If you’re not using social media to complement your hiring efforts yet, then you’re seriously falling way behind the trend.

Earlier this summer, Jobvite unveiled its annual Social Recruiting Survey, which found that social media has become an essential recruiting tool for successful HR teams. Currently, 92 percent of companies are using social media to recruit new employees, which is up from 78 percent five years ago.

Survey results are based on answers from more than 1,000 human resources and other recruitment professionals who were asked about their social media recruiting activities and intentions.

Some key findings of the survey include:

  • LinkedIn remains the most popular social network among recruiters, with usage increasing from 87 percent in 2011 to 93 percent in 2012.
  • 66 percent of recruiters are using Facebook, up 11 percent from last year.
  • 54 percent of recruiters are using Twitter.
  • 73 percent of employes have successfully hired a candidate through social media, up from 63 percent in 2011 and 58 percent in 2010.
  • 89 percent of recruiters have hired through LinkedIn, 25 percent through Facebook, and 15 percent through Twitter.
  • 49 percent of recruiters have seen the size of their candidate pools increase since adopting social media.
  • 43 percent of recruiters think social media leads to better quality candidates.
  • 20 percent of recruiters say hiring through social media is quicker than through traditional channels.
  • 71 percent of recruiters consider themselves moderate to exceptional social recruiters.
  • 48 percent of recruiters always check a candidate’s social profiles.
  • 80 percent of recruiters like candidates who belong to professional organizations.

“The rise in social recruiting has allowed both candidates and employers an easier way to find the best match,” Dan Finnigan, president and CEO of Jobvite, said in a press release. “We continue to see social recruiting gain popularity because it is more efficient than the days of sifting through a haystack of resumes. It also increases quality referral hires, which our own data on Jobvite proves are hired faster and last longer.”

By now, most companies know how important it is to have a good recruitment software system in place. But how does your company value that software’s ability to integrate with social media?

Last year, Jobvite released its annual Social Recruiting Survey and introduced the new Jobvite Index, both of which unveil how recruiters are using social media. The data prove that social media is becoming more and more important in the recruiting process.

Overall, the number of companies planning to recruit through social media increased from 83 percent to 89 percent last year. At the same time, 64 percent of companies were using at least two social networks for their recruiting efforts.

“The data show that recruiting departments, like marketing departments, are reaching and engaging their targets in multiple social networks,” Dan Finnigan, Jobvite president and CEO, said in a company press release. “The fastest moving companies increasingly use the richness of profiles in LinkedIn, the power of online connections in Facebook, and the instant reach of Twitter to develop valuable talent pools and make new hires.”

Some other key findings of the survey include:

  • The number of companies that have hired through social media increased from 58 percent to 64 percent between 2010 and 2011.
  • Although companies still claim referrals bring the highest quality candidates, only 30 percent were planning to increase their referral budget, while 55 percent were spending more on social recruiting. Only 16 percent were paying more for job board postings.
  • As we previously noted, 64 percent of companies use at least two social networks for recruiting, while 40 percent of companies use at least three.
  • About 73 percent of social hires come from LinkedIn, while 20 percent come from Facebook, and 7 percent come from Twitter.
  • The fight for jobs isn’t expected to die down anytime soon, as 77 percent of companies anticipate an increase in competition, and 61 percent plan to recruit from their competitors.

“Jobvite’s new data confirms our research that social recruiting has become an essential element of today’s corporate recruiting strategy,” Josh Bersin, president and CEO of Bersin & Associates, said. “The data also points out that referral-based recruiting is a new ‘secret weapon’ for talent acquisition. Companies that focus heavily on referral strategies, enabled by social networks, are delivering the highest quality of hire at the lowest overall cost.”

Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer, Erin Egan, recently put business bosses on notice that the world’s largest social network is prepared to take legal action against the “distressing increase” in employers demanding employee’s Facebook passwords. This is an interesting position for the social network to take, since most of the time it is fighting off criticism for its own privacy violations.

Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer, Erin Egan, recently put business bosses on notice that the world’s largest social network is prepared to take legal action against the “distressing increase” in employers demanding employees’ Facebook passwords.

This is an interesting position for the social network to take, since most of the time it is fighting off criticism for its own privacy violations.

“Facebook takes your privacy seriously,” said Egan in an online statement. “We’ll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges.”

The timing for Facebook’s warning came almost simultaneously as Senator Richard Blumenthal (Dem) of Connecticut released details of a bill that he is preparing to address this privacy issue. The senator’s bill would address the policies of some employers who make requests that amount to an “unreasonable invasion of privacy.”

“I am very deeply troubled by the practices that seem to be spreading voraciously around the country,” Blumenthal said in an interview with Politico.com.

Both the senator and Facebook seem to be responding to a series of reports by the Associated Press that outline several employers asking job seekers for log-on credentials to their email and social networking sites; where the goal is clearly to check-up on the candidates online behavior.

With the advent of social networks, many employers began to examine the social profiles of prospective and current employees; investigating comments, photos and other data available on a person’s “wall” or “profile”. Many job-seekers have caught onto this trend and have begun setting their social settings to private, making it more difficult for employers to gain access. However, due to the tight job market, many candidates are complying and divulging this private information as they weight thoughts of continued unemployment or under-employment.

Currently, these employer policies and actions violate Facebook’s terms of service. But the reality is that those terms of service have no real legal weight and many legal experts feel that the legal waters surrounding this issue are murky.

The Department of Justice does regard these types of violations as federal crimes. Yet, in recent congressional testimony, the DOJ stated that is has no plans on prosecuting any such violations. The DOJ may be force to reconsider its position in light of Facebook’s aggressive statement and Sen. Blementhal’s proposed privacy bill. There will certainly be more to follow as this recruiting issue is moved further into public view.

College students who spend hours a day on Facebook might not be wasting their time, several studies suggest — they might even find jobs through social networking.

That’s because savvy employers, according to new report, are increasingly recruiting through social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others.

The report, published in the Daily Pennsylvanian —  the student newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School — cites one study that predicts the number of recruiters using Twitter alone will quadruple this year.

Meantime, applicants are doing the same. LinkedIn reports that students and recent college graduates are the site’s fastest-growing user demographic.

The Daily Pennsylvanian article quotes Shannon Kelly, an associate director of Wharton’s Career Services program, who notes that social networking sites give employers immediate and personal access to job-seekers.

And that can give companies a leg up on their competitors.

“More and more companies are using social media platforms to showcase business culture … it’s no different from hiring a public relations company,” Kelly tells the paper.

Wharton junior Jacob Schulman wound up with two unsolicited job offers via Twitter.

“I wasn’t proactively searching for jobs,” he says in the Daily Pennsylvanian article. “I was just following companies that I liked.”

Seems like a serendipitous outcome — Schulman gets an offer from a company he’s genuinely interested in, and the company has a candidate who’s already proven he’s serious.

Twitter and LinkedIn are the most popular tools for the recruitment of top company executives. However, twitter sourcing has more benefits than LinkedIn. First, LinkedIn is not as popular as twitter. In the US, the number of twitter users is approximately 14,031,985 while LinkedIn users are approximately 12,699,785. Second, Twitter gives you access to some basic information that is not available on LinkedIn.

Twitter sourcing is one of the recent staffing developments in the world. Human Resource strategies and techniques are changing fast to catch up with hard economic times as well as utilize the most recent technology in the market. Recruitment is one of the most affected practices.

With the social media being the meeting place for job seekers and students, recruiters are using the various social networks to source for the most suitable candidates to fill vacancies in their organizations. The internet has made it possible for employers to carry out background checks for all candidates seeking to for an opportunity to work with their organizations. The following are some of the tools that employers are using to accomplish this goal:

Facebook

This is a social networking tool used to share ideas, and exchange photos. Facebook profiles are usually accessible publicly by those who have your email address. In Facebook, people post an observation, comment on posts by other people, upload photographs or videos and publish notes. The type of content you post on your Facebook wall, the comments you make on the walls of your Facebook friends, the types of images you upload and the notes you publish say a lot about you. For instance, posting confidential information on Facebook shows that you cannot keep secrets. Sharing useful links on a specific subject says that you can educate, inform and lead. Censoring the information you post on your wall and the comments you make shows that you are reliable, responsible, open minded and mature.

In addition, the frequency at which you update your status is also of great essence to the recruiter. If the job you are interested in a sales or marketing jobs, then you need to show your networking expertise. You should be able to reach out to many people. Warm personality and strong negotiation power is demonstrated by the number of comments your wall posts receive. Employers use this tool to recruit employees for entry level jobs.

LinkedIn

This tool is used to recruit executives. LinkedIn users are people who understand the meaning of professional networking and have a solid career path. This network enables employers to view your complete profile and recommendations from previous employers in order to establish your credibility. The types of groups that you have joined and people within your network say a lot about your career goals and ambitions. Employers use this platform to recruit middle level managers.

Twitter

Twitter is the best tool for carrying out employee background search. Twitter sourcing gives the employer access to information about all your internet engagements, including your publications. The employer can view what you do, and when. Twitter only links people who share interests, profession or those whom you know personally. Therefore, the number of followers and retweets can tell how influential and authoritative you are. In addition, Twitter uses a very compact language, and this is enough to tell people about your temperament and suitability for a certain post. Employers use Twitter to recruit company executives.

Tips for Twitter sourcing

In order to obtain the most appropriate information about a candidate, employers have to refine their search skills. All internet background checks begin at Google. Open the browser and then type the name of the candidate. Google will display all the internet engagements, photos, account information, blogs and publications. The results against the Twitter account are usually accompanied by a brief bio.

Twellow, TweetDeck, TweetGrid, Advanced search, X-Ray searching, and Power Twitter are some of the Twitter sourcing tools used to identify the right candidates for specific positions. The tool you use to search is determined by the kind of information you require. For instance, X-Ray search is the best Twitter sourcing tool for employers who wish to view tweets, location and the bio of potential employees.
Benefits of Twitter sourcing

Twitter and LinkedIn are the most popular tools for the recruitment of top company executives. However, Twitter sourcing has more benefits than LinkedIn. First, LinkedIn is not as popular as Twitter. In the US, the number of Twitter users is approximately 14,031,985 while LinkedIn users are approximately 12,699,785. Second, Twitter gives you access to some basic information that is not available on LinkedIn.

This information includes your previous tweets, some of which are links to your blog, articles or favorite content. Employers can follow links and see whether your interests match the expectations of the position you are applying for. Finally, employers can view geo data, personal information, tweeter activities and the skills of any user who fits within their search criteria. Of all the internet recruitment tools available, Twitter sourcing is the most convenient and efficient.