Social Media Recruitment Research Articles

Pushing the Right Buttons?

This paper explores effects and issues associated with Social Media and Recruitment and whether it is effective as an innovative e-entrepreneurship method of attracting appropriate employees for enterprises from a multi stakeholder perspective. Human Resources Management professionals have been using different methods of Social Media in their recruitment strategies with varying degrees of success. By examining social media and its effect this can support the development of a more effective Human Resources Recruitment strategy. Additionally increased communication channels might enable the development of a more positive internal enterprise culture. The research was conducted using both primary and secondary data. Professionals, recruiters and employees have been questioned on their views of Social Media from a personal and a professional perspective through a variety of methods including focus groups and questionnaires. This paper provides a framework that can be used by enterprises in order to create their own Social Media recruitment cycle.

Best practices for using social media as a recruitment strategy

Purpose – The aim of this article is to explore how HR professionals can best use social media in their search for talent.Design/methodology/approach – This article discusses the current state of social media for recruitment and its relation to job boards, and examines best practices, including consideration of a social media recruitment strategy plan, appropriate resources and the importance of a content strategy and social media policy. The best practices are based on a comprehensive review of literature coupled with experiential accounts from practitioners and the author's firsthand experiences in crafting successful social media strategies.Findings – While levels of awareness and adoption continue to develop both for recruiters and job applicants, organizations must consider adding social media to their overall recruitment strategy to meet the goals of being cost‐effective, targeted, and strategic; remaining competitive; and sourcing top talent.Originality/value – The article points to the need for st...

Authentic dialogue? The role of “friendship” in a social media recruitment campaign

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to emerging theory about the role of authenticity in social media use through discussion of a not‐for‐profit organisation's experiences of using social networking to communicate with potential stakeholders during a recruitment campaign.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses critical discourse analysis of semi‐structured interviews with organisational spokespersons to examine the use of social media by this not‐for‐profit organisation.FindingsThe organisation attempted to re‐position its identity to appear “authentic” to potential young stakeholders, and to use social media to build a dialogue that would attract new recruits to the industry. The paper discusses the challenges and opportunities experienced by the not‐for‐profit organisation in this recruitment campaign.Practical implicationsOrganisations contemplating the use of social networking sites to engage new audiences can reflect on the problems encountered in the implementation of this campaign, and plan to avoid similar pitfalls.Originality/valueThe study presents original empirical data in relation to social networking by a not‐for‐profit organisation. It demonstrates the importance of audience perceptions of authenticity and raises important questions about organisational “control”, and the expectations of employees carrying out “authenticity work”.