Working at Carousel Consultancy has been a great experience for me: I’ve been able to combine my love for social media with my passion for helping people (in this case, helping people who are looking for jobs). Unfortunately, it’s time to move on due to personal reasons, so it seemed appropriate for me to share this role on all of the social media avenues that I use on a regular workday.
But I wanted to go beyond Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, and since one of my latest addictions is Pinterest, I decided that was one of the best places to showcase this job vacancy. I had previously set up a board for a different position we were hiring for, but now that it’s filled, I decided to update it for the social media role.
Why Pinterest?
As I mentioned, due to the nature of the role, using social media to fill the vacancy is the ideal place to share the news. Carousel was one of the first recruitment agencies to set up boards on Pinterest, so we’ve got experience using the site. Plus, our Pinterest boards were previously featured on the Radian6 blog in their article “4 Approaches to Sharing Social Media Content on Pinterest,” so we’ve already been recognized as a great example of using Pinterest.
But Pinterest is a great place for all kinds of companies and all types of job vacancies, meaning that if you’ve got a position for a Senior Accountant in a law firm, you shouldn’t be turned off. All kinds of people are on Pinterest, and they’re looking for images and content that represents who they are. How you use Pinterest for hiring depends on your company culture. You can be polished and professional or you can be funny and quirky.
Pinterest is all about showing your personality and sharing valuable content through images that the community is interested in.
How to get started with Pinterest?
If you don’t already have a Pinterest account, you’ll need to request an invite. You can do this directly through the website itself, but if you can get an invite from a friend, it will speed up the process.
Be sure to fully complete your profile so job seekers can easily see who’s hiring: include a photo (ideally, your logo), website (so job seekers can easily reference your company’s site), location (so they know where they might be working), and a brief statement about you so they know in a sentence what you’re about.
Next, set up a new pinboard. Go to the “Add +” link on the upper right-hand section of the menu, then click on “Create a Board.” You’ll need to enter a Board Name, Board Category, and determine who can pin on the board.
You can either title your board something general such as “We’re hiring!” or you can showcase the role itself in the title of the board.
There’s really not an appropriate board category for hiring. Depending on the role and the company industry, you can choose from Architecture, Art, Design, Education, Fitness, Technology, or a number of other options. If none of them seem to be a good fit, then Other will be the best choice for your board.
There are two options for the “Who can pin?” question: just you, or you and others. Due to the nature of a pinboard designed for recruitment, you’ll probably be managing it yourself. If you want, however, you can add others. You’ll need their name if they’re already on Pinterest or their email address. They will receive notification that they’ve been invited to participate on the board.
Once you’ve set up the board, you can also fill in a description. Use this area to showcase the main details of the role, including the job title. People need to be able to find this board when searching, so be sure to include relevant keywords within the description. Now you’re ready to start pinning!
What do you pin on your board?
This is where you can have fun and get really creative with the board. Again, Pinterest can be used for all types of companies. First, you need to be clear about your company culture and what type of person you want to hire. Will the pins be serious and professional, or is a sense of humor appropriate? What specific aspects of your company culture do you want to represent on your board? You may want to share how much you care about your clients, or how you help your clients, or what a great office environment there is.
Next, get out the full job spec and highlight or make notes on the main keywords and themes of the job vacancy. Keep in mind characteristics such as the following: remote working, benefits such as gym membership, flexible working hours, location of your office, the industry your company is in, technical requirements and skills, and personal attributes such as an eye for detail, sense of humor, or creativity. Search through Pinterest for each of these themes, keywords, or characteristics.
Or think of images that might represent these ideas. For remote working, look for photos of a laptop on a beach. For your office location, search for photos of your city or neighborhood. Work-related cartoons can also add relevant information and a sense of humor to your board.
For more ideas, visit our Pinterest board for our Social Media Community Manager & Blogger position. Feel free, of course, to repin our images… as that’s what Pinterest is all about: sharing graphic content.
Related: How To Design Your ‘Alternative’ CV on Prezi.
Holly Worton is a Pinterest addict and is passionate about helping people and companies plan their online marketing and social media strategy to achieve their business goals.
