Recruiting makes up much of the foundation of a business – without it, you won’t have the necessary team to support your endeavors. The quality of your recruiting efforts directly impacts the number and quality of candidates you can attract. By leveraging creative and targeted approaches, you can stand out from competitors and draw the attention of high-quality talent who might not have come across your company otherwise. A strong strategy ensures that you have a pool of qualified candidates to choose from, which will provide you with the opportunity to find the right fit.
Here are some recommendations that will help you develop a solid recruiting pipeline:
Ensure your company’s mission and vision are defined and easy to find.
The responsibilities and pay of your job may not differ much from those of your competitors, but your company’s values and mission probably do. Your values are probably prominently shown on your website and social media. So why not include it in your job description so that candidates can get a feel of who you are rather than just what opening you’re looking to fill?
You already know why you want your preferred candidates; now think about why your preferred candidates would want to work with you.
Show your voice in your posting.
In addition to highlighting your mission and vision, your job description can also show your company’s personality through your writing style, which will further help you attract a candidate who’s technically qualified as well as a cultural fit. For example, by showing your outgoing, jovial, youthful culture in your job posting, you may deter candidates looking for a stern, traditional environment.
Set up an employee referral program.
Not all candidates have to be sourced or collected through job applications. Some of your team members may know a qualified, available candidate already, but they may not be aware of whether they’re seeking new opportunities. Setting up incentives for team members to refer candidates can encourage them to take the initiative to search among their networks for qualified candidates, whether it’s asking their friends at a happy hour or adding a post to their social media. This opportunity delivers you vetted candidates, as your team members have already engaged with them in everyday life, rather than solely as an applicant interviewing for a job.
Leverage social media.
Many businesses advertise their hiring status on social media, often in the form of branded graphics that show their voice, while the captions include their mission and values. Design some enticing graphics that promote the position’s title and location while summarizing the description in the captions or comments. Social media posts are important because they can be shared by anyone in just a few seconds, including you and your team members. This can help team members get their referral outreach off the ground seamlessly and possibly help you have more active “recruiters” attracting interested candidates.
Reach out to past applicants.
Have you recruited for this role before? Perhaps you interviewed several rockstar applicants but could only move forward with one at the time. Even if you don’t think any former applicants may have been a fit, take a look anyway – just in case you missed any resumes. If you interviewed candidates who were strong contenders but not chosen, you could try contacting them again. This is a great reminder to proactively leave the door open to future conversations at the end of an interview with any solid applicants.
Boost your job postings.
A simple strategy that’ll quickly increase the number of applicants is boosting your job postings. Many job boards will have the option to boost your job posting to have it prominently featured and, hopefully, reach a much larger number of qualified candidates. While this requires a monetary investment, you never know if the extra applications may include your dream candidate.
Ultimately, a quality recruiting strategy contributes to long-term business growth and success. By consistently attracting top talent, building a strong, inclusive workforce and fostering a positive company culture, you create a solid foundation for your organization's growth and sustainability. Of course, your recruiting strategy may not look like another business’s, and that’s fine. Be sure to tailor your strategy to match your industry, desired talent pool and organizational culture to yield the best fruit.
Author: Christina Nguyen
What are some recruiting strategies you've found beneficial for attracting and retaining quality candidates? Feel free to let us know in the comments below!
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About Stingray Advisory Group LLC: Stingray Advisory Group LLC is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is a proud member of Local First and the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. We help businesses grow. By creating customized solutions, we empower businesses and entrepreneurs with the tools to further their development.
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