Hiring the right candidate should be easy. After all, there are plenty of jobseekers out there, aren’t there? A recent study in the US revealed that 3 in 4 full-time employees were actively looking for new opportunities. Back in the UK, an ILM survey painted a similar picture, with 37% of employees planning to leave their current roles in 2015. And don’t forget all those hungry hotshot graduates entering the workforce every year!
So why are so many recruiters finding it hard to find people with the right skills and mind-set? Well, perhaps recruiters need to ask a different question: If there are lots of quality candidates out there, why aren’t they finding your company online?
The answer to this question could be sobering. Maybe those top quality jobseekers are visiting the Career pages on your website, but they’re not deciding to apply for the roles you need to fill, or, perhaps even worse, they’re somehow getting lost during the application process.
Here are 6 ways to improve your Careers content and improve your recruiting success.
1. Communicate with jobseekers
It could be something as simple as providing an email address for queries (and answering them!) or providing a chat facility where jobseekers can contact existing employees. Alternatively, social media platforms can be used to answer candidate queries. Whatever option is used, speaking to jobseekers will personalise the process, help the candidate decide if the job is right for them, and also help the recruiter decide if the candidate is right for the role.
2. Provide feedback (and be open to it too)
The jobseeker that isn’t ideal for today’s vacancy could be an exact fit for a new role six months later. An impersonal automatic email is unlikely to lead to another application six months from now. And invite jobseekers to provide feedback as well. They may be able to highlight parts of your recruiting process that aren’t working as well as they could.
3. Explain why you’re different
It could be your workplace culture or maybe your innovation track record. Whatever it is, talk about it in your Careers content. In today’s hiring environment, the best candidates need to be told why they should apply for a job with you and not someone else. If you don’t think this is important – take a look at your peers and see how they’re selling themselves to jobseekers.
4. Be clear about your processes (and what you’re looking for)
Wear jobseekers’ shoes. An impersonal or unclear recruiting process is a major turn-off for today’s jobseekers, and could also be an obstacle for successful applications from quality candidates. So explain how the whole application process works (including decision timescales) and provide advice e.g. common CV mistakes to avoid, what sort of candidate you’re looking for, and interview tips, etc.
5. Use Video
Good video content engages site visitors in a way that makes even the best online copywriters fear for their jobs. It’s particularly good at telling different stories quickly. Use it to tell employee stories, explain workplace culture, and illustrate the benefits and challenges of working for your company. A two minute video could be the trigger that makes a good candidate apply for a role.
6. Be sociable
US studies suggest jobseekers use 18 different sources when searching for a new role. How many of these sources are social media forums? Candidates are increasingly doing their company homework on Linkedin, Glassdoor and Facebook. If your company doesn’t have social media outposts, how are candidates going to find you? And it’s also not enough to have a nice static Linkedin page by the way. Social media outposts that don’t engage with visitors stick out like the digital equivalent of a sore thumb.
And that takes us back to my first tip – the key to recruiting success is communication.
