Social Recruiting
Snapchat and Recruitment: A match made in heaven or not?
Rachel Hill
HireHive
Rachel Hill
HireHive
Rachel Hill
HireHive
Rachel Hill
HireHive
Your potential wariness in using Snapchat is totally understandable, but it is growing in importance for recruiters everywhere. What started off as a slightly strange app where snaps and stories disappeared quickly, has evolved into a clever storytelling tool helpful to recruiters and marketers alike. It is an ideal recruiting tool in interactive areas such as sales, marketing and other creative fields.
So how can Snapchat and recruitment work together? Are they a good match? Why not read the following points and decide if Snapchat is right for your recruitment strategy.
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The Snapchat Logo[/caption]
To successfully reach your target audiences, you must be present in the same environment. If you want your jobs to attract millennials, a mobile strategy featuring Snapchat is almost essential. The statistics speak for themselves with over 60% of Smartphone users between 13-34 using the app.
However, these weren’t the only statistics picked up by Mediakix; Over 50% of new Snapchat users are over 25, plus the percentage user growth for over 35’s is greater than the growth rate for 18-24 year olds. This shows that the app is appealing to many generations and could be a catalyst in growing your recruiting efforts.
One company who used Snapchat to increase their number of applications was AOL. To achieve their goal of encouraging more female, millennial applications, AOL posted two 10-second clips in app's Discover section. While application intent increased by only 18%, the clips generated 17 million views, as well as a 40% increase in job views on Glassdoor. These statistics show that Snapchat can bring about powerful awareness of recruitment drives.
Probably the greatest thing about Snapchat is how personal and fun it can be. Before you even tell people you are hiring, share images and videos promoting your company culture. This could involve showing your work environment, encouraging current employees to give testimonials or documenting your team’s latest charity run.
Keep in mind that Snapchat is designed to be spontaneous and entertaining. While it is wise to have a rough idea of your social media calendar, don’t plan intently and allow for a lot of scope. If you are an organisation unwelcome to spontaneity and change, the app probably shouldn’t be part of your recruitment strategy.
Once you have built up a steady brand following, you can start informing people of your vacancies. Leave the traditional job description for a minute and think of the most creative ways to get people’s attention. It could be as simple as posting a video of how candidates can apply for your jobs.
A lot of the time, potential employees have no idea who they will work with. Why not show them? Allow your employees to do Snapchat takeovers and give their insights into in ‘a day in the life of a ____ employee’. While there needs to be guidelines put in place for these takeovers, they often appear more lively and authentic than a job description.
You could also give your followers some exclusive content on Snapchat. For example, if there will be job opportunities available at your company, you can give followers an exclusive snap, so they receive the information first. This may lead to increased applications and brand loyalty.
While it’s all well and good to promote jobs on Snapchat, you could also use the app for candidate communication and evaluation purposes. Encourage questions from interested applicants by holding live Q and A’s with hiring managers. Another idea is ‘snapping’ existing candidates and informing them they have made it to the next stage. This is a nice addition to the standard email and also gives a more personal touch.
If you want Snapchat to be an integral part of your hiring efforts, you could encourage candidates to send their own Snapchat masterpieces. When Shopify needed to fill a vacancy on their social media team, they asked interested candidates to submit a Snapchat story, as well as their CV. This was a great way for Shopify to see how their future employees engage with one of their most popular social media channels.
The Shopify example above is a great example of how Snapchat can assess the practical skills of candidates. It makes people stand out from the piles of resumes and gives you a better sense of people’s personalities. As mentioned previously, this method works better in some sectors rather than others.
By liaising with influential people and other recruitment industry professionals, you can grow your brand following on Snapchat. To be featured on another account, ask to engage in relevant discussions. This is a great way to get your brand’s account mentioned and advertise upcoming opportunities at your organisation to a larger audience.
Another tactic to use is following events on other social media accounts and sharing your live reactions. This often increases brand following and views on your account.
Snapchat is a great way of telling others you are at recruitment events. Build anticipation by showing backstage footage and preparation if possible. The use of geofilters in Snapchat means you can target your content to people in specific areas.
Snapchat isn’t for everyone and every type of business. However the resounding conclusion from this and much other research is that it helps recruitment efforts and is a good match if you use it right. The most important thing is to have fun with it and show the playful side of your brand.
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Hilary Dempsey Head of HR at Life Credit union
