Using Social Media to Recruit a Diverse Workforce Essay Example

Twitter. However, it is uncertain if this rise in social media use corresponds with greater demand for skilled workers. Leader-Chivee & Cowan's 2008 survey revealed that human resource executives from forty countries expressed concern about their ability to attract and develop future leaders despite technological advancements. Moreover, younger employees entering the workforce may lack necessary skills due to economic downturns and shortages of talented workers who can effectively run businesses. According to data from the US Board of Labor Statistics, some industries are expected to experience an increase of up to 42% in employees aged between 55-64 by the end of 2014.Younger workers, particularly educated ones, have a history of frequently changing jobs with up to 72% staying in their current position for less than two years. Leader-Chivee & Cowan (2008) suggest using social media sites and online communities as a means of engaging these workers. Grensing-Pophal (2009) notes that Human Resources departments are also utilizing social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to locate potential candidates before extending job offers. Elmore's (2009) survey shows that Management Information Systems students aged 18-25 have successfully used social media sites to find internships and jobs with 73% reporting success through this method. These students expressed more interest in using social media for job search purposes over company websites or career fairs. Understanding the purpose and focus of each platform is vital in comprehending how recruiters use them. LinkedIn has over 75 million members globally with a professional emphasis providing various resources including job boards, research tools, special interest groups, and expertise requests for business inquiries; its demographics consist of 52% male and 48% female members

(Leader-Chivee & Cowan, 2008).In terms of age distribution, around 38% of LinkedIn users fall between the ages of 35-49, while about 32% are above fifty and approximately 26% are aged between18-34. As for ethnicity statistics within the community, Caucasians make up the majority at 83%, followed by Asians at 7%, African Americans at 6%, and other ethnicities comprise3%. It's worth noting that roughly78% of LinkedIn users do not have children.

On Facebook, initially college students were targeted to connect through text-based communication channels with picture sharing videos & music (Kaplan & Haenlein in their book published in 2010). According to a Quantcast study from2010, out of half-billion registered users worldwide on Facebook networked platform; around 38% earned more than $100k annually while another31% made anywhere between $60k and $100k per year. Nowadays companies use this social networking site for marketing purposes due to its high percentage of well-educated users(53%) who tend to have conservative profile information complemented by customizable privacy settings based on Leader-Chivee & Cowan's research conducted back in 2008.

When it comes to demographics on Facebook, female users account for about55%, while males only make up45%. The largest age group on the platform is between13-17 years old which represents around22%, followed by those under the category of18-34 years old at only2%.Facebook users are primarily Caucasian (75%), followed by African Americans (13%), Hispanics (6%) and Asians (5%). Twitter is a microblogging site with tweets limited to 140 characters. According to Quantcast's report in 2010, Twitter users were mainly Caucasian (69%), followed by African Americans (16%), Hispanics (11%) and Asians (3%). Females make up the majority of Twitter accounts at 55%, while males represent 45%. Most members are

aged between 13-17 or 18-34. Niche social networks target specific demographics, such as Univision which was utilized by the U.S. Army to target Spanish-speaking Hispanics due to its moderation policy over Facebook's open commenting system. Social media can be used in various ways during recruitment, including using a dedicated Twitter account that links back to the organization's career website or including a link on LinkedIn that directs users who are asking if they know anyone working at the organization. Grensing-Pophal notes that using LinkedIn as a recruitment tool can lead to more corroborative referrals by connecting with individuals who are already known.