How to Use Social Media to Make Recruiting Easier - Spark Hire

How to Use Social Media to Make Recruiting Easier - Spark HireWhen you work as a recruiter, things like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn become huge assets. Use social media correctly and your job instantly becomes much easier. However, its important to learn how to leverage social media most effectively in order to recruit. Using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for recruiting purposes is far different than how you might use these platforms to interact with friends and family members. Heres how you can become a highly social, effective recruiterWork with what you haveInstead of trying to departure from square one, build upon the contacts you already have. Take some time to figure out who your contacts know and then politely (and appropriately) ask for an introduction to people youd like to meet. If youve since lost touch with a potentially useful contact, send a quick e-mail in order to get reacquainted. Recruiting is all about relationship building, so a good portion of your day shou ld be spent nurturing existing relationships and building new ones.Be boldIf theres a professional you would love to work with, dont be afraid to reach out. It doesnt matter whether they seem fully settled in their current position or not, everyone enjoys receiving a compliment. Send them an e-mail offering kind words about their work. A low-pressure, short e-mail is likely to generate a response, and can help to kickstart a professional relationship that may end up benefitting both of you in the future.Dont be afraid to ask for adviceMany young recruiters are afraid to ask mora experienced professionals for advice. When done properly, there is nothing wrong with asking someone above you to share their experience. If you admire someone in your field, send them an e-mail telling them so, and then ask if you can buy them a cup of coffee and chat for half an hour. Putting a time limit on the discussion helps them to know that they wont be getting whisked away for a three-hour conversat ion, while still allowing you to get the information you need to help your career.While its important to use social networks to meet new contacts, understand that productive networking often happens face-to-face. Join local organizations, attend cocktail hours, and partake in other networking events where youre able to have face-to-face conversations with professionals in your community.