Companies Taking To Social Media To Help With Hiring Millennials

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Looking for a new job? You may need to do a "snaplication."

That's how one of the biggest fast food chains is telling young people to apply, using one of the most popular social media apps around -- Snapchat.

Look around and you'll see most millennials at Rutgers University in New Jersey check their social media 24/7.

"All the time, hours every day unfortunately," senior Lauren O'Dwyer said.

Now, potential employers are joining in and using Facebook and Snapchat to attract the next generation of workers.

McDonald's plans to hire 2,900 new employees in the Garden State this fall via a "snaplication."

"People applying for a job can see themselves on this filter that puts that name badge on them and activates a brand engagement from the job candidate," Associate Professor of Human Resources Management Jessica Methot told CBS2's Meg Baker.

Methot says it's a must to come up with these types of innovations.

"I think we are going to see a lot more of this becoming incredibly common," she said.

The majority of students CBS2 spoke with at Rutgers said they barely communicate through through text messages anymore. Snapchat is their primary form of communication, sending over 20 snaps a day.

So how do they feel about applying to a potential job by snapping a selfie?

"It would be pretty awesome," 21-year-old Ashley Ricciardi said. "I'm on Snapchat a lot."

"I'm kind of goofy on Snapchat, so I'm not sure that would be the place for me to apply for a job," 21-year-old Erin Rogers said.

"A lot of people may dramatize themselves more to get attention," Masters student Anna Baid said. "I don't think it always reflects who the person is, so I'm not buying it just yet."

Facebook now allows businesses to post available jobs.

"When you Google somebody, Facebook comes up so they say keep Facebook clean, because employers will see it anyway," senior Brynn Chalifoux said.

"Depending on what generation you are, it might be seamless for younger generations but not necessarily easy for other generations who didn't grow up with social media to adopt to this kind of hiring," Methot said.

A recent study by ADP found that 73 percent of employers have hired using social media, and 42 percent of those employees say the quality of the candidates has improved.

Methot points to one negative for companies -- ads go to everyone with that application, so there's no good filter to keep unqualified candidates out.

McDonald's says employment applications have jumped 35 percent since it started using Snapchat.