Twitter is one of the largest social networking platforms in the world, with over 157,000 tweets being posted per second. With this many users online at one time, the scope for reaching a large audience is huge, and the Twittersphere finally appears to be tapping into this unique ability, helping to provide low cost online recruitment solutions via targeting of specific users.
Twitter and Recruitment
Twitter has always been a site used for promoting personal opinions and views, with millions of users making the most of the 140-character word count to discuss a huge variety of topics. The added use of ‘hashtags’ – the tagging of specific words in order to create a search term – means people can search for specific subjects, people and businesses all by inserting a # in front of their search term. Twitter is already used by companies and low cost online recruitment agencies (we love it!), however the sheer volume of tweets per day mean that job advertisments can easily get lost in the ether (the lifespan of a tweet is about 5 minutes).
Using hashtagging to define search terms for potential candidates is an excellent way of beginning the hunt for new team members, however it is tapping into the inactive online talent that can really benefit companies in the long run. There could be thousands of perfectly-qualified candidates using Twitter who are either a) missing out on prospective jobs due to not seeing your advertisement as it becomes lost in the sea of daily tweets, or b) not finding you because they are simply unaware of the recruitment benefits of the network, choosing to use it purely as a social medium instead.
The new Twitter Job Card hopes to change all that.
The Twitter Job Card
Due to the incredibly high number of tweets posted per day, up to 500million, and the 140-character limit, as we mention above, it can be hard to maintain a decent lifespan for tweets as they can be hidden almost instantly. This is where the Twitter Job Card comes into play; recruiters post the standard 140-character post with the option of adding a button and hashtag which links to a longer and more detailed job specification. Users then have the option of applying online via the website Dice, creating a valuable low cost link between a passive tweet and a keen eye on a job description.
Utilising Twitter’s already popular hashtagging element to specifically advertise to candidates who may not have thought to use Twitter for recruitment allows you to reach an entirely new audience of professionals that may be hard to come by, such as programmers and tech-based workers.
Dual Purpose
Twitter has the positive aspect of being a tool not just suited to advertising but to conversation – allowing potential candidates to converse with companies about a job whilst simultaneously demonstrating their social skills, talents and knowledge before they even get to the CV! All this helps create online social relationships which hopefully, can be moulded into professional applications and numerous successful hires.
We knew Twitter was good…but it just got better for recruiters! Follow the @RecRev Twitter here for all jobs and latest news – we’d love to hear from you.
Jamie Mistlin find me on Google+.
Castle Hill House