Is searching for teaching candidates and students offline or through social media better? Statista reports that millennials and Generation Z spend up to 2.5 to 3 hours daily on social media and typically have about five accounts across different platforms. This trend is something to consider in the professional world too. This trend is something to consider in the professional world too.
Social media recruitment has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially in education. It helps make the process of finding candidates faster and more efficient, while also improving engagement by avoiding outdated bureaucratic steps. In the sections below, we’ll look at what social media recruitment involves, its benefits, and how AI can enhance productivity.
It all starts with an organisation's official profile. Employer branding on social media platforms is essential in the battle for talented candidates, especially during qualified personnel shortages. This branding involves several components that might seem small on their own but are powerful together:
Social media branding is just as important for a school as it is for a commercial company. If a supermarket, clothing store, or bank doesn’t engage with consumers online, it can appear indifferent and outdated. The same goes for educational institutions. Active communication builds a strong brand, making it more likely that potential candidates will remember your offer during their job search and seek it out.
The second key element of a social media recruiting strategy is targeted advertising campaigns. These ads reach people who are likely to be interested in the job. Platforms like Instagram or X (formerly Twitter) allow you to narrow down your audience by parameters such as location, age, interests, or even behaviour. For instance, if you’re searching for a computer teacher, it would be sensible to target someone who spends more than four hours a day online.
Social media also serves as the world’s largest talent pool. You can learn a lot about a person based on their social media activity—their hobbies, academic achievements, favourite books, educational background, and work experience. It’s no surprise that many employers use social media listening for recruitment. They create lists of potential candidates for current and future positions, evaluate them thoroughly, and, if suitable, send offers to the best ones.
Another effective approach is recruiting passive candidates. In many industries, top professionals aren’t actively searching for jobs but are open to new opportunities. They may avoid creating CVs or responding to job listings to maintain good relations with their current employers. However, a compelling job offer can prompt them to reach out to a potential employer to discuss the opportunity further.
Most importantly, the role of social media sites is growing. People spend more time on them than on other platforms. Returning to Statista reports, the social media presence of an average user reaches 151 minutes a day. Last year, this figure was 147 minutes, and a decade ago, it was 72 minutes. So, social media channels are no longer just platforms for communication. Today, they are a full-fledged alternative reality for goods and services, shops and consultants, job searching, and employment. They reflect almost every possible aspect of the world around us.
The following are worth mentioning for the specific benefits of social media recruitment.
Let’s be honest—most of us have, at some point, exaggerated our talents and achievements on our CVs. While it may seem harmless, this distortion of facts can throw off a carefully planned recruitment strategy. In contrast, the social media landscape offers a simpler and more transparent view—by analysing data from open sources, you can gain a clearer picture of a candidate’s real experience and qualifications.
Reviewing a thousand CVs can take several hours, but finding the ten best candidates and sending them personalised offers takes just 30 minutes. Social networks streamline the recruitment process by optimising both time and effort, using standard free tools like advanced Facebook search.
Want hundreds of people to know about your job opening? Share the information in relevant communities. Want thousands, or even tens of thousands, of responses? Create engaging and witty posts that people will want to share without extra motivation. Don’t underestimate the viral power of social media, even in a complex field like education.
Ask young professionals what they think about traditional hiring practices, such as CVs, cover letters, and interviews. You’re likely to hear mostly negative feedback. However, live communication with employer representatives on social media is a different story. And they have a point—informal conversations are often faster and more productive than bureaucratic procedures.
The cost savings can be significant. Traditional recruitment methods in British education—like job fairs, website postings, and even newspaper ads—often have a low response rate because they reach a broad audience, most of whom may not be interested. Social networks, on the other hand, offer targeted systems that allow you to clearly define your audience and control your recruitment budget.
An informal approach saves both money and time. Candidates respond to social media offers more quickly and spend less time deliberating. Additionally, the absence of bureaucratic hurdles allows for simpler communication. As a result, school vacancies are filled faster reducing the workload on other teachers and, on a national scale, improving the overall quality of education.
Artificial intelligence is software that mimics the human way of thinking. Unlike traditional algorithmic applications, it performs a given sequence of actions, adapts to current circumstances, and makes decisions independently. So, what methods are used in AI-powered recruitment?
Even the most experienced recruiter typically focuses on only a few key characteristics of a potential candidate, such as work experience, education, professional skills, and familiarity with modern software. In contrast, AI-driven resume screening and recruitment evaluate dozens, or even hundreds, of parameters, including the frequency of social media posts, the tone of voice, and the nature of comments.
Based on these factors, AI can identify ideal candidates for a vacancy, not just based on isolated attributes but by considering a comprehensive range of factors. Another significant advantage is that AI talent assessments are conducted impartially, without taking social or cultural background into account. This ensures equal opportunities for all candidates, helping to prevent discrimination.
The average social media user can narrow the target audience for contextual advertising to several hundred people, while a professional targeting specialist can refine it to just a few dozen. By leveraging social media profiles, an AI-powered tool can identify top specialists with even greater precision. This tool continually improves its efficiency by learning from each campaign it runs.
Artificial intelligence doesn’t just search for potential candidates—it fully automates the initial stages of the recruitment process. Carefully designed and trained software can independently create and customise advertising campaigns, write engaging content, and determine the optimal time to launch. Unlike traditional applications, AI can also test various hypotheses, compare their effectiveness, and select the most successful strategies.
An example of this kind of AI application is the Soccially platform (now branded as Gaia). We help schools in the UK find their ideal teaching candidates and stay connected with the professional community more efficiently and cost-effectively than other talent acquisition methods.
To maintain a high engagement rate, you need to respond to messages from dozens or even hundreds of active candidates. However, the school administration likely won’t be able to manage this workload effectively, and they shouldn’t have to allocate their resources in this way.
Instead, it’s more efficient to use recruitment chatbots. These chatbots can handle the initial messages from potential candidates, providing key information about the school’s location, working conditions, salary, and job responsibilities. A chatbot can also act as a secretary for the principal or HR manager—accepting interview requests, scheduling the ideal time, and sending reminders in advance.
As we’ve mentioned, social media is the world’s largest talent pool. However, it’s not practical to personally track the careers and achievements of every specialist. This is where AI can be invaluable.
Predictive hiring on social media targets passive candidates, helping to find the ideal specialist and determine the best time to present an offer. With AI, you can leverage effective tools such as word-of-mouth marketing, native integrations, and influencer engagement.
Given the global shifts in online behaviour, it’s clear that the future of recruitment lies in social media. This approach optimises time and financial resources, enhances the efficiency of candidate selection, ensures maximum transparency, and helps maintain high engagement levels. However, moving from specialised job search platforms to social media is only the first step.
AI can unlock the full potential of modern technology in recruitment. It narrows the target audience for contextual advertising, provides a comprehensive assessment of candidates, improves communication through chatbots, and even tracks the careers of top professionals to determine the best time to reach out.
The effectiveness of AI and its positive impact are not just theoretical—they’re proven. Many educational institutions in the UK are already benefiting from Soccialy’s "(now branded as Gaia) AI-powered education recruitment, as it optimises their policies, reduces the cost of searching for candidates, and increases staffing levels.