1 | Page A Winter Project Report On “Social Media Recruitment - A Study?” In the fulfilment of the Degree of Master of Management Studies under the University of Mumbai By Mr. Pagidimarri Gurunadham Ramulu [Roll No: B-45] Under the Guidance of (Prof. Shiji Lyndon) (Internal guide) Ghatkopar [W], Mumbai-86 2010-11
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A
Winter Project Report
On
“Social Media Recruitment - A Study?”
In the fulfilment of the Degree of
Master of Management Studies under the University of Mumbai
By
Mr. Pagidimarri Gurunadham Ramulu [Roll No: B-45]
Under the Guidance of
(Prof. Shiji Lyndon)
(Internal guide)
Ghatkopar [W], Mumbai-86
2010-11
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am fortunate enough to have got an opportunity to do my final project on
“Social Media Recruitment – A Study on How It is an important tool for
recruitment?”
The project has been very useful for me in understanding the various aspects
and trends and critically analysing the same.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Shiji Lyndon (AMSIMR) for
her assistance and constant motivation.
I am very thankful to all of them who have guided me for my project.
(Gurunadham R Pagidimarri)
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Sr. no. Particulars Page no.
1 Acknowledgment 2
2 Abstract 3
3 Objective & Scope
of Study
3
4 LITERATURE REVIEW 4-7
5 VIRTUAL STRATEGY 8-9
6 SOCIAL MEDIA:
CREATING RICHER
RELATIONSHIPS IN
THE WORKPLACE
10-11
7 FINDINGS 11
8 KEEPING YOUR TOOLS
IN CHECK 11-12
9 THE FUTURE IS
CONNECTED 12
10 PERSPECTIVE OF
SOCIAL MEDIA: 12
11 RECRUITER’S
PERSPECTIVE: 12
12 APPLICANTS’
PERSPECTIVE: 13
13 COMMON MISTAKES
COMPANIES MAKE
USING SOCIAL MEDIA
TOOLS IN RECRUITING
EFFORTS
13-14
14 SOCIAL MEDIA
RECRUITMENT
TRENDS IN INDIA
15-16
15 Considering SMR as a
Replacement for
Traditional
Recruitment.
16-17
16 Conclusion 18
17 BIBLIOGRAPHY 19
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ABSTRACT
This study deals in understanding the more and more businesses are stepping into the social
media arena to recruit viable candidates for positions at their companies—and having great
success, according to social media gurus.
A CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,500 employers, released in August of this year,
indicated 35 percent of respondents use social media to promote their companies. Of those
employers, 21 percent are using it to recruit and research potential employees, and 18 percent
are using it to strengthen their
employment brands.
Companies that don't embrace social media as a recruitment tool might risk losing quality
candidates to their competition that is focused on such outreach.
"Other companies are doing it, and if you're not, you're missing out on a large candidate
audience and top talent." In this new millennial cult of web browsing, socialization through
Social Media Websites has become the new trend. Befriending someone who is sitting at
other part of the world in front of computers with the help of internet, sharing ideas and
thoughts, expressing views, supporting others views on issues of common interest, have
become the new order among Internet users. As a recruiter needs the most talented, qualified
and largest applicant pool, leveraging on the SMW to tap potential talent is called Social
Media Recruitment.
It is all about engaging with Internet users through social media blogging to source and
recruit talent. Websites like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Digg,
Delicious are some of the most popular SMW among the Internet users. Social media is
interactive media such as blogs; social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo! Groups and
Linkedln; and video hosting Web sites like YouTube. It facilitates open and free discussion
among users, allowing them to connect personally, albeit through technology. With more
than 75 million users on Linkedln, 100 million registered users
on Twitter, and a whopping 500 million users on Facebook, companies are beginning to
realize the value and drawbacks of using such mediums—particularly for recruiting purposes.
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"You start to engage a candidate in a way you never could with recruiter because of (social
media's) scalability and the ability to have a two-way dialog".
"You can showcase the company with pictures and videos and give candidates an idea of
what it feels like to work there."
At the same time, companies have to surrender some highly regarded control to such
mediums, a research and advisory firm in Boston focused on enterprise learning, talent
management and talent acquisition.
The Kind of traffic these websites experience is tremendous and statistics are mind-blowing:
over two-thirds of Internet population visit SMW, It is 4th
preferred online activity ahead of
personal email, average users spend around 55minutes per day on these sites. Facebook,
Twitter and LinkedIn together account for 535 Million Users. Among the above, Facebook is
in the forefront with 7,00,000 users per day and is the most popular in the students segment.
Twitter and LinkedIn are mostly used for professional blogging.
It is like finding, Introducing and collaborating with qualified professionals on the SMW
whom the organization is looking for, and who are needed to work with, achieving the goal of
recruitment. Simply tweeting on the internet will give some viable results but making sure
that it reaches the target audience is important to cultivate the personality of the employer
early on.
The use of social media as a source is the ideal recruitment and retention tool in this era of
blogging, infact, most of the fortune 500 companies are already following it.
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OBJECTIVE:
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:
To know how much one is familiar with Social Media Recruitment (SMR) concept and to
critically evaluate the same.
To know how it can replace the job fairs and newspaper advertisements.
SCOPE OF STUDY:
To know the current trends in SMR and target the Management graduate, among working
professionals and online recruiter.
To understand the various aspirations of job seekers in social media & how it is different
from other sectors.
The current trends in SMR in India.
Common mistakes companies make using social media tools in Recruiting efforts.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
What is Social Media Recruitment?
As a recruiter needs the most talented, qualified and largest applicant pool, leveraging on the
SMW to tap potential talent is called Social Media Recruitment. HR managers and recruiters
these days click on the web and open a page on Facebook or Twitter not to update their
friends or chat with the know circle, but to search for a talent pool to match their company’s
requirements.
SMR is becoming a major source for recruitment and a buzzword in the corporate world.
Increasingly, companies are taking to the social media arena to get the right and viable
candidates for positions at various levels. In just a few years, newspapers advertisements
shall almost be replaced by online job boards. Now, active recruiting at job fairs has met its
competitions in the social media. This new system of finding, screening, and recruiting
employees has unbelievable power to advance goals at a value price. If people think that
youngsters these days are surfing social networking sites for entertainment, they may be
wrong. On the contrary, they may be genuinely exploring the new job opportunities on such
websites. Besides personal association with friends and relatives , websites such as Facebook,
LinkedIn and Twitter are promising as effective job search tools for Indian job seekers. They
use these sites not just to check on job openings, but also to understand the prospective
organisation work culture, system, founder, objectives, policies and activities, so that they
know the company when they attend interviews. Strategies and tactics, but instead should
supplement the solid recruiting practices companies already have in place.
"I do believe in integrating traditional recruiting strategies with social media strategies".
"It's important to maintain the pieces that have resulted in successful hires to date. Social
media is meant to fuel your other strategies."
Linkedln
On Linkedln's most basic level, companies can search for talent and establish relationships
with potential candidates for free. To get started, a firm must simply create a profile for its
business on the Web site. Companies may go a step further, though, and purchase a business
account for bonus features like posting jobs;
sending private messages directly to any Linkedln user regarding career opportunities; saving
and managing profiles of prospects; and asking for introductions to people inside target
companies. It also offers an exclusive corporate recruiting package with additional custom
options and account management. Further, the company offers webinars on how to better
leverage Linkedln to acquire talent on its Web site. Linkedln discussion groups
specific to real estate management or a position that needs to be filled is one effective way to
scout potential candidates. Posting jobs on Linkedln necessitates clear and accurate job
descriptions, said Darin Hartley, director of client management at Intrepid Learning Solutions
in Seattle, and author oí 10 Steps to Successful Social Networking for Business. He said hiring
managers wanting successful results must truly understand the desired qualifications for a
position before posting a job. "The beauty of Linkedln is there are more than [75] million
users; the detriment of Linkedln is there are more than [75] million users," Hartley said.
"Your net could be so broad; you could wind up with 5,000 candidates. Be very clear what
you're looking for."
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Facebook
While Facebook might seemingly have a reputation as a site where long lost friends connect,
businesses are using it for recruiting purposes, particularly to promote their employment
brand and excite people about possibly working at their companies. Facebook offers a variety
of mediums for companies to communicate their message and corporate culture—from
simple text and mini blogs, to photos, and video and audio clips, to polls and surveys.
Facebook is optimal for engaging people. Aside from promoting corporate culture,
companies are also posting jobs on their Facebook pages, or at least linking users back to
their corporate Web site for career opportunities and applications. A fairly high conversion
rate exists from expressions of interest in a position posted on Facebook, to clicking on the
job, to filling out an application, to moving into an interview. To be effective, though. Hartley
said companies need to actively attract "friends" by keeping their content fresh and engaging.
Facebook offers advice on building a presence on the site on the "resources" section of its
"about" page. "Facebook is tbe largest social media site in the world. If candidates are
'friends,' then we have access to the largest pool of candidates possible."
Twitter
Twitter might be overrun with celebrities' and prominent individuals' 140-cbaracter-long
thoughts and musings, but businesses are using it in a variety of ways, including to recruit
talent. Many companies simply post open jobs to their Twitter account with a compressed
URL for the corporate Web site, which followers can link to for more information.
Businesses may also search for talent on Twitter, just not to the level they can on Linkedin,
Hartley said. Still, companies are able to identify candidates by querying for competencies,
companies, activities or key words; as well as sending direct messages to potential
candidates. Twitter offers a special guide called Twitter 101 for businesses on bow to use the
site to their advantage, along with best practices and case studies. Tbe information is
available on the Twitter Web site. Determining Twitter's effectiveness might be difficult,
however. Despite today's more than 100 million registered users, a study released in January
from RJMetrics indicated about 10 to 15 million accounts are actually active. At the time of
the study. Twitter had 75 million registered users—25 percent of which had no followers; and
upward of 40 percent had one to five followers. Hartley said companies who use Twitter must
actively tweet to earn traction: Occasional random posts simply won't have an impact, be
said. "I recommend active communication, especially during the job posting process," he
said. "You have to respond. Otherwise, it doesn't set the company up for success."
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VIRTUAL STRATEGY
Successful social media recruiting requires a strategy—not just knowledge of how the various
sites work, experts said. First, the sites a company chooses to utilize and the content it posts
should reflect the culture of the company. The company's brand should also be reflected on a
social media site—even if it's just a picture of the brand or logo. "People want to know what
the company is about and what its purpose is because it's going to reflect upon them as
individuals. Companies must develop content for social media sites that is going to help
candidates learn more about the company or inspire them to work there. To educate users,
collaborate with them about their wish lists from an employer. Use a mix of mediums, such
as text, video and direct responses that create a back-and-forth dialog. "The best way to create
content is to make sure you're providing people with information rather than just self-serving
posts. “It’s more than just broadcasting jobs, it's engaging people, starting conversations and
making connections." To avoid becoming bogged down with going to each social media site
to check for inquiries or provide updates, companies should streamline their social media
strategy. Social media aggregators, such as Flock, Friend Feed and Streamy, provide a single
point of reference whereby users can check all the sites from one place, as well as update
posts on all the sites at one time.
Active Facebook profiles, frequent blogs and constant Twitter updates are quickly becoming
the norm among techsavvy youth. Indeed, statistics show that 42 per cent of teens and college
students use Twitter, and spend an average of 11.4 hours per week on Facebook. As numbers
such as these grow, social media will play an increasingly
Bigger role in recruiting. If HR departments approach this new reality with a positive mind-
set, social media could become an ever more powerful way to connect people in the business
world. The success of SMR largely depends on how a company motivates the candidates to
follow the network and also spreads message about open requirements to others. The
suggested strategies for SMR success are:
1. Build a Rich User Experience for Social Networkers: Set up a Facebook page or
tab for recruiting. Establish a Twitter account for the company’s HR department.
Include links to the corporate web page, featuring rich, inviting content geared
towards, and potential employees. Make it easy for them to learn about your
company. Ensure that the look and feel of the social media sites is consistent with
branding efforts.
2. Make the social networking pages transparent: Use a Facebook page to show
prospective applicants what it is like to work in the organization.
3. Open the conversation: These sites are used to converse with potential employees.
Post opening in Twitter and respond to inquiries. Allow people to comment on the
recruitment process and learn.
4. Build Your Network: Provide tips on the job market, good resumes or networking to
enhance the chances that top talent will engage with the content and apply for a job
with the company.
5. Leverage the web, but don’t rely on it exclusively: It should not the only source
they should also look at others.
6. Move Fast: Top candidates move quickly delays cause to end up with second rate
hires. One has to monitor daily.
7. Ask for help: One can tweet it post it on Facebook which will help followers to
inform about an opening for the same.
Recruiting quality employees in long-term care is an on-going challenge and administrators
and human resource (HR) personnel are just starting to tap social media's potential to find
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good candidates, "Social recruiting," as it's called, is a tool that complements more traditional
search methods, such as online job sites and print media classified advertising. Facebook,
Linkedin, and Twitter have more than 535 million combined active users. There's a wealth of
potential hires out there for your business or facility. Still, a recent CareerBuilder survey
reports that while 26% of healthcare employers are using social media to promote their
company, just 14% are using it currently to recruit potential employees, "More healthcare
organizations need to harness the reach of social media to not only promote their
organizations, but to help recruit top, skilled talent," says Ben Jablow,
managing director of MiracleWorkers,com, CareerBuilder's healthcare jobs site. Lisa Nice-
Graham of Companion Health Services LLC, Guthrie, Oklahoma, is director of HR for
several nursing homes and assisted living facilities. She uses social media regularly in her
recruiting efforts, "Social media is one of the most effective means ot recruitment there is,"
says Nice-Graham. "I've found many CNAs and nurses through Facebook, MySpace,
Linkedin, and Craigslist, as well as administrative and support staff," Nice-Graham says that
compared to traditional recruiting methods, social recruiting is superior, "Usually I find a
better quality candidate because they're more passive job seekers versus the newspaper,
which usually has (responses from) people who are unemployed—and often are unemployed
for a reason." •
Linkedin is considered the professional's social networking site and a key resource for both
recruiters and job seekers, while you can post a job for 30 days for $195,'lLinkedln offers
plenty of free resources if budgetary constraints are an issue. For example, start building
connections to people and groups that can offer potential leads, like clients, former co-
workers, and long-term care groups. You can 'also use your network activity box to announce
hiring status updates. ' The Facebook directory allows you to search forusers, groups, pages,
and applications, and you can post jobs free of charge in the Facebook Marketplace, Or, for a
tee, you can target a specific group of people with a Facebook ad. You can choose a pay-per-
click option, pay per impression and budget how much you wish to pay. You can also post
job openings on your facility's or company's page. Social media also serves recruiters as a
vetting tool. Before she responds to a candidate who has contacted her from Facebook,
for example, Nice-Graham checks out their Facebook page, "If there's profanity all over their
page or they badmouth past employers, I'm not going to call them," she says. Nice-Graham is
a big fan of oodle,com,, a large classifieds aggregator of national and local sources. It's easy
to use and the results are plentiful, "The awesome thing about oodle," says Nice-Graham, "is
I can go there and post in one place and then link it to my other pages. For example, I have
my Twitter, Craigslist, and MySpace all linked to oodle, so I don't have to post to three sites.
It's free, too." Of course, social media can't replace traditional face-to-face networking or a