Read the original article on the Workplace 101 Blog.

If you still think Pinterest is just for finding new recipes and planning your dream wedding, you’re missing out on a social media recruitment opportunity. The popular website could be your next tool for social recruiting.

Pinterest recently launched business pages “to help more businesses provide great content on Pinterest and make it easy to pin from their websites.” Many businesses have already been using Pinterest to engage customers and promote merchandise, but human resource departments can also use it for reduced recruiting costs. The site can be particularly effective in attracting millennials. Young workers will soon comprise up to 36 percent of the workforce, with that number jumping to 46 percent in 2020, according to an article by Josh Tolan on Mashable.com.

Here’s what you need to know to maximize your recruiting potential on Pinterest:

1. Showcase your company culture
Pinterest is a great place to share your company culture. Create boards to show community involvement and what life is like at your office. The unique image focus of Pinterest makes it easy to give prospective candidates a visual snapshot of your company. Company culture also extends to life outside the office. If your company hosts athletic tournaments or holiday parties, create boards showcasing these events. Young talent seeks great amenities, and these boards give you a chance to show that your company is not just stuffy suits and board meetings. These boards will show the fun company culture that makes your employees love coming to work every day.

2. Discover your audience
Pinterest suits a specific demographic. While the number of male users is growing, you will still encounter mostly females on the site. Just as you might have traditionally posted jobs in specific industry or trade publications, you can use boards on Pinterest to market positions to specific demographics. You can target specific groups or personalities by categorizing your boards. When users search Pinterest for topics that interest them, they will find your boards in the relevant category. This is also a great way to showcase diversity within your company if you’re trying to attract a diverse audience. You can use Pinterest to gain a wider perspective on your potential employees by looking at the boards of your followers. While resumes show you what they’ve accomplished, Pinterest will show you who they are and what they like.

3. Grow your network
Since Pinterest is a social medium, remember that you will focus some of your efforts on building community. Followers will be able to directly connect with your human resources team. You can use the visual appeal of Pinterest to redirect potential candidates to your other social media networks. It’s important to “cross post on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to encourage more engagement,” according to a Mashable.com article. You should also strengthen relationships and grow your network beyond just those interested in your jobs. This will help interest spread beyond your network of followers. Users might re-pin some of your company culture boards for their own inspiration.

Pinterest takes the benefit of a job board or advertisement and makes it interactive. If you’re looking to hire, “sometimes the personal touch is all you need to attract great candidates and show them your company cares,” Tolan wrote. Make sure what you pin reflects your company. Remember that you’re trying to sell a job, not a product. Recruiting on Pinterest should remain separate from marketing on Pinterest. Consider creating a separate profile for your HR team. One company that has done this really well is Sodexo with its Sodexo USA Careers page, which includes boards that profile individual employees and showcase different job openings.

What do you think about using Pinterest for recruiting?
Let us know on Facebook and Twitter or in the comments section below. You can also connect with us on Pinterest!