Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Big Companies, Recruitment, and Social Media


By Arifa Chowdury, Career Assistant (Work Study student)

The amount of time that people spend on their phones daily is astonishing. Considering how much time is spent checking social networks, it’s no surprise that Canadian businesses are becoming increasingly active on media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit etc. Companies now tap into social media to reach customers, and are using these social networking sites for customer service, sales and recruiting.

As a Business Management student, I aspire to work for one of the four big accounting firms or a major corporation in Canada. Reaching out to these companies may seem far-fetched for us, but little do we realize that these companies have built strategies, and are constantly upgrading them to reach out to talented candidates via social media.

In this blog, I’m going to walk you through the various methods by which big companies recruit via social media.



Ernst & Young (EY):  

EY is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC. EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services.

EY has a good track record of recruiting talent via social media, in particular, Facebook.

Skimming through the website of EY, I could see that their career website is very dynamic in the way that they communicate in the most personalized way depending on their target audience. EY is mainly focusing on Facebook to reach students and graduates. By using this platform, they are able to form connections with this population to learn more about the company and its career opportunities. On Twitter, Ernst & Young’s goal is to be relevant to its audience. Several accounts have therefore been set up depending on what content is shared.

In terms of LinkedIn and Twitter, marketing via blogs and quotes seem to predominant. The blogs are written by current employees and interns who share their personal experiences, meanwhile motivational quotes are posted on their Twitter page every day- an excellent strategy indeed!

Deloitte: 

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax, and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands.

My research on Deloitte’s social sites reveals that Deloitte stays on top of its advertising through social media. The career website of Deloitte is extremely dynamic offering various career opportunities within different fields. Deloitte targets different audiences including young professionals, alumni, and students.
Deloitte is also very active on social media sites and are continuously looking for ways to advance their services.

Twitter is used to post jobs and events, directing attention to their blog posts. Their Twitter presence is strengthened by the constant participation of their recruiters who not only have Twitter accounts, but are also very active. The Facebook page of Deloitte focuses more on potential candidates.

They share knowledge and build relationships by keeping them informed. LinkedIn is also used to source experienced candidates and post vacancies.  Business opportunities and information regarding events and competitions are also posted on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Unilever: 

Unilever is a transnational consumer goods company. Its products include food, beverages, cleaning agents, and personal care products.

The Unilever Global Careers website has the same branding as the Facebook page and targets their audience by category: ‘Graduates & Students’ and ‘Professionals’. The company expects graduates and students to stay with the company and ‘develop’ themselves throughout. Unilever has over half a million followers, making it the ninth highest followed company in the world in terms of their LinkedIn Company Page. The Careers tab on the page shows a number of job openings from a variety of countries. Unilever mainly uses LinkedIn as an employer/company branding platform and tailors some content to relevant professionals. The branding for the Unilever Career Facebook is very similar to the LinkedIn Company page.

Unilever offers a very personal form of publicity to advertise their events, workshops, competitions etc. on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. They continuously publish the achievements of their employees and interns who also share their experiences working for Unilever.



There is a growing pressure for companies to strengthen their social media services so they don’t fall behind in competition and quality work force.

If you’re planning to apply to one of these companies, or any other company and you aren’t sure where to start, visit the Academic Advising & Career Center (AA&CC).

The AA&CC offers various services such as Rapid Resume/Cover Letter Review sessions, career related workshops, drop in service and appointments, and much more. Learn to market yourself online through social media and LinkedIn, master the technique of networking, and most importantly, do your research!

Wishing you the best,
Arifa Chowdhury
Career Assistant


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