We are a visual society. We enjoy looking at beautiful and interesting things. A 2012 study by ROI Research confirmed this. They found when users engage friends on social media sites, it's the pictures they enjoyed the most. If brands post pictures over any other media, 54% of respondents said they're more likely to engage.

If this is how we respond to our friends and the companies we like, then why wouldn't we want it to be the same for jobs? Instead of just telling people about a job or making them read a job description, we now have the ability to show people the job, the company, and the corporate culture using the social media platform Pinterest.

The Advantages of Pinterest

Craig Fisher, partner and social business consultant at Ajax Workforce Marketing, the world's first workforce marketing company, shared the reason smart employers are beginning to create visually stimulating job descriptions. “Pinterest is now the third most popular social network, it refers more traffic than Google+ and Linkedin combined, and is the fastest growing social network.  With a demographic ratio of 38% men to 68% women, and a definite slant towards creativity, retail marketing and social media, it makes sense that you can get pretty specific about who you target there.”

Admittedly, Pinterest is a relatively new platform, so there's not a lot of data yet about companies hiring directly. But its usage offers a positive indication of its popularity, which shows that employers can use the site to develop their employment brand, grow a talent community and drive traffic to their career sites.

One company that's been able to successfully leverage Pinterest as part of its talent strategy is Sodexo USA, the leading provider of quality daily life services in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Arie Ball, vice president of talent acquisition, says his company has 22 boards and he's proud of the way followers are able to connect directly with the recruitment team and company employees. “With an average of one hour and 17 minutes being spent on Pinterest daily compared to only 36 minutes on Twitter, I would say Pinterest has a big chance of having staying power.” Read the complete Mashable article by HR Bartender Sharlyn Lauby.