Even though hiring has slumped over the last couple of years, social media recruiting has been a hot topic and continues to gain traction. Many recruiters are already finding candidates through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Other recruiters are still at the very early stage of understanding social media for recruiting. Guess what — it’s OK. If that’s you, you are really not that far behind. Hiring is showing signs of life and it will become more critical to dip your toe, and maybe even a whole leg, into the water on social media.

Five years ago, it was easy for candidates and companies to find each other on a handful of well-known and extremely popular job boards. To put it mildly, everything has changed. Candidates don’t feel constrained by giant job boards. They seek out opportunities to get closer to the job before they apply by checking out search engines, videos, industry sites and social media. Now, these all play a role in getting a candidate closer to saying yes.

If you are just starting, here are four social media recruiting tips from HireClix to get you rolling:

• Be Open & Honest — Whether you are a candidate or a company, you need to present a true depiction of who you are. The world is a lot smaller and anything but the truth is a waste of time. Being open and honest is an investment in building your personal or organizational brand for the long haul.
• Stick to the Big Dogs — LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter provide enough work and opportunity for your time and effort. This is the classic 80/20 rule and until you have mastered the handful of big dogs, you should forget about other social media channels.
• Tell Your Stories and Listen — Whether you blog, create videos or tweet, just tell your stories. You probably have more interesting stuff than you realize. Share, listen and then participate in the dialogue. You will feel more comfortable every day.
• Don’t Over Commit — Putting all of your chips on one number in roulette is risky and so is betting the house on social media. You need to invest in social media but it should be part of the overall recruitment marketing strategy. Social media is a new channel and will yield hires over time but make it part of a balanced recruiting diet.

Social Media Recruiting Resources

• http://community.ere.net/blogs
• www.fistfuloftalent.com
• www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blog/list
• http://punkrockhr.com
• www.careerrocketeer.com
• www.lindseypollak.com

Neil Costa is the Managing Director of  HireClix, an interactive recruitment marketing agency focused on helping clients prepare for the new generation of recruitment marketing opportunities, including SEO, PPC, targeted banner ads and social media. HireClix is based in Gloucester, Massachusetts — America’s oldest seaport.