By Steven Duque

Anyone who has a Facebook account knows that social media are great for spying on people. But social media listening can be very useful, beyond Facebook-stalking, if you know what you’re looking for and how to act on it. As a hiring manager or recruiter, you can use your social media to gather intelligence on either prospects or the competition.  Competition aside, however, here are a handful of ways you can use social media as a recruiter to gather intelligence on talent – or, in social media speak, “listen”:

Discover relationships you never knew existed.

One of LinkedIn’s best features is allowing their users to easily see people within two and three degrees of their immediate professional contacts. From a Machiavellian standpoint, this info is extremely valuable to anyone who’s willing to reach out to their contacts to help grease the wheels with an introduction. It’s a win-win situation: you get in touch with desirable leads, and your connecting contact builds her social influence.

Dive into people’s (career and personal) histories.

According to a recent survey conducted by OfficeTeam, 43% of HR managers thought it was somewhat or very likely that online profiles might one day replace résumés. And, with the rise of alternative online résumé formats, chances are you’ll find both professional and personal info on people you’re tracking. Social media profiles are only the tip of the iceberg, but they’re a great place to get started with gathering intel on prospective talent.

Keep track of prospects that aren’t (yet) ready to flip.

Users’ social media behaviors, which are documented by their social feeds and updates, can enhance how you understand them as people – and as prospects. The problem: most have neither the time nor the know-how to interpret this data. Bullhorn Reach is among the first to take the endless stream of social media behavioral data and make sense of it for finding, tracking and recruiting the best talent.  

Tap into what’s said about either yours or your clients’ brands.

Big brand marketers are investing in social media listening, some with entire ‘command centers’ devoted to it. Why? To understand their markets – even if only haphazardly. Similarly, hiring managers and recruiters can use social media listening tools to understand and harness insights from social media conversations about workplaces to inform conversations with prospects.

As you can see, gathering intelligence is certainly one important aspect of social (media) recruiting. Get ready to learn more about how you, as a hiring manager or recruiter, can use social media to both nurture your relationships and build your personal brand.

Note:  If used inappropriately, this aspect of social recruiting may result in legal discrimination claims against employers. For more info on this subject, check out our recent blog post.

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