There has never been a more competitive time for hiring. With the increasingly adaptable job market candidates can apply for and find positions anywhere in the world. That means recruiting competition is now much tougher and candidates expect a much more flexible application process.
Luckily there are a number of ways and means to make your company stand out and improve your recruitment process in 2017.
Make 2017 the year you crush the competition and get the best candidates into your open roles with these tips for improving your recruiting process.
1. Optimize your careers page
In today's recruitment market a listing in the local newspaper is no longer going to cut it! Candidates are conducting their job hunts online and often on their phone. Is your careers page inviting to these types of applicants? The majority of job seekers research and apply online. In order to attract better candidates your company should make applying irresistible by using your careers page to talk about your company culture, highlight current employees, and discuss environment and benefits.
And don’t forget mobile. More than half of people aged 18-29 and almost 40% of people aged 30–49 have used a smartphone to search for a job. Your careers page needs to be engaging and user-friendly on any device.
2. Think beyond perks
The trend of tempting prospective employees with “perks” like ping pong tables, free beer, and catered meals has become so rampant in recent years that careers pages are starting to read like resort brochures. Perks are certainly a fun way to catch someone’s eye, but the employees you want for your team are interested in more than free booze.
Consider adding perks that show you truly care about your employees as people, such as flexible hours for better personal/professional alignment, affinity groups to ramp up your commitment to diversity, maternity and paternity leave, and professional development opportunities.
3. Stay in touch
On average 250 applications will be received for each open position on the market. One of those applications is going to come out on top, but that doesn’t mean you should forget about the other 249. In fact, putting those candidates to use for your future hiring needs could significantly reduce costs and save your recruitment team time in the future. In the recruitment market in 2017 an excellent candidate experience is essential—strong communication, good interaction and transparent status tracking can all help ensure this.
For applicants who made it to an interview, get personal with rejections.
- Call them, highlight what they did well, suggest areas of growth, and ask to stay in touch.
- Don’t go radio-silent on applicants who didn’t make it past résumé submission.
- Use an autoresponder to ask candidates who aren’t qualified or apply too late to keep your company in mind in the future.
For all rejected candidates -
- Suggest specific ways to stay connected, and follow through.
- Ask them to connect on social media, then keep your pages updated with content that highlights what’s great about working for your company.
- Sign them up for an email newsletter, and share culture-related content as well as recent openings.
When the process is done right, you can turn rejected candidates into your most promising future hires and most ardent supporters.
We’ve all been there—sitting by the phone, waiting for it to ring as we hope to hear our top applicant call to say he or she will accept our offer. In 2017, you can take some of that uncertainty off the table and replace it with confidence. Just follow these tips and see the “I accepts!” roll in. Good luck!
Set yourself up for recruitment success in 2017 by knowing what to measure—and how to measure it. Download a copy of our Recruitment Success Checklist to keep your team on track!
