Using Twitter for Recruiting: Worth the Effort?

Many employers regularly use social media as part of the hiring process. Some use LinkedIn to post jobs. Some use Facebook as part of their screening process. Fewer, however, see Twitter as a viable resource in recruiting. Why is that? Can Twitter be used as an efficient and beneficial part of the recruitment process? Let’s take a look.

Despite the fact that a tweet is limited in scope due to the 140-character limit, it can still be a useful component for recruiting efforts. Many jobseekers subscribe to the Twitter feeds of the companies they are interested in working for. Still more jobseekers subscribe to feeds that deliver links to job posts all day long. Thousands of jobseekers know that Twitter can be a useful place to look—employers just need to use the space in a way that actually gets seen and gets prospective employees interested.

Tips for Recruiting via Twitter

Twitter can be an easy, inexpensive way to get more exposure for job posts. Let’s take a look at some of the many ways employers are doing exactly that. Here are several tips to give you some ideas on where to get started.

• Remember Twitter limits: 140 characters or less. The information included in the tweet will need to stay within these limits—and that includes your link to the job post. (Twitter will shorten the link for you if it’s over 25 characters, but it still needs to be taken into consideration.) If your recruiting team is not already familiar with Twitter and how it works, start off by getting everyone up to speed on the platform itself before jumping in.
• When you post a link to a job opening on Twitter, ask employees to retweet it, which significantly increases the number of people who will see the post.
• Don’t ignore your Twitter feed when there aren’t any vacancies to promote. Continually post interesting, insightful, and relevant information to keep people engaged. Some employers opt to share industry info. Others post information that provides a peek into the culture of the company, such as photos from company events. This way, you’ll have more followers who will see your job posts later.
• Remember that your company’s Twitter account is an extension of the company brand. Be sure that the company profile is professional and conveys the image you’re looking to project—both in the look and in the content. Any messaging should be consistent with the company values and strategy, as candidates will be looking at the account (among other sources) to gain a sense of the organization.
• If there are relevant hashtags for your industry or for an industry event, use those to gain exposure when appropriate. (A hashtag is the use of the “#” symbol at the front of a word or phrase. This allows the word or phrase to be easily searched for and tracked, thus increasing visibility of a post when used properly.)
• Research the common hashtags used for jobs in your industry or geographic location. If jobseekers are already using them as a search term, this is another way to gain exposure.
• Another hashtag tactic is to include “#job” in the post. Also put a hashtag in front of other terms that candidates will use to search, such as the position title (#editor), city name (#Boston), or job function (#accounting).
• If your organization is large enough, consider creating a separate Twitter feed just for job postings. This will allow candidates to follow and monitor that feed.
• Be sure to have dedicated resources to follow up on all responses received via Twitter. In today’s social media environment, it is assumed that responses will be very quick. Potential applicants may post questions to you using Twitter, so there should be someone responsible for monitoring these communications. It’s also important that the company be seen as Twitter-savvy if you’re going to use the platform effectively.
• Consider enlisting the help of some of the established job networks on Twitter. For example, TweetMyJobs® has an established reputation for being a source of posts to thousands of jobseekers. By having their job listings distributed on the TweetMyJobs network, employers will significantly increase exposure.
• Rather than just putting job posts out there, also consider using Twitter to search for candidates based on terms that are relevant to the job. In this way, your recruiting team can reach out to potential candidates and engage with them directly.

As you can see, there’s no shortage of ways to utilize Twitter as part of your recruiting process. What are some of the ways you’ve found Twitter to be useful in securing new talent for your organization?

About Bridget Miller:

Bridget Miller is a business consultant with a specialized MBA in International Economics and Management, which provides a unique perspective on business challenges. She’s been working in the corporate world for over 15 years, with experience across multiple diverse departments including HR, sales, marketing, IT, commercial development, and training.