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8.4 Social Networks-Based Job Markets 243

passive job seekers maintain a profile online that present recruiting is a major activity at LinkedIn, and was the driver for
them in a positive light, especially on LinkedIn and Facebook. the site’s development (see the closing case to this chapter). To
Both recruiters and job seekers are moving to a new be competitive, companies must also look at the global market
recruiting platform—the online social networks—mostly for talents. Luckily, they can use global social networking sites
LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (e.g., using TwitJobSearch; to find them. Large companies are using their in-house social
twitjobsearch.com), a job search engine that allows employ- networks to find in-house talents for vacant positions.
ers to post job ads on Twitter. Enterprise recruiters are scan- Furthermore, some claim that social media significantly changed
ning online social networks, blogs, and other sources to the hiring process (e.g., see Huff 2014). For how to use social
identify and find information about potential employees. media to impress recruiters see AOL (2014).
Clearly, the electronic job market has benefits, but it can According to a Jobvite survey on social recruiting web.
also create high turnover costs for employers by facilitating jobvite.com/rs/jobvite/images/Jobvite_SocialRecruiting
employees’ movements to look for better jobs. In addition, 2013.pdf, 94% of companies use, or plan to use, social media
finding candidates online is more complicated than most to recruit and hire new employees, while 78% have hired at
people think, mostly due to the large number of résumés least one candidate through social media. Of these, 94% use
available in social media sites. To facilitate recruitment, top LinkedIn, 65% use Facebook, and 55% use Twitter. Among
recruiters are using electronic aids, like interviewing candi- these, the success rate for hiring is very high on LinkedIn (92%),
dates by video from remote locations. Recruiters use social moderate on Facebook (24%), and low on Twitter (14%). See -
media tools and multiple social networking sites to find web.jobvite.com/rs/jobvite/images/Jobvite_Social-
candidates faster. Some recruiters send Facebook “friend” invi- Recruiting2013.pdf.
tations to candidates whom they have interviewed. However, As described earlier, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, and
this can be a controversial practice due to ethical implications. Craigslist provide job listings, in competition with nonsocial
Facebook has many features that help people find jobs networks online recruiters such as Monster. Several other
(see jobcast.net for jobseekers and employers to connect; social networks offer job listings as well.
Social Jobs Partnership (facebook.com/socialjobs, a col- Note that, while over 90% of recruiters use social net-
laboration between Facebook and the U.S. Department of works while seeking and researching qualified candidates,
Labor. nearly 69% have rejected candidates due to the content
LinkedIn provides a similar service. LinkedIn’s search posted on their social network sites. It is important for Jobs
engine can help employers quickly find an appropriate can- seekers to keep their social media personal information
didate. For finding employees (jobs) in other countries, one secure (or as private as possible). Another issue for employed
can use LinkedIn or Xing (xing.com). An interesting global candidates is that many times employers have discovered
recruiting community is EURES (ec.europa.eu/eures), which through social networks that their employees are looking for
specializes in online recruiting in Europe. a job elsewhere. For recruiting via gamification, see
Lately, there has been an increased use of mobile recruit- Greenberg (2013). For a thorough guide to job searching
ing tools in general and Twitter in particular, as aids for peo- with social media, see Waldman (2013).
ple who are searching for jobs. The following are possible Note to job seekers: It is important you write your Internet
activities: profile in a correct way. For suggestions how to do it and
what not to do, see Bernstein (2015).
(a) Search for posted positions
(b) Follow job search experts
(c) Follow and read about people in your field Virtual Job Fairs and Recruiting Events
(d) Engage, communicate with people, and ask for help
(e) Connect with people at your target companies Virtual job fairs are other new strategies for quickly finding
qualified candidates at a reduced cost. These are done using
For an infographic showing how using social media can help special vendor sites (e.g., on24.com, expos2.com, and bra-
you land a new job, see mashable.com/2013/01/23/social- zencareerist.com), or employers’ websites.
media-your-next-job-infographic. The following are few examples:

Recruiting and Job Searching Using Social Networks • IBM needed qualified employees for leadership positions
in Africa. To quickly attract qualified employees, it used
Most public social networks, especially those that are business- ON24 to conduct a job fair. For the complete story, see
oriented, facilitate recruiting and job finding. For example, on24.com/case-studies/ibm-job-fair.