Using Social Media for Church Job Searches

Many churches are using social media thoughtfully to assist the hiring process. Often churches have hiring committees made up of dedicated people who are volunteering their time. We all want our time to be respected and valued. Using social media and technology increases communication between the committee members and between the committee and the candidates. Below are some tips about how social media can help three different parts of the hiring process.

1) Advertising the Position–Whether your church is looking for a full-time pastor or a part-time bookkeeper social media can help your church draw a larger pool of applicants. Use your church’s social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to announce the job opening and link to a description. Put an announcement and link on your website’s homepage. Ask people to retweet and share the position, and don’t be afraid to re-post the position every week or two. Check out other sites that list non-profit and ministry jobs (for example idealist.org) to see if it would be beneficial to advertise with them. Be sure to use key words that someone would type into a Google search. The church may need an organist, but use the terms “accompanist” and “musician” in the description for better search engine optimization (SEO).

2) Communicate within the Committee–Most importantly, when your committee forms talk about how best it is to communicate with each other. Phone, email, text, just agree on a main form of communication. If you need to schedule meetings outside your regular time use a tool like Doodle for easier tracking. Keep a shared Google Doc list of candidates who apply, which member of the committee is going over that candidate’s resumé, what references have been checked, who is the committee member contact person for them, etc. Share any links the candidates send a committee member individually such as YouTube videos of them preaching or their personal blog. Open communication will save you from headaches later.

3) Conducting Interviews–Phone interviews are fine especially if you’re working in a church without reliable internet, and face-to-face interviews are best if possible. In between there are many options. If the committee will be in multiple places, pay for a premium Skype account ($4.99/month) which then can be used to get up to 10 Skype accounts on the same video call or use Google Hangout. If the committee will be gathered in one place, a regular Skype account, Google Hangout, or FaceTime (if someone on the committee and the candidate both have Apple products) will work.

Has your church used any social media to assist in a recent hiring process? We’d love to hear about it! Comment here or ping us on Twitter or Facebook.