Law firms looking to attract the best graduates should steer clear of social networking sites.
According to research carried out by Tods Murray’s Summer Law School students, even the most prolific users of sites such as facebook and twitter, felt that using social media as a recruitment tool raised questions of professionalism and quality.
In their survey, 80% of students questioned said that they had reservations about applying for a job through a social networking site, with 77% unsure that social networking sites would be any use in searching for a job.
Of those currently working for a law firm, over 70% said that they would not consider using social network sites when applying for a job with a similar number saying that such sites should not be used as a recruitment tool.
The team of eight students taking part in Tods Murray’s Summer Law School conducted both original and desk research as part of a challenge set by the firm’s Head of Personnel & Development, Ashlie Turner, to find out what role social media should play in modern recruitment drives. In total, they interviewed over 100 students and qualified solicitors.
Not surprisingly one of the main concerns was privacy of personal information. However, the findings also revealed issues of trust and the perception that a firm advertising on social networking sites was ‘not fussy’ about who they were attracting.
Stuart Davies who was part of the Tods Murray project, said:
“Social media websites are widely used and accessible to millions. However, our research showed that people have concerns in relation to the use of social media as a graduate employment tool.
“They were worried about the privacy of their personal information and about the employer being able to see their profile and pictures. They would be unsure if their application would go to the right person and whether it would be given equal consideration, given it came from a facebook or twitter site. Quite a few also said they might suspect the whole thing was a scam.
“However, one of the most interesting findings was the fact that both students and those in work believed that a social media approach to recruitment devalued the firm. For many it said that the firm was not fussy about who they were selecting. Good recruitment processes in their minds were linked to effort and a personal touch.”
Ashlie Turner, HR Manager added:
“The results were fascinating. The best students want to make an impact and they clearly don’t feel that they can do that by applying through a social media site. They want to be recognised for the effort that they put into an application. Equally, they want to feel that the firm is making an effort with them and I’m encouraged that face to face contact and initiatives such as our summer school which build on personal interaction continue to have such an important role.
“We cannot ignore social media, but I believe that the research that our Summer Law School students produced shows that we have to keep traditional values of professionalism and integrity at the heart of our recruitment processes.”
