Crofton Social Media vs. Traditional Job Recruitment Strategies

Social media may be the hot buzz word these days when it comes to finding jobs, but Crofton businesses are finding that other recruiting tools currently are more effective.

Bruster’s Ice Cream plans to open in Crofton in early July and needed to hire 25 ice cream scoopers. A free ad placed on Craigslist drew more than 60 respondents. An announcement on Bruster's Facebook page  generated about six applications, said Dawn Rodriguez, one of Bruster’s owners.

Rodriguez also placed a free ad on Snag-a-Job and paid for an ad in the Annapolis Capital. Responses were sent to different email addresses, so she could tell where applicants learned of the job. The Craigslist ad generated the most respondents, Rodriguez said. If she needed to hire again, Rodriguez said she wouldn’t pay to advertise.

“We started the Facebook page to have a connection to the community and let people know we’re here,” Rodriguez said. Because Bruster’s is new to the area, we don’t have as many fans. Three years from now, announcing a job opening on Facebook might work far better, she said.

Robert Andrew – The Salon & Spa in Gambrills has more than 2,300 fans of its Facebook page. Yet when the salon staff recently posted an ad for several guest relations positions on Facebook, they received one response. Craigslist generated more responses, said Alicia Vogel, executive assistant and human resources coordinator at Robert Andrew.

“We typically don’t do open interviews,” Vogel said. “We used Facebook because we wanted to get the word out quickly,” she said.

Most applicants typically seek us out through our website or by walking in, Vogel said. If we advertise, we use a specialized job board, she said.

Ashley Gonzalez, events coordinator at Rolly Pollies of Crofton said that word-of-mouth has traditionally been the best recruiting tool they have used. Rolly Pollies also advertises on their website.

Gonzalez is planning to unveil several changes to Rolly Pollies Facebook page  within the next few weeks.

“Facebook is a staple for me,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a great outlet and a great tool for businesses.” To be successful, a Facebook page has to promote more than just the company, it needs to provide a community service so people keep coming back, Gonzalez said.

“People are very transparent on Facebook, you get to see who a person really is,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez has used Facebook as a screening tool. “There have been times where I’ve seen something [on the applicant’s Facebook page] and told Alison, the hiring manager that this person does not represent our brand or company,” she said.

Gonzalez likes the idea of advertising job openings on Facebook. Employees have informally announced that Rolly Pollies is hiring on their personal pages and that has brought in several applicants, she said.

Reaching the target market is critical to using social media to find new employees. “The market reach of our Facebook page is smaller than what is available through other venues,” Vogel said. The customers who like us on Facebook are not necessarily the ones who would apply for a position, she said.

Vogel has thought about using LinkedIn to advertise positions, but said “it’s not something we’re going to try soon.”