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6 Ways to Recruit and Hire in a Candidate-Driven Market

hire in a candidate drought

Do you feel like it’s becoming more difficult to recruit top talent for your open positions? Have you had top employees leave your company to accept positions that offered them a 30% increase in compensation? 

If so, you’re not alone. 

The talent market is heating up across all industries and positions as employers start to hire in a candidate-driven market. We’ve seen the volume of hiring return to pre-pandemic levels and employers are having to compete for top talent as we’ve never seen before. 

This surge in hiring brings about new challenges for those looking to recruit, including: 

  • Candidates have MANY job options where they’re being offered 20-30% above their current base/compensation programs working remotely. 
  • The pandemic is leveling out and professionals are sitting pretty with their own sales where they don’t want to start over.
  • Employees have been impressed with how their employer handled the pandemic and took care of them and they want to stay loyal. An intangible you can’t compete with.  
  • There’s still a lot of hesitancy around making a job change, especially when joining a team remotely. 

That being said, there are still strategies you can employ today that will help increase your chances of hiring the right candidate and retaining your current team. Here are some tips for employers in the post-pandemic rebound:

1. Move Quickly 

It’s important to keep candidates engaged during the hiring process, especially during a candidate-driven market. Make sure to keep candidates updated throughout the hiring process and respond promptly. If candidates are left in the dark, you may miss out on your next best employee. 

2. Start with Retaining Your Existing Team 

Retention is such a large part of a successful recruiting strategy when there’s a shortage of best-fit candidates. Let your current team know how much you appreciate them and recognize their efforts during this challenging time. Figure out what benefits matter to them most and work to help meet their needs. 

3. Tap into the right talent pools 

Talent pools might be getting larger, but the amount of quality candidates is getting smaller. Additionally, top candidates are getting choosier and know they have plenty of options. If you need to hire top talent in a candidate-driven market, consider reaching out to an experienced recruiting specialist. Recruiting firms have access to vetted talent pools and pre-screened candidates that will make your hiring process quicker and increase your chances of hiring the best fit. 

4. Build trust  

It’s natural for employees to be nervous about making a job change right now. However, you can help ease their hesitancy by talking about how you responded during the pandemic, how you led your team, and provide insight into why your team is looking to grow now. Also, let candidates know what to expect during the onboarding process would and how you plan to guide them during these unprecedented times.  

5. Consider remote working 

Many employees have become accustomed to the flexibility and work/life balance that comes with remote work. If you’re able to offer a remote position, not only will this be a selling point of the job, it will also increase the number of potential candidates who can apply.

6. Be mindful of your interview process 

Interviews should be used to attract top talent, not send them away. Increasingly, we are seeing companies with long, in-depth interview processes losing out on top talent, especially leadership-level candidates. That type of interview process is not going to work if you need to hire in a candidate-driven market. 

Instead, be mindful of how much you’re placing the candidate on the defense vs. offense. If you make them do too much work in the interview process or add too many steps that are not fitting or relevant for their level, they will back out of the process and not want to work for you.  For example, demonstrations or presentations too early in the process is a huge turn-off. Not one candidate should drop out of an interview process on their own terms as a result of being “turned off” by the process or the person interviewing. 

As more candidates take advantage of the current job market, it’s important for employers to be aware of these trends and change their own recruiting and hiring practices if they want to compete. 

One thought on “6 Ways to Recruit and Hire in a Candidate-Driven Market

  1. In this candidate driven market, Employers, HR departments, and Hiring Managers need to focus on creating a better candidate experience for hiring along with focusing on retaining the talent they have. Thanks for sharing such a great post.

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