Listing a job on your website often is not enough

Facebook has an advantage over most other social networks in that it lets you post job listings directly on your profile.

BY ELIZABETH BREEDLOVE

If you realize your dream of launching your invention into the marketplace and building a full-fledged business from it, you’ll eventually need a team of people on your side.

When you’re in the early stages of a start-up company, it’s important to find quality people who mesh well with your personality and your company culture who are as passionate about your invention as you are and who you can trust to do good work.

To begin, write a job description. Consider the nature of the role, the duties you expect of the new hire, the requirements and qualifications you hope to see in this person, and how you’d like him or her to apply. Then put the job listing on your website.

Putting your listing on your site is a good first step, but it is usually unlikely that the right candidate will find your listing on his or her own.

At this point, many inventors are uncertain where to turn to find the perfect addition to their team. If this is you, have you considered using social media to grow your team?

Advertising your job

Let’s start with the obvious. As soon as you decide to hire someone to join your team, post a link to the listing on all your social media profiles.

In the post, include a few key details such as the job title and one or two qualifications, and consider telling people how to apply. This is a great place to begin because those who are following you on social media are likely interested in and emotionally invested in the success of your company. They are familiar with your brand and invention, giving them an edge over someone who may know nothing about your product.

If you stop here, though, you’ll be selling yourself short and may miss out on the perfect candidate.

Facebook has an advantage over most other social networks in that it lets you post job listings directly on your profile. These display differently than regular Facebook posts, so those who see this will know that it’s a job listing and not just another post.

Facebook also gives you the option to pay to “boost” the post, which will get it seen by more people. If it’s an entry-level job with widely applicable skills, this can be a great option for you.

However, if it’s a highly skilled job, this may be a waste of your advertising budget, as Facebook limits boosted job posts targeting to location. There may be a million people on Facebook in your specified location but only 100 with the qualifications you need. If you pay to boost the post, there is a high likelihood none of these 100 people will even see it because the audience is so large.

If you still want to pay to promote your job listing, a better option may be to run a more typical Facebook Ad campaign directing traffic to the listing on your website. Remember that Facebook Ads can get quite expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing; if you aren’t experienced with that tool, you’ll be better off working with an advertising expert or not running an ad at all.

Regardless of whether you decide to pay to promote your job opening on Facebook, consider posting in Facebook Groups. The most obvious place to begin would be groups for job seekers in your area. These groups are filled with people looking for work.

A simple search should make these groups easy to find. Look for all active groups and post in each of them. Note that these groups may be closed, in which case you’ll have to request to join them.

Once you’ve posted in your local job offer groups, you can start to look for groups more specifically related to the job itself. For example, if you’re hiring a mechanical engineer, look for groups for engineers in your area, or groups for local maker spaces. If you’re hiring a marketing professional, search for groups for local marketing experts. You may be surprised by how many relevant Facebook Groups you find!

When you feel satisfied with your job postings on Facebook, you can move on to LinkedIn. LinkedIn also has specific posts for job listings, so be sure to create one of these. You can also use LinkedIn’s search feature to find good candidates and then message them directly.

Evaluate your candidates

Once you have a solid group of candidates, it’s time to evaluate them. Of course you’ll look at each applicant’s resume and cover letter, but you can also search for his or her social media profiles to get a better picture.

If the person is active on social media, you can learn more about his or her personality and perhaps determine a possible fit for your company culture. If the person posts frequently, you’ll also get a feel for his or her writing style, which may be important.

While researching candidates on social media, see how they’ve interacted with your content. Do they follow your brand? Do they interact with your posts?

It isn’t necessarily a bad sign if they aren’t already engaged with you on social media, but if they are, it shows they have a baseline familiarity with your brand and are interested in your invention.

Show off your company

Throughout the hiring process, make sure you’re posting frequently to all of your social media profiles. Don’t just promote your product or business; this is your chance to make your company appear attractive to potential applicants.

For example, post behind-the-scenes photos or videos that show off your company culture. If you have an interesting office space, show it off! If your company has won awards or achieved something else notable, this makes a great post as well.

Social media is an easy way to highlight the most interesting parts of working for your company so that the top applicants are interested in your business over another who may also be hiring people with their skill set.