SOCIAL TARGETING
We saw a direct correlation around the increase in resumes after using Social Targeting [and ClearanceJobs].ROGER SNELLING DIRECTOR OF TALENT ACQUISITION, BUCHANAN AND EDWARDS
Buchanan and Edwards is currently supporting the FBI’s effort to move its data center from Washington, D.C. to Pocatello, Idaho. They initially needed to hire 50 people with Top Secret security clearances to work in high-demand positions from Systems Engineering to information assurance to support this new effort.
“With a limited pool of highly cleared candidates in Pocatello or the surrounding area” noted Roger Snelling, Director of Talent Acquisition at Buchanan and Edwards, “we had to relocate just about everyone. We needed a strategic solution that would attract candidates across the country.”
With such a big hiring challenge, and the need to attract so many highly sought after passive candidates to an untraditional location, Buchanan and Edwards knew it needed to try a new approach. ClearanceJobs offers targeted social marketing and advertising through Social Targeting. ClearanceJobs built a highly targeted list of exactly the kind of cleared professionals Buchanan and Edwards was looking to reach. They then offered up tailored recruiting advertisements to that population, attracting passive candidates through sites such as Facebook. Social Targeting advertising was followed by a similarly targeted email drop, reaching cleared candidates in the ClearanceJobs database.
The result? Buchanan and Edwards can attribute 7 hires in one month through the combination of social advertising, email drop, and ClearanceJobs.
“We know passive candidates typically do not make a career move until they’ve heard multiple times about a position, said Snelling. “Hear from a friend, see it online, then get a direct email piece, for instance. We saw a direct correlation around the increase in resumes after using Social Targeting.”
As a small business, Snelling says they don’t have the same name recognition, or word of mouth reputation as a Fortune 500 contractor. That makes social targeting even more valuable.
“We’re getting in front of a group of people who we never would have gotten in front of before,” said Snelling. “People with a Top Secret clearance, often don’t even post their resume, because their phone would ring every night. They typically find positions networking with friends and colleagues. We had to find some way to reach them, because they’re not actively looking.
For these exclusively security cleared positions, ClearanceJobs is Buchanan and Edwards’ go-to source. Adding Social Targeting and a targeted email drop helped create the surge they needed to get a majority of their FBI positions filled. But with one big contract promotion behind them, Buchanan and Edwards is already considering how they can take advantage of social advertising through Social Targeting again.
“I would definitely do it again,” said Snelling. “We’re already thinking about doing it again – and what’s our message going to be next time.”