5 Ways Manufacturing Companies Can Perfect Their Social Media Recruitment
The worsening skills gap in the manufacturing sector has made it harder for companies to find qualified talent. Fortunately, social media has eased the burden of recruiting manufacturing pros, making the process faster and more efficient.
Every manufacturing company should take the time to develop a unique social media recruiting strategy. Here are a few points to remember when creating yours.
Join the Right Conversations
The problem with recruiting on social media is that looking for manufacturing pros can feel a lot like looking for a needle in a haystack. So, you want to cut through all that chatter and go to where your target audience actually is. Here are three things you can do:
Facebook may have the largest number of users, but you’re better off starting your search on a smaller social network like LinkedIn.
Look for LinkedIn groups that are relevant to the manufacturing industry and join any conversations they are having to get a pulse on what potential employees want.
Use hashtags like #manufacturingjobs or #manufacturingopenings to get your openings in front of the right people on Twitter.
Build Your Employer Brand
Today’s job seekers evaluate companies as brands. They will look at everything including your company culture, the way you treat employees, the kind of benefits you offer, your values, and whether you offer any opportunities for growth. As such, manufacturers need to do a better job of using social media for recruitment, going beyond creating company accounts and posting open roles.
You can start by creating content that shows what it’s like to work for your company, what you believe in, and what else you do aside from making a profit. This softer approach may not be about recruitment per se, but it should still attract potential candidates to your employer brand in an organic manner.
Don’t Ignore Niche Social Networks
The big three of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are certainly important, but manufacturing pros also spend their time on smaller niche networks like Stack Overflow, GitHub, the Lean Enterprise Institute, Quora, and subreddits on Reddit. Be sure you devote time to these places, where people tend to be more engaged and willing to join conservations about openings.
Use Your Internal Network
Who better to recommend qualified manufacturing talent than your employees? Before you engage in a drawn-out recruitment campaign, it pays to start closer to home. You can encourage employees to post your job openings in their respective social networks and offer incentives to those who can make successful referrals.
Personalize Your Approach to Potential Hires
Experienced manufacturing pros tend to get a lot of offers on social media. If you want to stand out from the competition, you’ll need to personalize the way you reach out to these people, rather than just copy and paste the same invitation for an interview over and over again. Your message should mention specific things about a candidate’s profile that caught your interest, which will show them that you’re actually paying attention.
Hire Manufacturing Talent Today!
If you need help finding qualified manufacturing talent, take advantage of our high-quality professional recruiting and placement services at The Patriot Group. Contact our manufacturing recruiters today at 657-204-5922 to learn more about how we can help you.
