The practice of talent acquisition is often thought of as a competition-a sport that takes place on a big field where companies compete to get the best quality candidates. But even though speed is important in hiring, the process in its entirety is less like a sprint and more like a marathon. A good talent acquisition team will always be ten steps ahead, considering not just the current hire, but also the next one… and then the next bunch down the road. With a few key recruitment strategies, you can develop a forward-looking recruitment marketing approach that will boost your hiring.
Build a tactical network
Getting good referrals is a time-tested quality hiring practice that can feel more reliable than plucking candidates out of a vast resume pool. It’s based on one of the more rewarding aspects of working in talent acquisition: relationship-building. Whether it’s lunches, cocktails, trade shows, or alumni pipelines, cultivating relationships and connections between quality candidates and your organization is key. Building a tactical network ought to be the continuing focus of any talent acquisition team. It’s a process that essentially markets your company as a whole by establishing and nurturing connections with potential candidates before any position opens up. Then, keeping in regular contact with sources of quality hires can help you fill positions more efficiently when the time comes. And to make the most out of this strategy, you also need to think further down the road. Anticipating the types of roles, you will need to fill in the future, and then establishing avenues to attract qualified applicants, so you have a talented pool from which to choose when you need someone new is the key to success.
Find the weak spots
On the other hand, beyond attracting candidates, you want to consider what turns candidates off. Where are the bad reviews on job-seeker websites? What departments have high turnover rates, and why? If a particular turnover issue is frequent, if there’s a mismatch between workplace culture and strong candidates, or there are frequent clashes between a hiring manager and new hires, you’ll want to weed these out. It’s important to be analytical and precise about what’s working and what’s not. Understanding these weak spots and how they can help you plan and adjust for future hires.
Use clear communication in job ads
Your first line of communication with many job seekers, the job ad, is vital to attracting the right candidates. Making sure candidates understand the exact criteria and their eventual role within the organization is vital. Job ads that are too vague will yield a lot of resumes that don’t match the needs of the position, creating more work for you later. Establishing clear and specific language that will attract the right candidates and communicate both company culture and the position criteria will yield better results when it comes time to sift through resumes and begin the interview process. Even better, finding the best source for a particular job, and knowing which types of platforms a specific type of job-seeker uses, can help hone your applicant pool and save you time and money.
Use tech intelligently
Once all those applications roll in, screening resumes and scheduling interviews can feel like the time-consuming grunt work for recruiters. If every application you received for a job sat on your desk, how high would the pile of paper be? Luckily, resumes can be screened more efficiently with keyword searches, or better yet, with smart AI technology that uses natural language processing-so you don’t miss a great candidate who used a synonym that wasn’t the exact wording in your keyword search. There’s even AI tech that can handle the time-consuming process of scheduling interviews with candidates. Using tech smartly can help recruiters have more time to get to the more fulfilling, human side of the work-establishing a connection between the right candidate and the organization. Getting back to doing what you love can be the most significant speed boost of all.
