As social media carves a niche for businesses to promote, companies are realizing this medium as a talent seeking destination. Teach For India is one of the most sought after fellowship program and this year it has set a target to bring in 450 fellows from amongst 7000 applications.
Leveraging social media has become a common affair for today’s business and the recruitment campaign by Teach For India has propelled ahead using Facebook, Twitter and Youtube channels. Somika Basu, manager, Teach For India says, “We have been leveraging social media much more because getting air time or space in publications is expensive”. They feel that they are more in control of the program that they are offering. To this Somika Basu says, “It is one channel of communication we have control over. And since our model is layered and complex we get much more space through social media“.
The young and the restless generation is online and communicating round the clock on Facebook, Twitter and other channels. So for companies seeking fresh new talent, it becomes easier to spread the word and acquire them in no time. This saves time and money and companies can also select based on people’s social media profiles. It is interesting to know that Ernst and Young maintains a Facebook careers page that connects with those who are looking to join in or have potential career queries. Similarly Jobokplease is another well known portal or rather a youth magazine that brings into limelight all kinds of fresher jobs and adverts while connecting employers to job seekers. They also enhance their traffic by offering location based listings.
Companies also use the Yahoo or Google mailing lists to recruit people and vice versa. Like the foreign policy think tank Gateway House puts forward its mind through these mailing lists. There has a huge shift in the job search trend with the advent and growth of social media. Young job seekers as well as experienced people look for potential via Linkedin, Facebook as well as Youtube.
This offers niche results based on social media profiles and criterion. This seems to be a viable option as both employers and job seekers can look up to better interpersonal communications.
