Professional social networks such as LinkedIn ease the head-hunting process and make it easy for recruiters to map talent in the industry. They give the recruiter a better insight into the candidate's personality, career profile, network and how they interact with other professionals.
This is according to Heidi Duvenage, head of department at Sage Talent Solutions, who adds by maximising the full potential of social media analytics and business intelligence (BI) tools, recruiters can easily head-hunt top talent.
"Utilising algorithms and BI tools can automate the process of finding candidates that closely match the job specification. The recruiter can then spend time investigating the candidates that actually meet the requirements instead of spending all their time on screening unsuitable profiles," she explains.
She points out sourcing is the most important part in use of big data as BI tools can analyse keywords, skills and candidate profiles.
"The collected data can then be matched as far as possible to the opportunity available, tools like the Sage Skills Map applicant tracking system can do basic screening during the recruitment process and allow recruiters to get a better understanding of the candidate," she explains.
This information, adds Duvenage, can assist with the interview process, as well as with the assessments and matches of suitable candidates.
Yolandi Nortje, executive for People Solutions and Talent Management at Intuate Group, says although algorithms can interpret CVs leading to a number of suitable candidates being highlighted for a specific position, the human element involved in the recruitment process will always have a place.
"A computer cannot see a candidate's body language, the way they conduct themselves, or establish whether they will fit in with a specific company culture.
"Although algorithms and business intelligence tools are a great aid, they will not replace the traditional recruitment process, at least not for the time being," she asserts.
She points out thorough reference checks and interviews will remain imperative throughout the recruitment lifecycle.
According to LinkedIn pulse, research featured in the Harvard Business Review found that compared to using expert human judgment, an algorithm increases the accuracy of selecting successful job candidates by more than 50%.
The research says although algorithms vastly outperform humans in accurately predicting which candidates could best fill a position, when assessing individuals, 85% to 97% of professionals rely to some degree on intuition or a mental synthesis of information.
"Many managers clearly believe they can make the best decision by pondering an applicant's folder and looking into his or her eyes - no algorithm, they would argue, can substitute for a veteran's accumulated knowledge," explains the research.
"A recent study on Global Recruiting Trends 2016 showed that 43% of recruiters use social professional networks as their key source of quality candidates, and 42% use Internet job boards.
According to the study, a clean, professional and presentable social media profile can be a major asset for developing an individual's career or expand their network for the future.
Duvenage says even non-professional social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are still useful and are a port of call for recruiters, but for applicants, becoming a successful candidate comes down to their privacy settings.
"If the user opts for the profile to be public, it is wise to keep the profile 'decent' as the recruiter can view this to form an opinion on the type of candidate that has applied.
"Users should also avoid posting inappropriate comments, provocative images, and steer clear of making negative remarks about their current or past employers," she advises.
Discussing how recruiters distinguish between the truth and dishonesty in social professional network profiles, Nortje says a sound recruitment process is of great importance.
"Recruiters should pay particular attention to skills compared to work experience listed, as most discrepancies come to the fore in this area. A sound recruitment process is still of great importance," she warns.
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