Social recruiting

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🔗 Jake’s Picks

Must-Read Resources for Founders

🚀 Scaling Startups

• 5 lessons for scaling your business across multiple markets (Forbes)

🧠 Founder Self-Development & Mental Health

• Time to take off the cape: Entrepreneurs and mental health (Endeavor)

📈 Productivity Hacks

• The crucial role emotions play in productivity (Time)

🛠 Tools for Scaling

• 6 lessons learned building a Notion system for a multimillion-dollar advertising company (XDA Developers)

💡 Hiring Insights

• Hiring trends for 2025 - What does the future hold? (Recruiting News Network)

👀 ICYMI

• Why culture is everything to your business (Scale Smarter Newsletter)

🤝 Find the right people by being social

There’s never been a better tool to tell the world about your business (while reaching potential new hires) like social media.

Recruitment has always been a traditionally slow process…I should know, I do this for a living!  And when you’re a founder in a scaling business, slow is never an option.

It’s no wonder that 95% of companies are using social media for recruitment and more than 70% of 18-34 year olds found their last job through social media — according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

And it’s not just Linkedin.

All this to say, social media is not the silver bullet to solve all of your recruitment challenges, however, when done right, it can be the tool that amplifies your brand, attracts top talent, and builds meaningful connections with candidates who align with your company’s values and culture.

Casting a broader net

The beauty about social media platforms is that people are generally always browsing.  Within the massive population of doom scrollers, you’re going to find passive candidates with the right messaging.

And even if you aren’t sure of your messaging, ensuring your company has a regularly active presence on social media heightens your odds of attracting those that may not even be looking for a new job, even while you don’t have any job postings available.

Algorithms targeting searches

Linkedin has AI features that conduct candidate searches based on your own instructions, in your own words, surfacing candidates in a fraction of the time it would take to normally search through keywords.

Conversely, although it’s a manual search, X/Twitter is still a useful resource to search as you can often find pinpointed conversations about your industry from experts that a lot of people participate in, who all could be potential candidates for you.

With either approach, your teams can hone in on specific candidates without wasting much time searching through lists of unqualified candidates.

Storytelling through your brand

Posting company updates, team highlights, and day-to-day culture on social channels not only showcases what it’s like to work at your company, but also attracts candidates who resonate with the stories you tell.  When done right, you can create a compounding effect where your posts reach a multitude of audiences, over long periods of time.

Look no further than Canva’s Instagram account for storytelling inspiration.

canva

View more on Instagram

Online conversations

Recruiting through social media isn’t just about posting job applications, it’s about building relationships through conversations in comments, threads, posts — essentially anywhere your brand is relevant.

Not only are people more attracted to brands who actually engage with the public online, this is an effective way to meet current and future candidates, as well as keep your general talent pool warm.

📱 When social media does the work for you

The world is enamored with founders, their journeys, their successes, and definitely their failures.  We want to know what you did, where you did it, when you did it, and usually most importantly, how you did it.

Founders like Gary Vaynerchuk and Alex Hormozi have created fandoms amongst their social following through transparently sharing their journeys as entrepreneurs, starting with nothing and building successful businesses.

Social media can be a cesspool at the best of times.  But it can also be the tool that scales you as a founder, working even when you’re asleep.  Who doesn’t want to grow their business while they’re sleeping?

Your thought leadership attracts talent

People like following experts who provide real value online.  As an expert in your industry, don’t be afraid to share your knowledge and opinion on what you know so much about. 

It’s much easier for a potential candidate to see themselves working for you and your company when they know what and how you think.

Your profile opens doors

Similar to being a voice of authority online, engaging in different community discussions will help your company be more readily recognized by the broader public.

Your goal should be to have people think of you and your company online because of how much you engage within the community.  Regular engagement creates a compounding effect for founders where they and their company are thought of as key contributors to relevant discussions, even when you’re not around.

Build in public

Your company’s culture is defined by you.  For better or for worse, what you share online will often be assumed to be a reflection of your company’s culture.  That said, an easy way to build a talent pool online is to share wins, challenges, milestones, and any other interesting points about your company, from your own perspective.

A great example of this is Beehiiv’s founder/CEO Tyler Denk, who has been building in public since the early days of building his company:

As you scale your business social media platforms act as great tools to test messaging and pivot your hiring strategy, without having to invest a whole lot of time or money up front.

Something as simple as an X or Linkedin post can generate the same amount or even more buzz than a job posting on a traditional job board.

The key to social media is to try different things and not be afraid to put you and your company out there in the public.  You’ll be surprised who’s actually paying attention to you and your work when you do.  The right post at the right time can attract talent you might never have reached through traditional hiring channels.

🎬 TLDR — Your Actions For The Week:

• Scale Your Team → Create a content strategy that focuses on storytelling and engaging with communities you want to hire from

• Scale Yourself → Start sharing inside stories about your company that you feel comfortable with

Whenever you're ready, here’s how I can help:

💼 Hiring? I built an expert bench of recruiters from companies like Uber, Amazon & Spotify to run the full recruiting process for you. We’re on-demand, can flex up & down, and there are zero commissions or hidden fees—Learn more here.