• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, October 8, 2014

Last month’s promising employment numbers hold out the possibility that the U.S. economy is moving and hiring is at long last -- hopefully, maybe, God willing, don’t jinx it now -- picking up. And if this happy scenario comes to pass we’re probably going to see a whole array of new online recruiting strategies which will (following the timeless advice to “fish where the fish are”) rely more and more on social media.

Potential employees expect to be approached via social media, or to be able to use social media to approach potential employers, according to a new survey by ManpowerGroup Solutions, which offers recruitment outsourcing services to big companies. Manpower surveyed over 200 jobseekers and found that 30% use social networks to gather information about employers.

Unsurprisingly, among jobseekers who use social media to research employers, Facebook leads the way, used by 72%, followed by 43% for LinkedIn and Google+, 22% for Pinterest, 15% for Instagram, and 13% for Twitter. Many job seekers use specific social networks in tandem when they’re doing their research, with Google+ and Twitter a common pairing, and LinkedIn and Instagram often showing up together as well.

Social media is hardly a silver bullet, however. MPG noted that while “Virtual job interviews have become commonplace in many industries,” they “may sometimes prevent candidates from being at ease or presenting their talents in the best possible way.” This is especially true in the service industry, where a lot of skills need to be physically demonstrated.

On that note one interesting startup, Apploi, has created a video platform that allows job applicants to use mobile devices to respond to interactive questionaires and upload clips demonstrating their skills -- e.g. a bartender making a Cosmopolitan, a retail sales associate folding a pile of ten jeans in two minutes, or a hair stylist crafting a new look. Apploi also operates a network of interactive kiosks at community colleges, shopping malls, and employment fairs, so jobseekers without mobile devices can still use the service.

Meanwhile Monster has unveiled a number of new social capabilities at TalentBin, an online platform acquired earlier this year which aggregates professionally relevant information shared by social media users to surface job candidates who might otherwise remain hidden. Monster has been building out the TalentBin platform to collect more data sources faster, extending the service to new professional verticals outside of technical recruiting, and improving recruiter efficiency and automation of functions.

Last but not least, if you’re not exactly looking for a new job but you’re open to the idea, there’s a cool new social network called Poachable, which allows people in fast-growing industries, like developers, marketers, and designers, to hang out their shingle in a passive way that is, however, slightly more approachable than LinkedIn. In addition Poachable, which raised $500,000 in a new round of funding in September, lets users privately post their criteria for accepting a new job, browse curated job listings with suggested matches, and tag the ones they’re interested in. The employer then gets to see an anonymous profile and, if interested, open negotiations.