Social media in recruitment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social media in recruitment - Essay Example For organizations, social media recruitment involves the application of social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to hire new staff. For job seekers, social media recruitment also involves the use of social media tools, but to find employment (Hegebarth, 2012:34). Overall, social media means harnessing the power of social media to identify and exploit opportunities in the employment industry. Unlike traditional methods of recruitment, social media introduces a new dynamic that involves virtual interaction. With social media, employers and prospective employees do not have to meet physically until the signing of contracts. This is a marked change when compared to traditional techniques in which physical contact was compulsory (Paik & Navarre-Jackson, 2011:479). Ernst & Young is an example of a company that is using social media to facilitate recruitment. The company has built an employer brand on social networks and successfully positioned itself as the premier place to work. It also uses social media like Skype to conduct interviews for job seekers. Finally, the firm uses its social media presence to update job seekers on latest trends in job searching. Job seekers are probably the biggest beneficiaries of social media. Over the years, they have learnt to exploit the power of social media in their quest to find the right employer (Brown & Swain, 2009:45). Currently, job seekers submit CVs online and interact with companies that have a social media presence. Job seekers take time to monitor pages and handles of companies with a social media presence to get updates on job recruitment, new opportunities, and industry status. It is now common for job seekers to hear about vacancies on social media and then apply, get interviewed (on social media) and start working. Another often underrated use of social media among job seekers is in learning how to conduct themselves in interviews. Of course there are other sources of this information in