Singapore firms using social media to step up job recruitment efforts

Most people use social media to connect with their friends and some Singapore companies are now using it as a recruitment tool.

Online marketing agency Oasis Interactive uses social media to reach out to its customers. Now, it is turning to social media to attract job seekers.

Earlier this year, it placed an online advertisement asking job seekers to apply through LinkedIn, a business-oriented social networking website.

Jason Low, director, Oasis Interactive, said: "The quantity of resumes have been relatively smaller. But in terms of the quality, it's very good because they're more relevant and more earnest in their job applications.

"The resumes that we're getting is not just (from) Singapore or Malaysia. They actually expand to Australia and United States as well. We have corporate accounts in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Delicious.

"It's natural for us to think that our potential staff would be savvy enough to look for us in these business social networks."

Oasis Interactive said they also use social media to keep in touch with ex-staff, some of whom have become their clients.

But some industry players remain sceptical that social media is a reliable hiring tool. They said it is more effective for jobs in technology-related sectors or for companies hiring junior to mid-level staff.

They added that it is usually the younger job seekers that are less averse to using technology to help them secure jobs.

Joanne Chue, HR specialist division manager, Robert Walters, said: "It's beyond just looking at the job description. It's about looking at the company's plans for development. It's about understanding the culture, things that you can't see from a website."

Ms Chua also highlighted another danger of using social media to look for jobs.

She said: "Who knows who's reading your profile, it may be the boss you're reporting to that's surfing on LinkedIn and the last thing you want your boss to know is that you're potentially looking out for job opportunities."

Industry players said using social media as a recruitment tool could help companies gather additional information about potential employees. But at the same time, it could also allow their competitors to access information on their hiring habits.

However, the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) said the HR industry still has some way to go before it can fully harness the power of social media as a recruitment tool.

Mr David Ang, executive director of the SHRI, said bigger companies are more likely to use social media as a recruitment tool as small and medium enterprises may not have the time or resources to maintain an online presence.

- Channel News Asia