Social recruiting is a great way to connect with top talent. In fact, the 2014 Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey revealed the overwhelming popularity of this technique, as 73% of recruiters admitted to hiring a candidate they found through social media.

If you’re not already using this approach to find top talent, it’s time to get started. Before crafting your strategy review the following four myths to make sure you don’t fall victim to common misconceptions that can keep you from connecting with the right person for the job:

1. Great Candidates Don’t Have Questionable Facebook Profiles: You’ve been told many times to conduct an online search for all top candidates, to see the type of content they’re posting on social media. The standard rule calls for you to eliminate anyone whose status updates contain grammatical errors or those not savvy enough to enable privacy settings on their vacation photos. If you’re hiring a social media manager, then yes, abide by these standards. Otherwise don’t immediately disregard an otherwise great candidate, because their social media know-how isn’t amazing.
2. You’ll Never Have to Pay for Social Recruiting Services: Posting jobs on your social media platforms is free, but many sites allow you to go the extra mile for a fee — and that’s not always a bad idea. LinkedIn Premium accounts, promoted tweets and Facebook ads can serve as a great way to reach as many talented professionals as possible. Sometimes you have to dedicate extra resources if you want to find the right candidate.
3. Generation X and Baby Boomers Aren’t on Social Media: Millennials may spend more time on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instragram than the older generation, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a presence. An overwhelming 65% of Internet users in the 50-64 age category use social networking sites, according to a 2014 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. This means you can actually find and recruit candidates of all ages on social sites. Take note of Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers with an active presence on these platforms, as they’re clearly adaptable and enthusiastic about their work.
4. LinkedIn Always Has Top-Quality Candidates: LinkedIn is a great place to find top talent — that part is true. However, you should broaden your horizons beyond the social networking site, as it’s not the most effective way to find every type of candidate. When you’re looking to fill a very niche role, thinking outside-the-box and using a service like HARO is a great way to find specialized talent.

Want to spend more time finding top talent and less time doing paperwork?

Contact ECS. Since our company was formed in 2000, we’ve focused on building relationships with recruiters and clients throughout the United States, managing contract staffing engagements in the primary employment categories of Information Technology, Accounting & Finance, Clerical & Administrative, and some categories of Engineering & Architecture.