Dice polled hundreds of tech recruiters. Not only do nearly 7 in 10 recruiters plan to increase their usage of social in 2017 – 74% also plan to increase their investment in it. And yet 1 in 10 recruiters haven’t dipped their toes into the social waters. It’s time. Year after year, recruiters see an increase in candidate quality and quantity when using social. Access to highly sought after Millennials is also more important than ever — and social is giving recruiters just that. Still, companies using social have problems to address. Their recruiters want more training. More time. And they need to know how to best engage with top talent.

2. 2
We polled hundreds of tech recruiters and not only do nearly 7 in
10 recruiters plan to increase their usage of social in 2017 –
74% also plan to increase their investment in it.
And yet 1 in 10 recruiters haven’t dipped their toes into the social
waters. It’s time. Year after year, recruiters see an increase in
candidate quality and quantity when using social.
Access to highly sought after Millennials is also more
important than ever — and social is giving recruiters just that.
Still, companies using social have problems to address. Their
recruiters want more training. More time. And they need to know
how to best engage with top talent.
Social becomes #1 for sourcing tech superheroes

3. 3
9 out of 10 tech recruiters are using social
Social isn’t just an occasional
method to source top talent.
Nearly 60% are using it the
majority of the time.
How often do you
use social sites to
support your tech
recruiting efforts?
A majority of
the time
Some of the time
All of the time
Rarely
Never

4. 4
If you’re not using social, you’re missing out
Social moved into the #1
spot this year for the best
source of tech candidates,
proving it’s effectiveness.
How would you
rank the following
to source tech
candidates? 58% Social sites 45% Job boards 25% Referral
programs
16% Company
career sites
14% Outside
agencies and
recruiters

5. 5
Year after year, recruiters see high ROI with social
Uptick in candidate
quality? Check.
Referrals, time to
hire and cost of
hire? Check, check
and check.
Categories in which tech recruiters say social is improving or greatly
improving their results.

6. 6
Social is a must to reach Millennials
* Source: The Aberdeen Group
73% of
Millennials
found their last job
through social.*
73% of recruiters
see an improvement
accessing Millennials
through social.

7. 7
Social will continue to climb in 2017
Recruiters are putting
their money where their
mouth is. Nearly 7 in
10 plan to increase
their usage of social.
How would you
describe your
future intent to use
social sites to
recruit tech talent?
Plan to increase
use (up 3% from
last year)
Plan to maintain
current level of use
Plan to reduce use

8. 8
When competing for talent, recruiters invest in social
Social tops the list of methods recruiters are investing in to help them
source and hire the best tech talent.
In the coming
year, which of
the following
tools are you
planning to
increase your
investment in?

9. 9
Recruiters are ponying up dollars for social
Recruiters spending
at least $1,000 per year
on social is up from
last year, proving
positive ROI.
What is your current annual expenditure for social recruiting tools?

10. 10
The more social sites, the better
Recruiters aren’t just reliant on one social site.
More than 70% use 2 or more to recruit tech
talent and nearly half use 3 or more.

11. 11
Which sites are the best for tech?

12. 12
Facebook and Twitter reign supreme (for now)
Both platforms have proven to
be powerful sources of tech
talent, though recruiters are
starting to rely more heavily on
niche sites like GitHub.
Site used most frequently:

13. 13
Which information is very important
to you when socially recruiting tech
candidates?
Skills data and contact info are a must…

14. 14
… profanity and spelling errors, not so much
Spelling errors
Profanity
Oversharing
Alcohol consumption
Political posts
Frequency
Other
When sourcing candidates on
social, which of the following
do you view most negatively?

15. 15
Email and phone are still your best bets
Tech pros prefer email and phone over social, and it
shows.* Nearly 30% of recruiters are getting a high
response rate of >50% using these channels.
Average response
rates using email
or phone
Average response
rates using social
media channels
* Dice Candidate Survey, 2016

16. 16
Too much information too soon (TMI!)
1 in 4 tech pros
don’t respond to a
recruiter because
their message is
generic.* Yet 55%
of recruiters link to
a job in their initial
outreach — eek!
* Dice Candidate Survey, 2016
In your first outreach to a tech candidate, what
do you generally include?

17. 17
Third times a charm
45% of recruiters reach
out to candidates 4+
times. Since most tech
pros lose interest after 2
attempts,* tread lightly.
How many different
methods (email,
phone, social sites,
etc.) do you use to
engage a tech
professional?
* Dice Candidate Survey, 2015
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2
3
4
5

18. 18
Not all recruiters are social experts
Though social has been
around for 10+ years,
recruiters know they need
more training and time to
be successful.
What are the biggest barriers for using social to recruit talent?

19. Methodology — Social Recruiting in Tech: 2016-17 Survey
The 2016-17 Social Recruiting in Tech Survey was administered by Dice online,
with 717 active tech recruiters responding between October 24 and November 2,
2016. Respondents were invited to participate in the survey through a notification
on the Dice site. All data in this document is from this tech recruiting survey
unless otherwise indicated.
About Dice
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