Are hashtags the key to attracting millennial talent?

Promoting its employee experience on social media has paid dividends for this innovative company

Are hashtags the key to attracting millennial talent?
If your recruitment strategy still hinges on posting job ads online and waiting for candidates to come to you, you’ll be missing out on a massive pool of younger workers.

In the same way brands are rethinking how they target Millennials and Gen Z, employers need to change tack to reach that talent.

That’s why Vancouver-based Mindfield, a data-driven recruitment platform provider, is utilizing social media – Instagram, especially – to showcase its workplace and employee experience, and entice that younger talent to its team.

“It’s a very millennial-friendly strategy, which is a big part of who we hire for our entry-level recruitment jobs, and it’s the bulk of our workforce,” says CEO and co-founder Cameron Laker.

Staff post content and photos on their own accounts, using the hashtag “#mindfieldlife”, to share snippets of their work day.

“We actually promote that hashtag on our job descriptions and website, so that [we say to] prospective job seekers ‘don’t take our word for it, go look at the type of things that employees are posting, and it gives people a really good sense of what the culture’s like and the types of people they’ll be working with. It’s been a really helpful way for us to provide a window into what it’s like to work at Mindfield.”

There’s a business advantage, too: “Our customers can see we’re not just selling this stuff, we’re actually living it,” Laker says.

Of course, Mindfield also has to invest in creating an exceptional employee experience, so its staff have authentic inspiration to share. The company has a dedicated coordinator tasked with scouting ideas and gaining insights into on why prospective talent would want to work there, and what will make them stay.

To engage staff, Mindfield has a strong purpose and culture, plus millennial-friendly perks – from group meditation sessions to seminars with mortgage advisers who offer tips on buying their first home.

Laker advises HR professionals to embrace platforms that their target profiles are using, rather than forcing them to use yours.

“A lot of the millennial jobseekers and younger may not necessarily know about Indeed, so how do you go to them? Platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, tools like they, more the texting approach – adopting tools that make it easier for your target group to engage with, from a recruiting perspective.”


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