You’ve invested a lot of time up front. You’ve talked with your hiring manager and gained alignment. You’ve learned as much as you can about each tech candidate on social to ensure the opportunity is in line with his or her interests. You’ve even personalized your message to ensure it’s focused on the candidate’s needs. But there’s one more step: optimizing your social footprint. “Just like we're researching them online, candidates are also looking us up on social before deciding whether to respond,” said Allison Kruse, Senior Manager of Social Media & Talent Acquisition at Kforce. “If they research you and they're not impressed with what they see, that could cost you the conversation.” Your social presence needs to communicate why a tech pro should answer your message as opposed to that of your competitors. One way to do this? In your social summaries, state very clearly how you provide value to your candidates, and why it would be in their best interest to connect. Another must is a quality profile picture. Nothing says "amateur" like bad photos. Kruse recommended wearing work attire and making sure the photo clearly shows your face with a smile or positive expression. Don’t use a cartoon or photo of your cat as your profile image. Just like bad selfies, posts with photos that look like they are from 1994 are also unprofessional. Include quality images only. Sites like Pixabay offer high-resolution images you can legally use for free. Optimize your social presence even more by including personal nuggets to help create emotional connections. For example, when Kruse mentioned via social that she recently adopted a pit bull from a shelter, she started hearing from tech candidates who were also pro pit bull or had adopted rescue dogs. “Be one person who shares both professional and personal interests,” advised Kruse. “When I see recruiters that have two profiles, 99% of the time their professional account is very dry.” But in your quest to humanize your profiles and evoke emotional connections, don’t forget about your professional credibility. One way to showcase your reputation is by linking to your company site and making sure your contact information is easy to find. Another is through peer testimonials. “If you placed a tech professional in her dream job, there's nothing wrong with asking her to provide a brief recommendation that you can include on your profile,” Kruse said. In sum, the best way to optimize your social profiles is to be a person first, a recruiter second. Chat up the tech community. Asks questions. Join discussions that are centered on topics your target candidates are into. Build relationships. That’s just a few of the tips, tricks and templates Kruse offers to boost your social profiles. Listen to the webinar here. Or check out the slides below:
