Facebook, LinkedIn Changing Employee-Recruitment Methods: Report

The rise of social media, particularly Facebook and LinkedIn, is changing the way businesses find new talent.

Social media sites are changing the way businesses look for talent, according to a survey of more than 150 human resources and recruiting executives, directors and managers conducted in March 2012 by Research Now on behalf of social enterprise talent management specialist Jobscience.

Thirty-six percent of survey respondents said they plan to use social media behemoth Facebook more for recruiting this year than they did in 2011. Facebook placed second, behind LinkedIn, as the most used social networking site for recruiting.

Prospective employees are also using social media to find the right job, the survey indicated, with 52 percent of U.S. corporations believing that social networks are an important venue for businesses to attract candidates. Study participants believe social media recruiting is here to stay, as 60 percent said reaching a greater number of qualified candidates through social media networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook would be the next "big thing" in recruiting strategies.

"Using social networks to find candidates for current job openings has become a common strategy for recruiters," Ted Elliott, CEO and founder of Jobscience, said in prepared remarks. "But the real value of social recruiting is when companies continually engage with people through social networking€”so when an appropriate job opens up€”the person is familiar with the company and has a propensity to want to work there. It's about social sourcing and building pipelines of talent€”so your talent pool never runs dry."

LinkedIn, which caters specifically to people actively employed or seeking employment, still dominates the landscape. Eighty-six percent of respondents said LinkedIn was the social network that matters. Facebook followed, with 51 percent, while rival Google+ trailed in third place, with 26 percent. Perhaps due to the limited amount of information users can post on microblogging site Twitter, that platform ranked as the least important social network for recruiting, mentioned by only 16 percent of respondents.

"As Facebook becomes the most relevant place on the Web€”it is also putting a face on the 'employment brand' of companies," Elliott continued. "Information about a company is no longer solely controlled by recruiters. Candidates and employees are using social media to gather information about companies. If companies want to attract top talent, they need a strategy for their employment brand€”which includes monitoring how their brand is perceived on social networks, facilitating a social dialog and giving compelling reasons for people to work at their company."