NIH Virtual Hiring Manager Guide Series: Section Three – Using Social Media to Recruit and Hire
This blog series is designed to assist the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Hiring Managers with meeting their workforce representational diversity aims by providing resources specific to the Native American community. This final section provides resources, tools, and options for expanding outreach, while this part is dedicated to recruitment resources.
The previous sections for the NIH Virtual Hiring Manager Guide Series are included to guide your recruitment journey.
Section One | Special Hiring Authorities
Section Two | Internships
Section Three | Outreach Resources
The main benefit of using social media for recruiting is that the hiring manager can meet and gauge what an individual is like before the time-consuming processes of reviewing applications. Social media does not require a substantial financial investment. It can also help educate the public about the NIH and create a community of supporters through frequent use. The more time and research you invest, the more successful you will be in finding the right diverse candidate for the position.
Twitter Guide | www.twitter.com
Twitter has become a go-to place for Native American job seekers looking for the inside scoop on new job openings. As a hiring manager, you can participate in live online conversations (Twitter Chats) where you might meet potential candidates and use hashtags. Ensure your profile description uses relevant keywords so job seekers can easily find you when tweeting about jobs and open positions. Think about which keywords candidates might use to search for the NIH and keep it simple. The guide below provides helpful tips on how to set up a professional profile and navigate Twitter.
Set up your account. Go to Twitter to get started. Enter your name, work email, and password. Click Sign up. You will be taken to a second screen where you can select a username. This is the name by which you will be known on Twitter.
Once this is complete, click on the Create my Account button. That's it. You are now officially a member of the Twitter community.
Next, Twitter will assist you in getting started. It will explain what a tweet is and allow you to "follow" others. You can opt-out of these steps if you wish.
Tweak your settings. Make sure you are on your Twitter home page. Click on the Settings link. You should be on the Account tab. Set the time zone.
Now click on the Profile tab. Upload your picture/logo. This is important. Remember that your photo's maximum upload size is 700k, so you may have to re-size your image to meet this requirement.
Enter the rest of your information, including your location, website, and a brief bio—no more than 160 characters that emphasize your role as a hiring manager at the NIH.
Note that you can also connect your Twitter account to Facebook on this page. This will post all your Tweets directly to Facebook.
Learn the basic commands. Think of Twitter as a room full of people, all sitting in a circle. It's a conversation between you and job seekers. When you update your status, you are speaking to all potential candidates.
So now you are all set up. It's time to start posting job announcements. You can do this from your Twitter home page or by using the mobile Twitter app.
Tweets can be no more than 140 characters long. If you use the Web page, the entry field will automatically count your characters.
LinkedIn Guide | www.linkedin.com
LinkedIn is the largest professional network, with over 100 million members and growing rapidly. Join diverse LinkedIn groups in relevant industries and get involved in their discussions. This will provide you with access to a large number of qualified Native American candidates. The guide below offers helpful tips on how to set up a professional profile and navigate LinkedIn.
LinkedIn's user agreement specifically states that you should not publish inaccurate information in designated fields of your profile. This means you should use your real first and last name in the name field. They also want you to use a head-shot photo for your profile image.
Your headline is one of the most important parts of your profile. It comes up in a variety of places throughout LinkedIn, and it can affect Google search results.
Your summary is a section where you can write a paragraph or two about your overall professional experience and interest in recruiting Native American candidates. Consider it your elevator pitch.
Add the schools you have attended and any additional details about your degree, a field of study, activities, societies, and other notes - especially if they relate to recruiting.
The Skills and Experience section allows you to add keywords for your professional skills to your profile.
Once you have completed your profile, be sure that you have it set to public. Go to your profile and click on the 'Edit' link next to your 'Public Profile' link. You can customize your profile settings as you would like them to appear in public searches.
Participate in LinkedIn Groups and Answers to keep your profile active.
Facebook Guide | www.facebook.com
Go to Create a Page and select Local Business or Place
When you click on this, you'll get to select a category and complete your office details.
Be sure to use your local street address and phone number with a local area code for optimal local search optimization.
On the next screen, you'll be prompted to complete some additional details about your office.
Next, you will add a basic description of your office. The description should be 1-2 sentences (up to 155 characters long) that sums up what your office does and your desire to recruit Native American talent.
After that, you will enter your website URL & choose a web address for your Facebook page. The web address cannot be changed.
After you click 'Save Info,' you will be prompted to add the profile picture for your page. This should be the same profile photo/logo you use on other social media websites.
Click the Add a description link. Then add a brief description of your office (plus your website URL).
Did You Know?
When interacting with individuals who identify themselves as AI/AN, it is important to understand that each person has experienced their cultural connection in a unique way. An individual's own personal and family history will determine their cultural identity and practices, which may change throughout their lifetime as they are exposed to different experiences.
The variations in cultural identity among AI/AN people can be viewed as a continuum that ranges from those who consider themselves as "traditional" and live their traditional culture daily to those who view themselves as "Indian" or "Native" but have little knowledge or interest in traditional cultural practices. Many AI/AN families are multicultural and adapt to their surrounding culture.
*Adopted from SAMHSA AI/AN Culture Card
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