Today’s economic and employment environments are unprecedented and are impacting your ability to recruit and fill much needed positions. Hiring quality talent today requires rethinking and redesigning your existing strategy of sourcing and recruitment. Here are five strategies to get you started:
1. Look beyond the job board
To find the best candidate for your position you will need to focus on active and passive candidates and employ other methods of recruiting for the open position. Posting ads on job boards and appealing to active candidates is not enough. Your best candidate may be unemployed, employed but job hunting or employed and not currently looking. By actively recruiting, networking and sourcing, you may uncover the perfect candidate who wasn’t even on the market.
2. Stop waiting for the unicorn
We all want to find the perfect candidate for our positions. Today’s unicorns – candidates with the perfect blend of credentials, skills and experience – are in extremely high demand. You need to ask yourself if these types of candidates are really worth the effort and cost of hiring and if you do get the opportunity to bring them on board will they stay long term. Sometimes it is better to hire first for cultural fit and train the needed skills.
3. Rethink requirements, recruit for skills
While it is good to envision your perfect candidate, it is also important to understand the minimum requirements for the position. Think about what is really needed for the position. Don’t make the mistake of passing on a great candidate that doesn’t match the exact job title or credentials.
4. Make the offer attractive
In this competitive job market, you can bet that your quality candidate is also interviewing elsewhere. You need to make your company and your offer stand out as the clear best choice for the candidate. Understand compensation in your market and be willing to be competitive and creative for the right candidate. Take time to work on your employer brand so that the benefits of your organization resonate with candidates and are easy to understand and communicate. For instance, do you have a collaborative culture? Are there opportunities for growth? Do you value community involvement? In some instances, it something other than salary that motivates the candidate.
5. Build your own talent pipeline
We are in the midst of a tight labor market coupled with a talent shortage that is not improving in the near term. Put time and effort into building your bench strength now so that you reap the benefits in the future. Hiring for potential, assessing your current workforce and providing training opportunities are all ways to build your internal talent pipeline while increasing loyalty and promoting retention with your current workforce.
If you need help finding qualified candidates for your positions, contact Cheryl Church at workplace Search today!
