When you’ve got jobs and no one to fill them, what do you do? This can be a make-or-break time for your business. Can you continue growing, or will you be forced to scale back because you simply don’t have the manpower to move forward?
With over 20 years in business development, I can say I’ve helped businesses expand and diversify even in a highly competitive job market like we have today. The secret? A robust recruitment strategy. Here are my top tips.
Key Tips for Recruitment Marketing
1. Look for Passive and Active Candidates
The best candidates for your job might be unemployed and on the job hunt, or they could be employed and not looking for a new job at all. They may also be somewhere in the middle – employed but keeping an eye out for interesting jobs. All of these people have different motives for applying and different interest levels.
To effectively practice recruitment marketing, you need to be able to talk to all of these different audiences. That means focusing on both passive and active candidates. You’ll find active candidates by posting employment ads and submitting your jobs to job boards. But you might find super-qualified candidates who aren’t actively looking by directly recruiting them on LinkedIn and other social media sites.
Additionally, having strong marketing and branding can also generate interest in your company from people who are employed and aren’t necessarily looking for a new job. Whether you’re hiring or not, you should always be positioning your company and brand as a great place to work so that when it is time to hire, you’ve got people who are already interested.
2. Nail the Job Description
A good recruitment strategy starts with the job description. It’s important to consider that prospective applicants are scrolling through job after job. You have just a few moments to catch their eye with your job description, so make sure it stands out. There’s a balance you have to strike here. It’s important to be up-front about the position’s responsibilities. Candidates don’t appreciate veiled language and will move on quickly if you seem to be hiding the real work. Still, you need to make the job description enticing and exciting.
It’s best to be frank about job duties, but put emphasis on the unique opportunities the role offers. What perks and benefits does your company offer? What specialised training will they get? Use this space to make it obvious why the candidate would enjoy a career with your company.
3. Make Applying Easy
People tend to abandon a purchase when the checkout process is too complicated. The same thing happens during a lengthy, complex application process. Try to narrow down your application process and make it simple to apply. Some business owners may hesitate to make the application easier because they worry about job seeker eligibility. If you make the application process too easy, what kind of applicants will you get?
Consider the candidate’s point of view: they’re spending tons of time and effort sorting through job listings and applications. Even the best candidates can get worn down – don’t give them a reason to stop mid-application.
A good application process includes:
- An easy-to-navigate careers page
- Mobile-friendly website
- Clearly set expectations for next steps
4. Embrace Video Content
More and more people are turning to TikTok instead of Googling their search queries. They’re spending more time watching YouTube than TV. It’s clear that short-form videos are where people’s attention is. You can utilise that focus by making your own recruitment video. It doesn’t have to be long – just a few minutes. This is a place for you to show off more of your company and really express your brand, which can help candidates decide whether they’re a good fit.
5. Discuss Salary Early
It can be incredibly frustrating for both parties to spend a month in the interview process, only to find out that you have wildly different salary expectations. Plus, people appreciate transparency – you’ll get more respect from your ideal candidates by being upfront.
It’s worth noting, though, that conversations about pay may be regulated depending on where you live. For example, in some states in the US, discussing pay history is prohibited to avoid pay discrimination. It’s generally safe to ask, “What are your salary expectations?” Have those conversations early to ensure you aren’t nurturing the wrong lead.
On the subject of pay – make sure you have ways to respond if your prospective employee gets a counteroffer from their current employer or another company. You could offer additional PTO, a sign-on bonus, or a six-month review with a pay increase.
6. Promote Your Employee Referral Program
One of the most affordable ways to get valuable candidates is via your existing employees. If you don’t already have an employee referral program, it’s time to make one. The trick here is finding a balance between an incentive great enough to entice your employees to invite their contacts to apply… but also one you can reasonably afford. A great way to accomplish this is with a tiered system. This could include a smaller reward for each person they invite to apply, and then a larger incentive when the person is hired and stays on for a certain period of time.
7. Be (Reasonably) Flexible
At the end of the day, people are looking for jobs that they’ll be happy to do each day. Your workplace should allow that to happen. That means you need to have a healthy organisational culture – one that is supportive and inclusive. You have to be able to be flexible with the variety of people you might hire.
How do you showcase this kind of culture? A few ways:
- Offering flexible work options (within reason) that aid in work-life balance
- Giving equal access to opportunities to grow within the company
- Providing on-the-job training to aid in career advancement
As an employer, it’s easy to focus solely on job seeker eligibility. You might look at your candidate pool and feel discouraged by the less-than-idea prospects. Or perhaps you don’t want to adjust your job description because you’re afraid people who aren’t eligible will apply.
Although this is a tight labour market, you don’t have to accept subpar employees. When you have a strong recruitment strategy, you showcase what a great place your company is to work, make your branding clear, proactively seek all types of candidates, and encourage your existing employees to refer their friends. With these steps in place, you’ll find those amazing team members you’re looking for.
If you need help with your recruitment marketing, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’ve helped people around the world grow their companies into thriving businesses. Schedule a quick chat with me today to see if we’d be a good fit.
Resources:
- https://hiring.monster.com/resources/recruiting-strategies/workforce-planning/6-hiring-tips-tight-labor-market/
- https://cciconsulting.com/7-strategies-for-recruiting-talent-in-a-tight-labor-market/
- https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/feature/5-keys-to-a-killer-recruitment-marketing-strategy
- https://skillmeter.com/blog/10-strategies-for-recruiting-highly-competitive-job-market
- https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/4-tips-for-hiring-in-a-tight-labor-market
