TORONTO, May 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian companies are increasingly using social media to find new employees, according to a new survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.
More than 1 in 3 companies (36%) say social media is one of the best ways to find job seekers, as social media has become an important way for employers and job seekers to find one another and connect.
Finding candidates isn’t the only way companies are using social media. Two-thirds of Canadian companies (65%) say they use social media to screen job applicants and say it’s an effective screening method (64%). Of those employers who use social media to screen applicants, 41% report finding content on a job candidate’s social media that caused the hiring manager not to employ them.
Interestingly, job seekers appear concerned about how social media impacts their hiring prospects. A recent study of job seekers revealed that more than half (61%) feel a candidate’s social media profile(s) should not influence their likelihood of being hired.
It may be reassuring for job seekers to know that more than half of Canadian hiring managers (59%) report they have never found content on a social media site that caused them not to hire a candidate.
Social media is a great way for employers to connect with potential job seekers and stay “top of mind,” according to Shane DeCoste, an Express franchise owner in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
“In recent years companies have been deploying efforts to open new recruiting streams,” said DeCoste. “The vast majority of candidates are frequenting some form of social media and going where job seekers are is more effective than asking them to find your organization.”
DeCoste says he has had success finding candidates on social media, and that LinkedIn and Facebook have so far been the most useful sites in that regard.
“In one case, we hired a CFO for a local organization from a LinkedIn post that caught their attention and other times, we have found skilled trades workers from Facebook posts we have made,” said DeCoste. “Depending on the social media platform, there are a number of ways companies may use social media. The most common methods are either posting an update on their company page with a link to the company website or in some cases, the social media platform has a job posting function the company may use.”
His advice to job seekers: “Keep your social media profile clean and professional. If you wouldn’t want to share it with your parents, grandparents, children or close friends, then you may want to refrain from posting it on social media.”
Despite the potential pitfalls, a professional digital presence can aid employees’ careers if curated in the right way.
“Since hiring managers say they are using social media to source candidates, make your profiles ones that highlight your expertise and experience to stand out from the competition,” Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller said. “It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking your personal and private lives should be separate, but this survey shows employers might not feel the same way.”
Survey Methodology
The Job Insights survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, 2022, among 506 Canadian hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in Canada who are employed full-time or self-employed, work at companies with more than one employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 4.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.
The omnibus survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals from Dec. 13-15, 2022, among 1,050 adults ages 18 and older. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income and propensity to be online, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 3.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
If you would like to arrange for an interview to discuss this topic, please contact Ana Curic at
(613) 858-2622 or email Ana@MapleLeafStrategies.com.
About Bill Stoller
William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment International. Founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing franchisor supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
About Express Employment Professionals
At Express Employment Professionals, we’re in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing 579,000 people globally in 2022 and more than 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com/CA.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0b69b63d-2645-4989-8dc6-b8ebcdb7fb24
