When you’re facing a mountain of open roles and hiring at scale, it’s easy to lean on old habits that feel efficient in the moment. Job boards? Reliable. Manual posting? Feels manageable for a handful of jobs.
For a lot of high-volume hiring teams, social recruiting (building an employer brand and sourcing candidates via social media) lands on the “nice to have” list. But if you’re trying to scale quickly, sticking with business-as-usual can mean missing out on the candidates you need most.
Below, we’ll walk through the three most common mistakes we see high-volume hiring teams make, and show you how a few small shifts can help you fill more roles, reach better candidates, and make the whole process less overwhelming.
Mistake #1: Relying on job boards as your primary (or only) source
Job boards have been a consistent staple for high-volume hiring, and for good reason. Posting a job is fast, familiar, and reaches people who are actively searching for work. But that’s also where things get tricky: you’re only reaching folks who are already looking. You miss everyone who isn’t actively browsing job boards—often some of the most talented and qualified candidates out there.
Imagine you’re opening a new retail store and need 25 new associates as quickly as possible. You post on all the major job boards and applications start rolling in, but you realize you’re competing for the same pool of candidates as every other employer in your area. Meanwhile, some of the most reliable, hard-working employees in town aren’t on job boards at all… but they are following your brand on Facebook or browsing LinkedIn in the evenings.
According to CareerArc’s research, 86% of jobseekers use social media as part of their search, and 75% check out your employer brand before they ever hit “apply.” That’s a huge group of passive jobseekers—people who aren’t searching the boards but would consider a new role if the right one caught their eye.
How to fix it:
If you want to reach more people (and not just the same group as your competitors), make social media a core part of your hiring mix. Instead of waiting for active jobseekers to come to you, you put your roles in front of people where they already spend time online.
With tools like HireSocial, every job in your ATS can become a branded social post, shared instantly across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X. No extra effort from your marketing team, no extra hours from your recruiters—just a wider, more diverse audience seeing your jobs.
Mistake #2: Expecting your team to post jobs manually (or skipping social altogether)
It’s easy to say, “Just share every job on social media,” but when recruiters are already running at full speed, that plan can fall apart quickly. Posting manually for dozens of roles is rarely realistic, and even with help from marketing, it’s tough to keep up. The result? A lot of great jobs never make it to social media, and you miss out on qualified candidates who might have applied if they’d only seen your post.
How to fix it:
Automation is your best friend and a great high-volume hiring solution. By syncing your ATS with a tool like HireSocial, every job gets its own branded, ready-to-share social post, and they go live on every major social channel.
Recruiters can even set up automated posting from their own LinkedIn profiles, keeping your roles visible to their networks with almost zero effort. The end result is that every open role gets the attention it deserves, while your team gets time back for what matters most: connecting with people and making great hires.
Mistake #3: Treating social recruiting like an afterthought
If your social channels only light up when you have a hiring push, or if your feed is just job listings and nothing else, you’re missing a major chance to build relationships with candidates over time.
Today’s candidates want to know who they’ll be working with, what your values look like in action, and whether they can picture themselves as part of your team. Most people interact with six to eight pieces of content before making a move. That means your employer brand, culture stories, and everyday moments matter just as much as your latest job post.
Think of it this way: candidates don’t fall in love with companies from a single job listing. They need to see the people behind the brand, the small wins and celebrations, and the values that guide your team. When that’s missing, your company can feel like just another name on the list.
How to fix it:
Think about what makes your workplace special, then let that shine through your social channels. Authentic photos, team highlights, and even short interviews with employees can go a long way. Mix in regular, branded job openings so that when someone is ready to apply, your company is already top of mind. With the right automation tools, keeping your social presence active and engaging doesn’t have to become another full-time job.
Final thoughts and FAQs
High-volume hiring is always a race against the clock, but you don’t have to settle for old routines or constant stress. By bringing social recruiting to the center of your strategy and letting automation handle the busywork, you free your team to focus on what really matters—building relationships and finding the best-fit candidates for your company.
The payoff? A wider, more engaged talent pool, a brand that stands out, and a hiring process that runs smoother (and faster) than ever before.
Ready to see how CareerArc’s high-volume hiring software can make the process easier and more effective? Book a demo and let’s show you what social recruiting can do for your team.
What defines high-volume hiring?
High-volume hiring refers to any situation when employers need to fill a large number of jobs quickly. Rapid scaling, such as seasonal hiring, the opening of new facilities, or periods of rapid company growth, are common triggers for high-volume hiring.
How can I use social media for seasonal hiring? Can I just run social recruiting during those seasonal hiring months?
Social recruiting can definitely be used for seasonal hiring, but you don’t want to exclusively focus on social media during your hiring spree—you need to be there year-round. Here is what HireSocial customers who hire seasonally do:
During seasonal hiring sprees, post job content to company and recruiter profiles at least once a day—and potentially multiple times a day depending on if you are posting to LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram. (Learn more about how to optimize for each platform here!) Why? You want to get as many eyes on your jobs as possible, and frequency is key with social recruiting!
In the off-season, post your employer brand content: company culture, benefits, employee stories, and more. Why? First, social recruiting requires a constant presence if you really want to reap the benefits. Second, posting employer brand content helps you build your talent pipeline…so when your jobs do open up, you have candidates who already love your company and are ready to apply.
Psst… HireSocial by CareerArc can automate this process for you, so you don’t even have to think about creating content or posting to social media!
Is social recruiting an alternative to outsourcing high-volume hiring?
Yes and no. Social recruiting isn’t a direct substitute for outsourcing hiring. Instead, consider it a powerful tool that elevates your candidate sourcing strategy. Social recruiting can help you maximize visibility for your open roles while strengthening your employer brand, especially among passive candidates.
By boosting awareness of your brand, social recruiting makes jobseekers more likely to apply for your roles no matter where they see them—whether it’s on social media or another platform. That fact alone can help drive down your costs on other recruiting platforms and outsourced hiring strategies.
