Software Advice Releases 2013 Recruiting Channels Survey, Urges Recruiters to Use Twitter

 With the rise and popularity of social media, more and more recruiters are using these tools to source candidates. And with billions of users across multiple networking sites, it’s easy to assume that social media would easily trump other traditional forms of sourcing—yet, this isn’t necessarily the case. And the folks at Software Advice, leading resource for software buyers, have the data to prove it.

Teaming up with iCIMS, PCRecruiter, Jobvite, HRsmart, and RPO Association, Software Advice conducted the 2013 Recruiting Channels Survey to discover which recruiting channels are not only most popular, but which are the most efficient and bring in quality candidates.

The survey of around 200 recruiters revealed that, although widely used, social media is not the leading channel used to source talent—traditional job boards, employee referrals and company career pages lead the pack.

Key results include:

• 97 percent of recruiters said they used employee referrals to source new hires in 2013

• Traditional job boards and company career pages came in at no. 2 and 3, respectively

• At 80 percent, social media placed 4^th in leading channels for sourcing

Yet, the data also showed that while social media may not currently be the no.1 way recruiters source talent, it is the channel, after employee referrals, that brings in the most highly qualified candidates.

Because of this, Software Advice says recruiters should really focus on one particular social media tool when sourcing talent and improving social recruiting techniques—Twitter. Why?

HR analyst for Software Advice, Erin Osterhaus, gives a few tips (based off her interview with Anitra Collins, Twitter’s Recruiting Programs Officer):

Showcases Company Culture

“Tweets that best showcase company culture provide a visual element, such as video, images or other rich content.”

Hashtags Locate Passive Candidates

“You can target your company’s social audience by researching popular, relevant keywords and hash-tagging your posts with these terms. Doing this will feed your messages as search results to jobseekers sifting through tweeted opportunities tied to these keywords. This is somewhat of a “first step” in social recruiting, as hashtags will help bring people to your page who might not have ever heard of your company.”

Direct Connection with Candidates

“Just as Twitter’s [Anitra Collins] @JoinTheFlock connects directly with candidates who appear to be qualified, make sure your company is responding and engaging with interested applicants. Provide them with helpful instructions for where and how they can apply.”