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Based on the fact that the average number of jobs posted to Twitter grows by about 32% each month in the past half a year, the network is estimated to reach a massive 2 million job postings per month by the end of 2014. Following this still rising trend we decided to interview a person who specializes in recruiting, talent management and leadership techniques-Erin Osterhaus- Managing Editor of Software Advice- a resource for free recruiting software reviews and comparisons. She happily agreed to share her insights and provide some answers to why Twitter is on the peak of social recruitment and how is it to be used to get the most value out of it. Enjoy the read!
Why do you think employers choose Twitter as a tool to recruit and reach talent?
There are several reasons. One is most likely financial -Twitter is an inexpensive recruiting tool, and if you’re recruiting on a budget, it’s ideal. All you have to do is sign up. Lars Schmidt, National Public Radio’s Director of Talent Acquisition, has cited this as one of the primary reasons he advocated so strongly for Twitter’s use at NPR- Recruiting for a Big Brand Without a Big Budget. Another reason: employment branding. Twitter is a great way to let people know about your company culture. If you do a good job of communicating what a great working environment your company provides, you might even encourage passive candidates to apply. In any case, creating a following on Twitter is an excellent way to get on people’s radar, even if they’re not necessarily job searching. Finally, Twitter is more responsive, and also more transparent than other recruiting channels. With job boards, applicants often have no way of directly connecting with the recruiter or the hiring manager. Meanwhile, through LinkedIn, job applicants have no way of knowing who has viewed their profile unless they decide to upgrade to a higher membership status. With Twitter, there is more, for lack of a better word, equality. Recruiters and applicants are on the same level. Candidates can see what the employer has to offer in terms of jobs and company culture (if the employer is fully utilizing Twitter) and the potential employer can vet candidates for style, communicative prowess and attitude–all things difficult to garner from other recruiting channels.
Which companies, in your opinion, are good examples of what a great recruiting activities on Twitter look like?
Twitter uses Twitter effectively for recruiting. Their @JoinTheFlock account has about 375,000 followers as a result of their employment branding tactics. In addition to tweeting about open positions, Twitter’s recruiting team uses multimedia -Vine, Instagram and YouTube as well as retweeting tweets from current employees to create a profile that provides followers unique insight into the company’s culture. 
What are the main mistakes that the big companies are facing when starting to recruit with Twitter?
Don’t post only open positions on your company’s recruiting profile. Just don’t. Yes, you should post some standard job listings, but that shouldn’t be the whole shebang. If potential candidates have gone directly to your Twitter page, chances are they already know something about you and they’re looking to learn more. Alternatively, if they have landed there as a result of seeing one of your open job postings, again, they’re probably looking to learn a little more about your organization. To keep candidates interested, use Twitter to the max to show what it’s like to work at your company. Use employee Tweets, multimedia, and respond to potential candidates. It’s a much more effective way of leveraging this social platform. Additionally, company’s shouldn’t go into the social media realm blind. Recruiters, and HR in general, should train employees to avoid social media catastrophes (like what happened at KitchenAid). You should always be aware of what’s going on and develop a social media policy so employees are never confused about what is and isn’t allowed. (For more on this, see this article.)
Your advice to the companies who are planning to start recruiting with Twitter?
First, come up with some clear and executable goals. Twitter should be used for more than just blasting out job postings. Creating awareness about new positions should definitely be a key part of any social recruiting strategy, but your company should also consider how it can create a real-time view into your company’s culture, and make people want to work for you. Big thanks to Erin for sharing her insights and we are looking forward to hear what experiences and opinions you have about recruiting on Twitter!
Feel free to connect with Erin at http://www.linkedin.com/pub/erin-osterhaus/12/425/671
