The importance of mobile-friendly application process, social recruiting, and advanced x-ray search strings in recruitment is difficult to understate. People connect and learn differently, and recruitment has to adapt to constantly know the best way to find and engage with individuals in order to help your company grow.
But some things never change. Locating, engaging, assessing, and making offers to people is still the name of the game, and while the tools evolve, the hustle of top recruiters remains constant. Some veteran recruiters are understandably skeptical about the value of social in recruiting, because they know what's worked for them consistently over the years. Despite the clear bias at hand and vested interest in me saying I think they're wrong...I think they're wrong. But they're not without a point. Here's a reminder of some age-old recruiting methods that prove the classics never go out of style.
Ring Their Bell
If a candidate has offered up their phone number via a public source, or already connected with you, by all means pick up the phone! It's easy to ignore emails, but you'll find voicemails will enjoy a much higher open rate. While connecting over the phone is more personal, faster, and you can be more detailed, it is important to tread lightly. If you've received a cell number through a channel the candidate isn't aware of, it's unlikely they'll take your call in stride.
Warm Referrals
In most organizations, referrals are the best source of hire, and more likely type of hire to stick around. While it can be tempting to say "if you or anyone you know would be interested", invest a little more time in the candidate before you go mining their entire network. Once you've gotten to the point where a candidate knows about your company and the precise rigors of the role in question, they're in a much better position to make a recommendation. One, they'll be able refer someone more relevant to the role, and two, after having chatted with you and knowing that you're a knowledgeable and caring recruiter, they're more likely to put one of their own contacts in front of you.
Inbound Recruiting
traditional resume-based means of assessment, and her data suggests that the best candidates aren't exactly what you think they'll be when it comes to their resumes. Being able to paint a full picture of a candidate, stemming from their resume but not entirely defined by it, is a crucial recruitment skill people will always need.
University Recruiting
A couple times a year, growing organizations have an opportunity to take part in their field's equivalent of the Draft. There are smart, capable, eager people graduating from college every semester, and you can either let the big players snap up the best graduates, or get some boots on the ground and meet some of the future's top talent. While the big brand names will take up most of the attention, you have a chance to develop a unique employer value proposition to incite the eager young minds of tomorrow to enlist.
What are some age-old recruiting tactics you expect to still be using in the future? Hit us up in the comments!
