Social recruiting is rapidly evolving, and we’re seeing that the application tracking systems of the past are no longer the most effective method for hiring. These applicant records can become stale rather quickly if they are only accessed when the hiring need arises. With an ATS, hiring managers wade through hundreds of outdated resumes from passive candidates who are likely to be out of touch because they have not engaged for quite some time. While talent pools can become stagnant, talent communities, on the other hand, are very dynamic.

Talent communities offer a more focused and refined approach to hiring. They provide a virtual community and meeting place for like-minded individuals to network by leveraging their social connections to facilitate introductions. Community members can include candidates seeking a job, current employees that can provide referrals, thought leaders that provide advice about the industry, and recruiters who can facilitate making connections.

Not all talent communities succeed equally. The most effective communities are micro-talent communities which are built around a common theme – a large corporation, selected industry, university, or geographical location. This segmentation exposes members only to the jobs, candidates, topics and news that is most relevant to them. It’s crucial that community managers nurture the relationships within the network, so that the community thrives. They must keep members engaged by facilitating conversations, posing questions, posting relevant news, and keeping job listings current.

A well-tended community offers many benefits to hiring organizations:

1. Access to a higher caliber of motivated candidates who are active and engaged.

2. Positive corporate image. As two-way communication is established, job seekers gain insight into the company culture and hiring process and their trust and positive perception of the organization grows.

3. Efficiencies in recruiting. As you stay engaged with your pipeline of potential new recruits, you become less dependent on costly and inefficient job boards and can dramatically reduce your recruiting costs.

Micro-talent communities, like those built using Ascendify’s Social Recruiting platform are at the forefront of today’s recruiting efforts. At Ascendify, we strive to ensure that top talent not only gets matched with ideal jobs, but that the candidate’s experience is enriched with meaningful relationships and advice along the way.