Can You Afford to Keep Ignoring Google+? Spoiler Alert: No.

March 19, 2014 at 1:42 PM by Rob Stevenson

As social media presences become more and more important to talent acquisition, and search giant google-Plus-iconGoogle's horse in the race emerges as a highly active networking site, we're approaching an inevitable conclusion: recruiters can no longer afford to ignore Google+. While it's utility in sourcing is still debatable -- as G+ profiles tend to be less robust (at least from a career point of view) than others such as LinkedIn or GitHub--the fact is there is still a huge opportunity to make a footprint for your organization, and ensure that you make a good impression no matter where on the web talent first finds you.

Late last year, marketing consultants MW Partners released a data-rich infographic detailing some insightful stats about G+ usage. Here are some key takeaways from the infographic:

  • G+ is the second most actively used social network with 318.4M users
  • 20M users per month are active via mobile
  • 28% of millenials are active on G+

With this much usage, at the very least, you need to make sure your brand's page is professional and active. Taking it a step further though, adding a careers section on G+ can be a great way to attract inbound talent. Here are some examples of a handful of companies whose G+ careers pages are right on the money.

Careers At Oracle

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Oracle's career page has it all: a developed, engaged following, regularly posted content, and frequent peeks inside company culture. In addition to cross-posting from their blog, they also include pieces from their employees which showcase life at Oracle. In fact, a lengthy post detailing a new employee's hiring and onboarding experience is the page's most active article!

Aon Careers

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Insurance and consultancy firm Aon is another example of an organization doing G+ right. By making leverage of their strategic partnership with massively supported and hilariously underperforming Manchester United, Aon is able to depict their employees in fun atmospheres as well as share branding with the world football giants. In addition to their own blog content, the G+ page regularly links to discussions their talent acquisition pros are engaged in on the web. They also give bios on employees worldwide and make note of community engagement efforts.

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As the infographic above made note, photos are the most shared item on G+, so Aon is right on target.

Amazon Data Services, Ireland

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Amazon does many things right, and this careers page is only the latest example. Despite it's meager following (although that's to be expected for a niche office in Ireland), this profile brings much to the table. Posting open reqs, linking to competitions they are hosting on StackOverflow, and including messaging from the recruiters themselves are just a few examples of the activity on this G+ page. In addition, they took the opportunity to sell their location (on St Paddy's day, no less!) by sharing a beautifully made video by the Irish Foreign Ministry. 

 

Even though G+ may have some ground to make up in being a rich source of data on candidates, if you neglect Google's social media outlet, you're willfully ignoring an increasingly powerful opportunity to engage with talent and demonstrate how great your company is!

How is your company using G+ to attract talent? Leave a comment or tweet @EnteloRob!

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