Topic > Role of Social Media in Employment

Merriam-Webster defines social media as “forms of electronic communication (such as social networking websites and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, messages personal and other content (such as videos).” Social media technologies take many different forms including blogs, business networks, enterprise social networks, forums, microblogs, photo sharing, product/service reviews, social bookmarking, social gaming, social networking, video sharing, and virtual worlds ( Aichner 2015). rapid and widespread information; targeted, flexible and diversified interactive approaches; and a relatively competitive price, social media will increasingly contribute to recruiting and job searching, have a significant effect on traditional recruiting channels, and ultimately change the recruiting and job searching model. In the 1990s, the main method for companies to recruit was to advertise in newspapers, magazines or television and then collect paper resumes sent by candidates by mail. With the advent of the Internet age, more and more companies have begun to post job advertisements online, and job seekers can send their resumes via email. Some recruiting websites have become major recruiting channels for employers. In recent years, due to the rapid development and growing popularity of social media, more and more employers have started to create dedicated recruiting accounts on social media to attract more active and passive job seekers. As an essential channel for recruiting, social media has attracted the attention of all recruiters. Social media is the tool and platform through which people can share opinions, insights, experiences and perspectives with each other. The most important characteristics of social media are user reviews and ratings, as well as user sharing and liking (Kailer, Mandl, and Schill 2013). Compared to traditional recruitment channels (such as recruitment websites, job fairs, headhunters, etc.), recruitment based on social media platforms has the obvious advantage of wider dissemination of information, attracting passive candidates and to increase opportunities for direct communication between employers and employees. Thanks to these advantages, recruitment based on social media platforms can efficiently address the problems of limited information dissemination, insufficient job candidates and high cost of recruitment channels, which are a concern for recruiters. Social media can help recruiters reach target candidate groups proactively and attract and integrate them into the company. Consistent with traditional recruiting channels, the goal of social media recruiting is also to free up vacant positions and complete hiring activities. However, the contribution and added value of social media recruiting for businesses is that more companies realize that social media can efficiently promote employer benefits to the target candidate group. Compared to the rigid and formulaic approaches of traditional recruiting channels, social media methods are more lively, personalized and vigorous. By customizing and embedding your company culture, you can demonstrate the difference between your industry competitors. At the same time, displaying and promoting the employer's brand image also influences the job search behavior of passive job seekers. Through the introduction ofcompany history, culture, operations, salaries and benefits, will proactively attract passive job seekers and increase the number of applications. Let's take the example of the international professional social media, LinkedIn; Individual LinkedIn members can create their own professional files for free and contact known or unknown members to enrich their professional network. In 2011, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said that LinkedIn had 85 million members at that time and was adding a new member every second (Ovide 2011). It makes social media a vast pool of talent. Meanwhile, LinkedIn tailors several recruiting and branding options for business accounts. Businesses can create free business accounts on this platform and periodically post company news and events to attract followers. It is also possible for companies to create a career interface to promote employer values, publish vacancies and introduce relevant criteria. Additionally, a company can purchase a recruiter account to directly search for potential candidates. Unlike passively waiting for applications from job seekers, social media-based recruiting requires that recruiters can actively search for and reach candidates (especially passive candidates), interact with them, motivate their enthusiasm for the job, and ultimately reach the recruitment goal. In the context of the fierce competition for talent among competitors, recruiters need excellent communication skills, where communication methods vary widely depending on the type of audience and communication channels, for example whether the target group is university students or recent graduates. The languages ​​and ways of communication should be young and the topics should always be combined with favorite current issues to attract the attention of job seekers to employers. It should be noted that using this type of computer language is trendy on social media, such as Facebook or Twitter. But if it takes place on official channels such as the employer's official website or LinkedIn, the use of language must be appropriate, in line with the company culture and meet the requirements of the communication guidelines of the company's public relations department . Companies have increasingly recognized the benefits of social media recruiting and have begun testing this new recruiting channel. In achieving recruitment goals, businesses must also fully recognize the disadvantages and risks of social media recruiting. First, the use of social media recruiting and the extent to which it is used is influenced by a company's scale and strategy, HR strategies, recruiting staff, and many other factors. If current recruitment channels can fully meet recruitment needs, the use of social media will contribute more to promoting brand image and creating and maintaining a long-term talent pool. It should be noted that the costs of creating, operating and maintaining some social media (especially when all services are purchased) can be higher than the price of traditional recruiting channels. Businesses should select appropriate social media and purchase relevant service content based on their hiring budget and key performance indicators. Secondly, since the recruitment staff needs to contact job candidates, the recruitment team must have sufficient staff, a reasonable team structure and competent recruiters, which are essential factors for exploiting the