no means completely free — if you’re going to do social recruiting well, that is.