Social Recruiting Becomes the Norm

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Social recruiting, the process of hiring people through social media sites rather than traditional help wanted listings, has become the norm for most companies, according to a recent survey of 1,000 human resources and recruitment professionals.

A survey by Jobvite revealed 92 percent of U.S. companies this year are using social networks and media to find new talent, up from 78 percent in 2007.

The research found that while LinkedIn continues to be the most popular recruiting network, more and more companies are turning to other popular social networking sites to find qualified candidates. Two-thirds of businesses now recruit through Facebook, with more than half using Twitter.

"We continue to see social recruiting gain popularity because it is more efficient than the days of sifting through a haystack of résumés," said Dan Finnigan, president and CEO of Jobvite.

In addition to its efficiency, many recruiters are increasing their use of social media because of the success they are having with it. The study found that more than 70 percent of employers have hireda candidate through social media, up from 58 percent in 2010.    

In addition, since implementing social recruiting, nearly half of human resources professionals surveyed have received more candidates to choose from, with more than 40 percent believing it has led to an improved candidate pool. 

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"Social recruiting became the norm because it works so well," said Eric Hollander, global recruiting manager at Chiquita Brands International.      

The study highlights the importance for job seekers to keep their online persona squeaky clean. While most employers responded well to seeing job candidate's postings about involvement in professional organizations, volunteering for charities and making donations to nonprofits, other online behaviors made it less likely for companies to be interested in an employee. For example, using profanity, making references to illegal drug use, posts of a sexual nature and bad grammar were all highly frowned upon.

The surveyed did find that recruiters and hiring managers tend to be neutral in their reactions to political opinions and religious posts.

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