The Age of Social Recruiting

Companies today have to approach applicants in a completely different way. What does it take? Courage to change and a feel of the tonality in the new channels.

Classic job ads? We’ve almost stopped using them completely. 85 percent of my new employees in the past two years - 17 out of 20 fresh hires - came to us via Instagram. They also sent application videos via YouTube, resumes via WhatsApp, or simply contacted me personally via LinkedIn or Xing.

Admittedly, as a company that employs many digital creatives we are predestined as pioneers for creative, unusual application processes. But I personally believe that we, as a digital industry, are more like a blueprint for other sectors of the economy to follow step by step.

Social recruiting not only involves the use of digital social networks, but also and above all includes personal encounters. Although the classic job interview no longer takes place as a prelude, but is instead replaced by a form of dialogue, in which both sides "get to know" each other and exchange their ideas within the framework of the available channels.

The new generation of employees has their own set of ideas toward a suitable working environment. And the shortage of skilled workers in many industries means that companies have to deal with an applicant market. Companies that are not familiar with social recruiting will therefore have a much harder time in the future.

What makes me so sure about this scenario? Over 50 percent of today's 14 to 49 year-olds are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Xing at least once a week. According to a recent study, around a third of them visit the platforms on a daily basis. And it’s an upward pointing trend, especially in younger target groups. Many people now mix personal and private information in their social accounts. This is also because the networks themselves have become more and more indistinguishable. LinkedIn, for example, is increasingly a social network, while Facebook is trying to penetrate the domain of business.

How does someone currently apply to an appealing job? By means of a classic job advertisement on the company's career page or via job portals, where he or she then sends an application folder to the company and, ideally, is invited to an interview? Perhaps in large corporations and traditionally managed industries.

My experience shows a changing behavioural pattern: Applicants are attaching less importance to corporate websites and glossy brochures. When their interest for a job change arises, the first step - as many HR managers from other industries confirm - is usually as follows: First, the company's overall ratings are read on portals such as Kununu or Glassdoor. Then the company's Instagram account is scanned over to get a feel for the company culture and working atmosphere. Blog(s) and YouTube channels also provide important clues. Recruiting videos also provide a feel for how "authentic" the company is presented. And last but not least, social media profiles of company executives also provide reliable insights.

Only if the final evaluation is positive in sum, is contact established that then leads to an official application. If the content on the channels is perceived as outdated, overstated or boring, the application is not even sent out. Swipe left, so to speak. Welcome to the age of social recruiting.

The new contact points also open up completely new opportunities for creative companies. What you need to do it? Courage for change, a feeling for the mechanisms and the tonality of the new channels. And the willingness to interact quickly.

One example: I frequently receive applications in a JPEG format via Instagram direct message. This completely disrupts the classical application process. The applicant assumes that I will accept this kind of presentation. At the same time, he or she shows that our company profile on Instagram has spiked his or her interest. But how do I achieve this status as a company to be addressable via such a non-traditional way? Quite simple and yet so difficult for many: through continuous and sincere community management.

It can also happen the other way around with a public application video on LinkedIn or Xing. You've already gotten to know each other through the comment function and mutual interest has been kindled. Especially applicants who have an attractive CV present themselves to potential employers on their own specially created website.

Anyone believing that only companies have high expectations of potential employees is completely wrong. Even job seekers - especially those of generations Y and Z - have very concrete requirements towards companies: Their talents should be promoted. There must be an opportunity to climb the career ladder - within the framework of a sophisticated new work concept, of course. There are many companies that still believe they are in the dominant position. But companies that have a free choice of applicants are actually in the minority nowadays. If a company wants to remain fit for the future, it should respond to the values and demands of its applicants - both privately and professionally.

This starts with the freedom to arrange the workplace, continues with workload and personal development, and extends to the sustainability and attitude of the company. New employees expect more than a mission statement, they demand a credible implementation.

The most striking trend in social recruiting is currently the depiction of everyday working life on Instagram, one of the fastest growing networks. Potential applicants can expect to gain a halfway authentic insight into everyday company life. Why should I become part of your team? This question hovers in every applicant's head when they are looking for a new job.

The goal is to give the applicant attractive reasons to join. In addition, enterprises with complex products and services can profit from the visual medium. Instagram offers the ideal platform to cleverly bring the range of services into a new context with the help of storytelling. Particularly regular stories, which grant insights to outsiders and transport atmosphere, are popular with today's generation of applicants.

A brainstorming session on the balcony in the sunshine? No problem. An agency dog to cuddle? Why only one? Superfood in a meeting room? What kind of question is that? You even get a subsidy to the gym of your choice! Communicating benefits is one way. To stage yourself creatively as a company is another. The shortage of skilled workers means that companies have to break new ground - and social recruiting is one of them.