The demands of twenty-first century businesses aren’t always easy to forecast and keeping your workforce flexible is one of the most effective ways of meeting the needs of clients. Of course, orchestrating this can be a challenge and it’s practically very difficult to balance recruitment with traditional graduate cycles. This is exactly why firms should be looking to attract speculative job applications wherever possible, and what better way to do that than through social media?
Check out your Web Copy
First things first: look at what you already have on your website. Two lines can make all the difference, and if there’s a relevant and current contact for potential applicants to get in touch with, it signals you’re not only open to speculative applications, but you might be willing to take on an intern or even a graduate.
Call for Applications
Don’t be afraid to use Twitter or Facebook to advertise vacancies of just a few weeks, but you should be a bit more careful when looking for longer term staff and make sure your adverts are around long enough to attract a broad range of applicants. You will also need to be sure your applicants get a fair and consistent interview.
Be Specific
Recruiting through social media remains a bit unorthodox as it is, so don’t be afraid to move away from the traditional CV and cover letter. Ask for something that’s really relevant to your company, perhaps a portfolio or even a mock-report. It’s through these pieces of work that you’ll be able to gauge whether an applicant is worth calling.
Keep Hold of Details
Speculative applications are what they are, and people really expect to be rejected. However, not today doesn’t mean not at all, and it’s definitely worth keeping good applicants on file. Equally, a call to let them know that’s what you’re doing will help to keep relations good.
Make Sure You’re Upfront
The speculative applicant could come from anywhere and, after all, be after anything. Don’t expect your intentions to be the same and be clear about what you’re offering in terms of time required, salary and location from the off. All too often applicants are offered roles, only to find they’re unpaid and eventually they end up rejecting them.
A good through-flow of speculative applications is a great way of keeping your workforce flexible and it encourages new ideas, new talents and maybe even new employees. Use the talent and the tools that are out there; you’ve nothing to lose!
Tom started his career early; taking on an associate role at Deloitte just a few days after his eighteenth birthday, working in a technical role but with a focus on identifying and recruiting talented undergraduates. He is now entering his final year at Exeter University and he continues to work with the recruitment side of the firm and remains an active brand ambassador on campus.
Over the last few years, Tom has spent time building up a reputation as a freelance writer and has developed both a strong client base and good knowledge of social media along the way. Though there’s still plenty to learn, experience working in both the smallest and the largest of businesses has served him well and given him a feel for balancing strong corporate ideas with a personal tone.
As a student, Tom is able to offer a valuable insight into the way graduate recruitment works from the other side and how students and interns react to particular styles of marketing and recruitment. Eventually he hopes to take off his copywriting business before embarking on an MA in philosophy.
