Hootsuite recently held its second #HootHire, a socially minded open house the Vancouver-based company created to recruit new talent.
Marketing spoke with Hootsuite vice-president of talent, Ambrosia Humphrey, to get her advice on incorporating social into the hiring process, running a socially minded HR event and vetting potential employees’ social accounts.
Here are four of her tips.
Start with a hashtag
Hootsuite embedded social into the very name of its event by putting a hashtag in front of the #HootHire title. But the hashtag isn’t just a nod to social, it’s a conversation the brand started well ahead of the event and will continue now that it’s done. Humphrey and her team used the #HootHire hashtag to talk to people who couldn’t make the event in person, had questions or wanted more information. Using the hashtag also strings together content around the event, making it easier to track metrics later.
“#HootHire has been a great way for both Hootsuite employees and job-seekers to track what’s going on with the event, what’s being put out there and what we’re looking for,” Humphrey said. “It’s not just about the event, it’s about ongoing conversation.”
Showcase your corporate culture on social
#HootHire wasn’t the only hashtag the company used for its hiring spree. It also created the hashtag #HootsuiteLife to give potential employees a peek into the culture of Hootsuite, encouraging its current ranks to share pictures, thoughts and stories on social media. Humphrey said this is a way for job-seekers to get to know what Hootsuite is like as a company before they apply or accept an offer.
“If you search it on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, you’ll find bits and pieces of how we collaborate, celebrate and grow together,” she said.
Tap into your network to get the word out on social
Everyone’s a recruiter at Hootsuite. Humphrey tasked the company’s current employees with helping her find its next crop of workers by getting the word out about #HootHire on their own social platforms. She also reaches out to influencers within Hootsuite’s network that have large or influential followings to post about the event. In 2013, more than 1,200 people showed up for the company’s last #HootHire, which Humphrey attributes largely to how its promotion was amplified by employees and influencers.
Check out potential candidates’ social profiles before sending an offer
Humphrey uses LinkedIn for passive recruitment, hunting down potential superstar employees who aren’t actively looking for jobs. When it comes to the hiring process, she also checks the public social accounts of candidates. That doesn’t mean a drunk picture at a pub goes into the “no” pile, though. Humphrey said she believes that kind of sharing is no longer a “career stopper,” but she still wants to make sure what future Hootsuite employees share on social is a fit with the brand.
“We look out for candidates that have a unique, personal voice on social media, but also have a filter on what’s appropriate for our brand to post,” she said. “What is unique to one company might be inappropriate to another. So for employers, knowing your brand is the most important thing – then the same rules apply offline as on.”
