{"id":999882152,"date":"2017-01-05T14:26:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T14:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dice.npgdev.com\/?p=292196645"},"modified":"2025-03-18T15:29:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T15:29:53","slug":"getting-past-social-recruiting-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dice.npgdev.com\/hiring\/recruitment\/getting-past-social-recruiting-anxiety","title":{"rendered":"Getting Past Your Social Recruiting Anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite the pervasiveness of platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, many tech recruiters have yet to embrace social recruiting. That\u2019s a shame, because those reluctant professionals are bypassing a tool that can prove incredibly effective when used properly. \u201cSocial media doesn\u2019t have to be complicated,\u201d said Lorne Epstein, a talent acquisition professional in Arlington, Va., and author of <\/span>You\u2019re Hired: Interview Skills to Get the Job.<\/em> \u201cWithout it, you\u2019re missing out on all of those candidates.\u201d If you haven\u2019t yet dipped your toe into the social-recruiting waters, the trick to getting past your hesitation\u2014whatever its root cause\u2014is simple: Just start doing something, even if it\u2019s with a light touch. Employers and recruiters expect you to maintain some sort of presence, no matter how small. As Craig Fisher, the Dallas-based head of Employment Brand and Talent Acquisition Marketing for CA Technologies, put it: \u201cEven if your most important tool is your phone, people are still going to check you out online.\u201d With that in mind, here are some tips to remove your mental roadblocks and get started:<\/span><\/p>\n

Turn Down the Pressure<\/h3>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t know what to do, just do anything,\u201d Epstein said. \u201cMaybe you want to try Twitter. So, try it and stick with it for a while and see how it works.\u201d Though the Web is filled with articles describing social best (and worst) practices, don\u2019t let worries about doing the wrong thing hold you back. Pick a channel such as Twitter, GitHub or Facebook, sketch out a plan, and work some things out. And if you don\u2019t develop connections in a reasonable amount of time, tweak your approach. Whatever happens, if you behave courteously and professionally online, you\u2019re not going to do yourself (or your company) any harm.<\/p>\n

Be Authentic<\/h3>\n

Many recruiters acknowledge that, as a group, they have a bad reputation on social media. Too many of them spam their respective social networks with job postings that don\u2019t fit, or treat social media as a broadcasting mechanism as opposed to a place where relationships are built. \u201cOne issue is the recruiter wants to do the talking,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cThey put out a job posting, but not themselves. The recruiters who share more information about themselves are the ones candidates are going to call first.\u201d \u201cYou have to get personal,\u201d Epstein added. Social media is just another way to build relationships, either by sharing information about yourself and your career, or by offering help and information to others. \u201cWhen people check out your feed, they don\u2019t to see just your thoughts, they want to see you, as well,\u201d Fisher explained. Put your posts in a personal context. Instead of writing something like, \u201cPython is one language you should master this year,\u201d say, \u201cWhile I was running this morning, I thought about how Python has become the new Basic\u2014the general-purpose language everyone should know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have a Plan; Vary Your Posts<\/h3>\n

Success results from publishing posts on a consistent basis about a variety of topics. Not everything you write should be about work, or your newest opportunity, or even technology in general. In addition to mixing in personal information with professional material, develop a rhythm that keeps your communications interesting, varied and balanced. For example, Fisher posts using a ratio of five \u201cgives\u201d to one \u201cask.\u201d For every post he uses to highlight an opportunity or promote CA\u2019s hiring (an \u201cask\u201d), he posts five items that are in some way helpful to candidates (the \u201cgives\u201d). These might include tips on time management or money management, or something of interest to the candidates you\u2019re targeting.<\/p>\n

Focus Your Message<\/h3>\n

Fisher suggests focusing your efforts on three topics that will interest the types of candidates you\u2019re after. This will help you stay on-message and think consistently about your audience. And again, make sure there\u2019s variety in your posts. \u201cShare interesting things, not just stuff about jobs,\u201d Epstein said. \u201cMaybe you\u2019re creating content around, say, Java developers. Curate stuff for them. You\u2019ll be giving them value on a channel they like.\u201d Smart tech pros\u2014including passive candidates\u2014know relationships with recruiters can be valuable. What annoys them is people who either pretend not<\/em> to be recruiters or approach talent acquisition with the aggression of a used-car salesman. With that in mind, always be up-front about who you are and what you do. Try to educate your network about how good recruiters operate, and show them that you\u2019re a professional trying to match talented people to good opportunities. That way, you can develop new relationships for the long term. Want additional tips on social media? Check out Dice\u2019s Social Recruiting Starter Kit (PDF)<\/a>: