Recruiting Through Social Media?

Yes, unfortunately! HR specialists are raising alarms: in Russia in 2024, the unemployment rate hit 2.4%—an all-time low.

The ratio of active job openings to active resumes on hh.ru is 3.5—meaning there are only 3.5 candidates per job opening. This is critically low. Moreover, the number of candidates without experience increased by 58% (Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023).

Reasons include the demographic trough of the ’90s: those born in the ’90s are entering the workforce, but there were comparatively few of them. Emigration and a shift to non-productive labor have worsened the situation.

In agriculture, it’s even worse: there’s a migration to cities for easier money. A delivery courier earns as much as a senior agronomist in a good farm—who would accept that? Salaries in agriculture are, on average, 36% lower than in other industries. Conditions are often worse, too. This significantly affects motivation to enter the agricultural sector.

Therefore, the demand for both labor and management roles in agriculture will skyrocket in the coming years, but there will be no one to fill these positions! The best candidates will go to businesses that can offer the best conditions.

Okay, so how do we create conditions for new young staff? What do they value? Here’s the nuance.

A significant factor, besides their small numbers, differentiating the ’90s generation is their life in the information space. These people used smartphones before they could speak. They grew up with social media. For them, the online world is real life; social media content is a reflection of value. If you’re not online, you don’t exist for them.

So, if you want to attract young people (and choose the best candidates), you need to work on the company’s online image. It must exist and reflect your external and internal strengths and differences. Previously, this was key for selling products; now it’s crucial for hiring and retaining employees.

Just as good corporate marketing aided sales, marketing now helps in finding employees!

Here’s some advice for leaders: how to attract youth through social media?

A few rules:

1. Regular social media posting. As mentioned, you must be present in the information field. To ensure social media doesn’t forget about you and shows your posts in the feed, it’s important to stay on the radar. Publishing any format (text, images, video) 2-3 times a week signals algorithms that you’re an active, interesting company worth showing.
2. Targeted ads for subscriptions. Unfortunately, social media followers become more valuable each year: everyone competes for audience attention. Yes, people still subscribe to interesting content, but the volume of content requires standing out. Targeted subscription ads will show your community to users likely interested in you. The fewer followers and newer your community, the more you need targeted subscription ads.
3. It’s crucial to cover topics that interest young candidates and students: work and development, comfortable conditions, challenging tasks. Write about what matters to them.
4. Communication style: don’t try to write like the youth speak—it’ll sound unnatural. Just talk to them on equal terms—this is important for social media content. Avoid “youth humor”—it’ll likely seem silly. Be straightforward and honest—everyone values transparency.
5. Always respond to comments—great if you have them. Pay attention to what people write—comments often reveal what’s important to them. A hack: use a question from comments as the topic for your next publication.
6. Social media design considering trends. Use AI tools.

Want to be visible to new young specialists? Enter the information space. You need to appear there and create your employer brand. Honest, interesting, developing company— you name it. We know how to create and promote it without extra costs—leave a request here. Let’s discuss how best to tackle your challenges.