How to Use Social Media to Recruit New Candidates to the Environmental Services Industry

2021 is already off to a difficult start for anyone recruiting skilled labor roles. As if the shortage of skilled field personnel wasn’t enough of a challenge, potential candidates are now even harder to come by thanks to the ramifications of the global pandemic. Many people are apprehensive about making a career change thanks to the uncertainty that COVID created. If you’re hiring for roles in the environmental services industry, it’s time to get creative and leverage social media.   

ANALYZE YOUR COMPANY’S SOCIAL MEDIA FOOTPRINT

Before you can start reaching out to potential applicants on social media platforms, you’ll want to analyze your company’s existing footprint. Take a look at their pages on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media tool or app they’re using, and evaluate how well they sell viewers on your organization. Ask yourself questions like…

• Do the social media posts highlight what makes your organization unique?
• Would someone looking at your company’s Facebook page be able to get a good sense of the culture?
• Does your LinkedIn company page show what’s special about building a career in environmental services?

If your honest answers aren’t ones you like, work with the person who manages those accounts to improve the content. Assist them in developing posts that will help potential candidates better understand the industry, your company culture, and what a career could be like working with you.

NETWORK AND CONNECT

Once you know your company has a strong social media footprint, you can focus on networking. This should not be an attempt to poach employees, but rather to build connections who will turn to you when they’re ready for a new role.

A good first step for networking is to join and interact in online groups. Facebook, for example, has hundreds of “Now Hiring” groups that are open to individuals in a particular geographical area. Some of them are more narrow, and focus on specific industries—look for those, but don’t forget to look beyond just drilling or environmental services. Related industries such as construction and manufacturing may have groups that are worth joining and participating in. They’re a great opportunity for networking, while also giving you an avenue for job postings.

ZERO IN ON YOUR DESIRED JOB TITLES

Another way to find qualified applicants is conducting targeted title searches on social media platforms. This is easy to do on sites like LinkedIn (though that particular platform restricts how many connection requests you can send and how many search results you can see without purchasing a license). Sites like Facebook, though not specifically career-oriented, allow for free targeted searches.

To conduct a targeted search on Facebook, choose a job title you’d like to see results for. While it makes sense to search for titles like “Driller,” you’d be wise to also search for roles that have overlapping skills—but perhaps in an industry that hasn’t had steady work this past year, since those individuals may be open to or actively looking for a new job.

Once you type the job title into the search bar, you’ll be shown public profiles that contain that it, and will be able to add search filters to narrow down your results.

To identify the most qualified candidates in tough recruitment circumstances, we have to cast a wider, more creative net. By leveraging social media, you can go beyond job boards and take a more proactive approach.

Questions on leveraging social media for recruiting? Reach out to our Director of Talent Acquisition, Jessica Alexander, at [email protected].