The job markets of nearly all industries are heavily influenced by social media nowadays. Just about every job hunter has profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, so businesses have opened up to these social channels and found an effective way to find skilled candidates for job openings.
However, recruiters seem stuck with these three platforms and keep neglecting one of the most prominent social networks: Google+.
Reasons to Use Google+ as a Recruiting Tool
Although this social network isn’t a specialized recruiting channel like LinkedIn and doesn’t have as many users as Facebook and Twitter, there are valid reasons for recruiters and organizations to start using it.
- Instead of paying attention to the number of users on Google+, you should consider the average profile ofthese people. Unlike the Facebook and Twitter, Google+ attracts tech-savvy professionals. This network enablesyou to locate people with the right education, experience, and qualifications for your job opening.
- The thing that makes Google+ more attractive than LinkedIn is that you don’t get an artificial resume here.The interests and qualifications of these people aren’t inflated; you can easily get insight into the user’spersonality through the posts and comments they publish.
- Twitter is focused on random thoughts, Facebook is focused on images, and Google+ is focused on theuser’s personality. Enough said.
- When you think of Google, you immediately associate it to the largest search engine, an incomparable emailplatform, a leading blogging platform, and YouTube. If you are looking for a simple reason to start usingGoogle+ as a recruiting tool, think of this: all these important aspects are integrated into Google’s socialplatform.
- You can send emails to Google+ users even if you don’t have their email addresses.
- Google+ Hangouts is an excellent video conferencing platform. You can easily schedule an interview with afavorable job candidate as soon as possible and accelerate the recruiting process.
How to Optimize Google+ for Recruiting?
Now that you have more than enough reasons to accept Google+ as an awesome recruiting tool, it’s time to learn how to use its full potential.
Create an awesome profile.
If you haven’t created a profile yet, then it’s about time you did that. If you are already on Google+, it’s time to optimize your profile.
Google+ (and Google in general) is all about information and content. Make sure to feature loads of interesting information, relevant links and keywords in your posts. You shouldn’t forget to include links to all social profiles of your company.
This step also involves setting a good cover picture and a nice profile picture of yourself. The profile photo can show you in an official or friendly mode, depending on the type of job candidates you want to attract. You can never go wrong with a clean, smiling, but slightly reserved headshot.
When writing the Tagline, Introduction and Bragging Rights, make sure to use specific keywords that your target audience is searching for.
Connect with the right people!
Your Google+ social circle will determine the success of your recruiting campaign. Once you build a perfect profile, you should focus on connecting with the right Google+ users. Don’t limit yourself on job hunters; connect with different professionals and create circles by occupation or job position.
You can send emails to all people added to a certain circle, which enables you to develop personalized communication with a large group of people. The users will be notified if you add them to a circle, but won’t know which circle you’ve added them to. If you have no idea how to start building your Google+ circles, here is a hint: your inbox. This intuitive platform will do most of the work for you.
Don’t wait for job hunters to reach you!
You are a recruiter after all. Although Google+ may seem confusing at first, it enables you to reach the right audience quite easily. You don’t have to send a friend request and wait for the other party to accept you; you can send messages to people without being added to their circles.
Here is one of the greatest reasons for recruiters to give up on Google+: they don’t know how to search for the right people. All you need to do is select the People and Pages tab under the search bar. Insert relevant keywords, (for example “audit manager New York”) and you’ll easily locate the right users.
Host Google+ Hangouts
This is a feature that no other social network can beat. The main purpose of these hangouts is obvious: they connect the users between each other. However, Hangouts is a powerful tool that connects you with potential employees.
The key to success is to add the right people in your circles, attract them with a nice offer via email, and schedule a hangout to discuss the fine details of the position. You can record the Hangouts and analyse the behavior of your candidate later.
Reap the benefits of SEO
When you start featuring your content through Google+, you immediately become more attractive for Google Search. The authenticity of your content will be increased and more people will be able to access it. If you want to attract the best candidates on Google+, outranking your competitors in this aspect is extremely important.
Now that you are aware of the recruiting potential of Google+, it’s time to start using it. The fact that this social platform is still in its infancy should be taken as a benefit; it enables you to be ahead of your competitors!
Author: Kelsey Green is a freelance writer and blogger. She is one of the co-founders of website for students Essay Wolves. She is an expert in social media and writing.
