There is tremendous competition for talent worldwide. If you walk down the street in any U.S. city, you will see multiple “Help Wanted” signs posted. Companies are having to shorten hours; move; or, worse yet, close because they can’t find the talent they need to operate.
Finding and retaining top talent are the greatest challenges companies experience worldwide. Traditional job requisitions, recruiting practices, and interviewing and hiring processes are not working.
According to LinkedIn, the annual $2.5 billion spent to attract talent targets less than 15% of the talent pool. This results in companies’ hiring the best candidate who applied for the job, not necessarily the best candidate for the company. Candidates with marketable skills know they are in demand, which impacts their requests for more money and flexibility. COVID has changed the entire scope of the workforce, and many individuals will only work remotely. In my 30 years of experience, I’ve never seen a job market more candidate-driven than it is today.
Consider Current Candidate Realities
Each week, I conduct calls for hundreds of jobseekers and have come to determine five current candidate realities. Understanding these will help you attract and recruit talent. First, candidates don’t want to discuss a job until you determine what’s most important to them. Second, they want to know exactly how you can help advance their career, or they will not respond. Third, candidates want to know about their potential career path. Fourth, you must be willing to talk to candidates after working hours, and fifth, you must use all means of communication.
Requisitions should be performance-based rather than skills-based, and your website should highlight videos that show exactly what it is like to work for your company. Testimonials and recommendations on your website and LinkedIn profile are critical because candidates spend as much as 6 to 7 hours researching companies before they apply for an opportunity.
The candidate experience is also critical to your success. During a panel, representatives from major companies and I were discussing the importance of the candidate experience with a VP of talent acquisition for a major pizza chain. The VP explained that when candidates did not have a positive experience applying for a job at the chain, they stopped buying its pizza. Thus, the negative candidate experience was costing the company customers and potential future hires.
Bottom Line
People are your greatest assets—but only if they are the right people. Consider the five candidate realities during your recruiting and hiring process, write performance-based job descriptions, and ensure candidates have a great experience, and you will attract the best talent who can help you achieve your company’s goals.
Barbara Bruno is the founder of Good as Gold Training. You can reach her here: 219-663-9609. She will be hosting a live, 1HR webinar on Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 2:00 PM Eastern called Proactive vs. Reactive Recruiting.