The Future of Recruitment:
Using Social Media to Find
the Job of Your Dreams
Are you a Millennial looking for a job where you can be valued and taken seriously?
The older generations love to paint Millennials as self-centered, tech-obsessed teenagers; but as a real-life Millennial job seeker, you are likely an adult with an education looking to save up for a home or support your family.
As Millennials flood the American workforce with Gen Z hot on their heels, many corporations have turned to social media to find hard workers like you. Let’s discuss why recruiters are turning to social media, and how you can use this new form of recruitment to find the job of your dreams.
Why Are Businesses Recruiting on Social Media?
Millennials will always be the first generation raised with social media, and chances are it remains ingrained in your day-to-day life. In fact, experts find that the majority of Facebook users are Millennials, with those aged 25-40 dominating Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest as well.
In order to reach the bulk of the workforce, corporations are now turning to social media to connect with Millennial and Gen Z job seekers. Recruiters want to meet new talent, and businesses are leveraging social media to engage, attract, and hire new employees. Let’s discuss the ways corporations employ these tactics, and how you can use them to your advantage.
To Engage
Your potential employers want to engage with you on the platforms where you are your most authentic self, meaning they’re likely checking up on your profiles once you submit a job application.
Employers want to go beyond the resume and references to see “the real you.” This allows recruiters a glimpse into your personality and helps them get a feel for what you’d be like in the workplace. Leverage this engagement to your advantage by cleaning up your social media profiles and interacting with corporations you want to work for on Instagram or LinkedIn.
To Attract
Recruiters are using social media every day to attract qualified applicants. Whether through Facebook Ads or by building an online community, these corporations are using social media to grab your attention and reel you in.
How can you use this to your advantage? Commit to engaging with like-minded individuals online and become a valuable contributor to these niche communities. A company’s Instagram page or LinkedIn is a great place to start, but you don’t have to limit yourself to LinkedIn to get noticed by employers online.
Allow yourself to follow job leads you’re genuinely interested in, but don’t stop there. There are specialized job search engines online for any career you may be interested in from healthcare to performing arts. Connecting on social media can help you go beyond “googling” for obvious answers and home in on the specific job of your dreams.
To Hire
Third, recruiters are using social media to actively hire online. As more businesses use social media for marketing, they are encouraged to post their jobs directly online on their social media channels. Major corporations like Dell, Taco Bell, and Marriot are implementing these strategies, and small local businesses are beginning to catch on as well.
As mentioned above, you should be actively engaging with communities in your niche on social media. If you’re following corporations in the field that you are passionate about, you will be the first to know when there’s a job opening fit for you.
Being a Millennial is tough. In your lifetime, you’ve already gone through multiple recessions, a housing crisis, the ongoing climate crisis, and a global pandemic. Don’t let your job search stress you out. By educating yourself on how recruiters use social media, you can use their tactics of engaging, attracting, and hiring online to your advantage and find the job of your dreams. Corporations are leveraging social media to find their perfect candidate. Why shouldn’t it be you?
