There have always been ways of recruiting that go beyond the simple job advert in a newspaper, or in more recent years, an online job board. For as long as recruitment companies in Northern Ireland like Webrecruit Ireland have existed, employers have also depended on the likes of internal recommendations and ‘word of mouth’.

However, there’s no question that this is the big moment for social media recruiting. For some companies, it’s their sole means of advertising externally for jobs.

But is it the most suitable route for your own company?

Does social media give you the right audience?

For some Northern Ireland businesses, social media recruiting is a godsend. If they’re on social media already and have a bank of loyal followers with an interest in their products or services, they’ve already got a great pool of people to hire from.

Some companies, though – especially the bigger brands – find that advertising vacancies on social media brings too overwhelming and untargeted a response. They simply get drowned in irrelevant CVs, making a more discreet advert in a relevant publication a better strategy.

Public or private?

On one hand, there’s no doubting the speed and convenience of being able to write a job advert and post it to Facebook or Twitter in minutes, without paying a thing. But would a higher level of discretion be better?

We aren’t just referring to the tendency to get bombarded with hundreds of CVs when you make your vacancies more public. We’re referring to the fact that many companies would rather not let such social media followers as current or potential clients know that there’s upheaval at the moment in the personnel department.

You may be advertising for a role that has had a high turnover lately, which if prospective applicants notice, might deter them from applying. Remember that social media recruitment adverts carry your brand, so everyone will know that your company is the one hiring.

Make the most of social media

One thing’s for sure – social media recruiting is here to stay. As one of the most respected recruitment companies in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, Webrecruit Ireland can help you to decide whether it’s the most suitable route for your own next hiring campaign.