Are you having an issue attracting new talent? You’re not alone. About 76% of employers state that recruitment is the biggest challenge they face.
Most of the time, shortages occur because employers aren’t using the right recruiting tactics. Their job posting isn’t interesting enough, or they lose candidates during the interview process.
We have a few recruiting ideas that will help solve all your employee shortage problems. Keep reading to learn more.
Why Do You Need a Recruitment Strategy?
In today’s competitive world, you won’t attract the top talent you need for your company using traditional recruiting tactics. This is especially true if your open position has certain educational requirements.
By rethinking your strategy, you’ll attract fresh new applicants that meet your job requirements. Your hiring process will be a lot shorter, and you’ll save money as well.
Polish Your Job Posting
Traditional job postings serve their purpose, but that doesn’t mean they’re fun or exciting. A dull job description will tell the applicant that your company is equally as dull.
Your posting should hype a candidate up to apply. It needs to show off the unique aspects of your company.
The best way to get creative is to use your job description to tell a story. Painting a picture of the role around an interesting narrative will draw people in.
It would also help if you made your job posting interactive. Don’t be afraid of videos and infographics.
Host Informational Interviews
Sometimes, candidates would like to know a little more about your company before they commit to applying. That’s what informational interviews are all about.
Use professional recruiters to reach out to top candidates and invite them to your company for a quick informational tour.
Be sure to allow for a virtual version of the session. This way, those in other countries or top candidates who can’t make it out can still attend the event.
Treat Your Candidates Like You Would a Customer
It’s critical to make a good first impression on all your job candidates. That means treating them the same way you would an important customer or client.
Be respectful of their time by not being late for interviews. If you must be late, be sure to send the candidate an email to inform them of the delay as soon as you can.
If you host in-person interviews, be hospitable. Offer your candidates something to drink to make them feel welcome.
Don’t make yourself impossible to get in touch with. Candidates should be able to contact you throughout every step of the hiring process to ask questions and address any concerns they may have.
Contact Their Personal Email
When it comes time to reach out to a potential candidate, be sure that you contact them via their personal email address. If you send a job offer through their corporate email address, the candidate may find that unprofessional.
If the IT department is monitoring their emails, they may get in trouble for looking for another job while at work. So, if you send an email to a candidate’s corporate email, you’re likely to never receive a response.
A top executive recruiting firm can find the personal emails of all candidates who have the experience needed to qualify for your job opening and reach out to them for you.
Use Recruitment Resources
When it comes to recruiting, you have a lot of resources available to you. You can screen potential candidates by asking them to record a video interview before inviting them in for a physical one. There are programs that will sift through applications and toss out the ones that don’t make the cut.
Of course, technology isn’t the only tool you have on your side. You can also hire a top recruiting firm in your area. An executive placement firm has access to systems and networks that can help them find qualified candidates faster than you can.
The executive recruiter agency is also armed with a database full of pre-screened candidates. That means they’ve already been through one round of interviews.
Make the Interview Unique
Traditional interviews can be unnerving. Candidates hype themselves up for weeks in anticipation. Despite their preparation, due to their nerves, candidates may not give the best answers to your questions.
Making the interview a little unique can help break the ice and make the interviewee feel more comfortable. One of the best recruiting ideas that you can try is roleplay scenarios.
For example, if it’s a sales position, ask the candidate to “sell” you an item on your desk. Make up a random scenario where you assign yourself a customer role. Present the candidate with a problem and open the floor for them to solve it.
Film Employee Interviews
Most job seekers do research before applying to a job opening. They’ll look up the company online and read reviews from previous workers.
You can help speed along a job seeker’s research process by making employee testimonials front and center of your career webpage. Since videos catch more attention than written text, break out your camera and conduct short employee interviews.
Ask your employees questions like “How would you describe what our company does” and “What’s your favorite thing about working here?”
Post on Social Media
If you don’t have a social media page yet, it’s worth it to make one for the recruitment potential. You can share your job openings with your network. All it will take is for one other person to share your post to attract qualified candidates.
By sharing videos and posts of daily life at your office, you can get your social network excited by the idea of working for you. Your posts will give interested job seekers a sneak peek into your company culture and help them decide if you would be a good fit for each other.
Send a Text
Most people prefer to receive a text message instead of a phone call. In fact, 65% of the world’s population sends and receives texts every single day.
You do have to be careful about how you send your recruitment text messages. Most people ignore texts that come from an unknown phone number. At worst, the message will go straight to their spam.
Use the first sentence to tell the recipient who you are and where you got their information. This will prompt the candidate to continue reading. From there, tell them a little about your company and give them a brief job description.
Use Gamification
Gamification is a process of putting game elements into everyday tasks. It’s a great way to make your recruitment process a little more interactive.
Ask candidates to complete online puzzles and challenges. Not only will they have fun with it, but it will also allow you to test their problem-solving skills.
You can have a candidate flex their teamwork skills by presenting them with collaborative challenges and scenarios. Some companies hold recruitment events at an escape room to assess how well candidates can work as a team and thrive under pressure.
Consider Having an Employee Referral Program
Chances are, your current employees know at least one person who will make a great addition to your team. The sad part is that you may never get to meet this person. That is unless you have an employee referral program in place.
This will encourage employees to tell a friend to apply in exchange for certain perks like a pay bonus. You can make a game out of it by holding contests.
Revisit Old Candidates
As an employer, there are times when you have to make tough decisions. You’ll have two great candidates apply for an open position. Despite the fact that both people knocked the interview out of the park, you could only choose one, so you gave it to the candidate with the most experience.
That doesn’t mean the other person was a bad fit. You were just looking for a few more years of on-the-job training.
When you have an opening, you can always revisit this old candidate. If they’re still looking for a job, you can bring them in for another interview and give them a second chance to make an impression.
Use a Chatbot
Again, when you’re recruiting job seekers, it’s important that you use every tool available to you. Chatbots can be an amazing asset.
You can program them to answer a job seeker’s questions. They can even walk them through the application process. If they aren’t qualified for the opening that they’re applying for, the chatbot can point them toward a position that might be a better fit for them.
Use a Buddy System
You have a candidate who’s passed through the initial phone screening with the executive placement firm and impressed you during your first round of interviews. Take a moment to introduce them to someone who’s worked in the role they applied for.
The candidate may be more comfortable asking a peer questions than the hiring manager.
Recruiting Tactics That Work
If you’re having an issue with recruiting, you’re not alone. Many employers are in your shoes.
The secret is to implement new recruiting tactics and use every resource available to you. The Grady Group has been helping employers find candidates since 1999. Go here to schedule your 30-minute appointment.
