X, formerly known as Twitter, is often overlooked in the recruitment world. However, it comes as a virtually free alternative to LinkedIn Recruiter and is a hidden gem for finding tech talent.
Here are a few steps to get started on leveraging X’s power to recruit the best talent:
1. Set up a professional profile
The first step in using X for recruitment is to ensure your profile is professional and appealing. This includes:
- Profile picture and banner: Use a high-quality, professional profile picture and a banner that reflects your company's brand and culture. The layout is very similar to LinkedIn, so you could probably just copy and paste what you already have.
- Bio: Craft a concise bio that clearly states your role, company, and the types of roles you hire for. Include relevant hashtags like #Hiring, #TechJobs, and #JoinUs.
- Contact Information: Make it easy for candidates to reach you by including contact information or a link to your company's careers page.
2. Build a strong brand presence
To attract tech talent, you need to build a strong and engaging presence on X. This involves:
- Regular posting: Post daily and share updates about your company, including new roles, team achievements, and industry insights. You could even just copy and paste
- Use various mediums: X allows short and long-form content, video, and spaces. Switch up your content for the best results on the algorithms.
- Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts. Participate in trending conversations and industry-related X chats to position your company as a thought leader in the tech space.
3. Engage
Engagement is key to building relationships with potential candidates. Here’s how you can actively engage and network on X:
- Reply and Retweet: Interact with your followers by replying to their tweets and retweeting content that aligns with your company’s values and interests.
- Follow and mention: Follow industry leaders, potential candidates, and tech influencers. Mention them in your tweets when relevant to start conversations and build connections.
- X spaces: Participate in or host X spaces on topics relevant to your industry. This is a great way to engage with a community of tech professionals and showcase your company’s expertise.
4. Search for candidates
X’s advanced search functionality can be a powerful tool for finding potential candidates. Here’s how to use it effectively:
- Keywords and hashtags: Use keywords and hashtags related to the roles you’re hiring for (e.g., #JavaDeveloper, #UXDesigner). Combine these with location-based searches to find candidates in specific areas.
- Boolean search: Yes, a Boolean Search to refine your search results works just as well on X as it does on LinkedIn. For example, typing the following in the search bar will bring up people who have the specific keywords in their header and bio: “(developer OR engineer) AND (Python OR Java)” or “Software Engineer California”.
- Lists: Create or follow groups and spaces of tech professionals, influencers, and communities. This helps you keep track of relevant conversations and identify potential candidates.
Once you find your candidates, you can message them for free.
5. Posting job openings
Here are some tips for posting job openings on X:
1. Use attention-grabbing headlines that clearly state the role and key benefits. For example, “🚀 Join our team as a Front-End Developer! Competitive salary, flexible working hours, and cutting-edge projects. #TechJobs #Hiring”
2. You can post an entire job description in a Tweet. In fact, the longer your content is, the better it is for your visibility.
Include a link to the full job description on your careers page.
3. Use images, GIFs, or videos to make your job postings stand out. Visual content tends to attract more attention and engagement.
Note: Although still in Beta mode, X is slowly rolling out its new recruitment feature X Hiring, so keep an eye out for that.
