Last year, 48 percent of recruiters told us they don’t see enough qualified candidates, while 29 percent don’t see enough candidates in general, according to a survey of 500 HR and hiring professionals commissioned by Glassdoor and Harris Poll.
Those troubling stats prompted us to publish our 5 Recruiting Challenges for 2015 eBook earlier this year and now a new guide, 25 Tips to Finding Better Candidates. The latter distils the best advice we’ve found over the past year to help recruiters attract quality candidates, target the best candidates, nurture finalist candidates and optimize their strategy.
In part one of a four-part blog series, let’s take a look at smart ways to attract great talent:
Create an authentic career site
Imagine how annoying it is for candidates researching your organization to scour “About Us” or “Contact Us” and never uncover the actual location of your HQ or workplace.
Basic company information is one of the top five pieces of information job seekers want employers to provide on their career site, according to a Glassdoor U.S. Site Survey, done in October 2014.
Besides location, other essentials that matter most to candidates include the inspirational (what makes your company an attractive place to work), the aspirational (your mission, vision and values) and standbys (compensation packages, benefits).
To show job seekers you embrace, rather than shy away from, organizational transparency, season all the above with employee photos and videos—this will personalize your workplace and culture. Ninety-six percent of Glassdoor members say it’s important to work for a company that embraces that concept. Want to go the extra mile? Showcase or link to reviews about your company on Glassdoor.
Be mobile friendly
Forty-five percent of job seekers say they use their mobile device to search for jobs at least once a day. Can you afford to turn off nearly half your potential talent pool by making it difficult or impossible to peruse or apply to job listings from smartphones or tablets?
To provide a quality experience to potential candidates on mobile, keep copy short, use photos and videos, and simplify (but not dumb down) your messaging. Otherwise, candidates, in frustration, may abandon your site for a competitor’s.
Build a talent community
Nurturing a talent community can yield an audience of potential candidates whom you can leverage and message when the time is truly right.
On your career site, social media and email signatures, include opt-in options for candidates, who might not be ready to apply or aren’t right for one role, so they can receive relevant messages from you later.
Ensure job listings are SEO friendly
Most candidates rely on search engines (like Google) to find job openings. Stepping up your game here by employing basic search engine optimization (SEO) techniques on your career site, such as including relevant keywords and phrases, can help candidates more easily locate your openings during job searches—even if they’re researching competitors.
For a tech job, for example, rather than using a flowery title such as “coding superstar,” which has little SEO value, use what search engines (and most candidates) look for, such as “software engineer” or, more specifically, “Java software engineer developer.” The job description itself can add color, but make sure it’s stocked with keywords search engines can pick up on.
Get social now
Stake out your place on social networks and leverage sites where your target audience is researching you. For example, Glassdoor allows employers to post timely company updates regarding job openings, diversity initiatives or hiring events to their followers, a great way to influence candidates deciding whether they’d like to work for you.
To tap into the interests of your target audience, organize relevant meet-ups and other networking events. For example, if you’re looking to reach female engineers, host a gathering featuring top female engineers at your company sharing their career journey or work experience. For sales professionals, consider a speed-dating format where candidates pitch and sell themselves on the spot to your sales reps.
Treat candidates like customers
Here’s a karmic thought for the day: If talent acquisition professionals treated candidates like valued clients rather than a faceless mob, the resulting goodwill would reflect in happier interview experiences, more candidate referrals and less overall job seeker stress.
In short, help job seekers enjoy a great experience with your employer brand by closing the loop with everyone who applies or reaches out. Rather than maintaining radio silence, acknowledge every contact, resume submission or interview appearance. Otherwise, frustrated, left-in-the-dark candidates may dissuade others from applying for your jobs by writing critical reviews of their experiences.
Speaking of interviewing, see which employers do it best in the war for talent—check out our Candidates’ Choice Awards from 2015. As it turns out, 54 percent of companies on Glassdoor boast a positive interview experience in candidates’ eyes, according to Glassdoor internal data from August 2015. How do you think your organization compares?
Coming Next: Part 2: Targeting the Best Candidates
Meanwhile, for more helpful recruiting advice, download our new guide, 25 Tips to Finding Better Candidates.
