You should think long and hard about whether sharing your social media channels is relevant to the role you’re applying forIn 2017, the government introduced the Apprenticeship Levy to help increase the number of programmes offered by companies, but since then, surprisingly, we have seen a decline in the number of apprenticeship starts. It is now more important than ever to promote the value of apprenticeships, and businesses have to think of new, innovative ways to do so.
Social media has become increasingly prominent in the UK, with people on average owning 5.54 social media accounts, according to research done by Global Web Index. Due to this, social media is now becoming an essential place to advertise and this includes job applications.
Why is social media used to recruit apprenticeships?
- Not only is it a free service, social media has the potential to reach a large number of people, due to the popularity of it. This helps companies find more candidates quickly, compared to agencies and job boards, and it can provide you with a broader range of applicants to choose from.
- Most people considering apprenticeships are young, and often the best way to advertise to a young audience is through social media. Social media will help you reach people that may not actively be looking for an apprenticeship, which is excellent, as it can help people get interested who may not have considered one before.
- Using social media to recruit your apprentices can help attract modern minds that are most likely up to date with the latest trends and technology.
- A lot of other companies are already doing it. You don’t want to miss out on potentially finding the perfect candidate, leaving them to be discovered by other companies instead. In order to keep up with the competition, you must follow suit in this new digital way of recruiting.
How can my business do this?
Every company will need to come up with a unique social media recruiting strategy based on the nature of its business, but here are a few basic ideas to consider:
- Don’t just use LinkedIn: Although LinkedIn is the most obvious place to post your jobs, put them on your other social profiles such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to reach as many people as possible. Put the job specification and how to apply on your website and post on all of your social profiles linking back to there.
- Involve your current employees: Ensure that as many as possible of your employees post the job applications to their own social media accounts to get the message out to the maximum number of people.
- Invest in paid social advertisements: Paid social advertisements will help your jobs reach more people than you would normally. Social media adverts are the cheapest way to advertise and often gain a better engagement rate than other forms of advertising. It is quick and easy to set up and manage, and most social media websites have help with doing so.
Videos: Post a video of what is it like to work at your company, along with the job description of the apprenticeship and what candidates will get from the opportunity.
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