The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that 4.5 million Americans quit or changed jobs in March further solidifying the continuation of The Great Resignation, or Reconsideration, whichever you prefer. As TBP shared in the July, 2021 blog post The Great Resignation – Why are Millions Quitting their Jobs? people are reconsidering what they want from work and searching for positions that meet their needs. Whether your organization is benefiting from this movement or feeling the pain, you want talent acquisition strategies in place so you can pull the best talent in the market. Here is the next “Golden Nugget” from TBP to help!
1. DO Tell Candidates Why They Want to Work for Your Organization
You know why your company is an awesome place to work - the people, innovation, culture, pay, PTO! But you are struggling to find people to apply. Take a moment and visit your organization’s employment page or ask a friend to visit it. Then ask, “Does this page have any information about all the great things happening at your company?” If you answer maybe or no, you have some work to do. Consider adding images of your organization in action, what you value, testimonials from your fantastic colleagues, and if you have the means a video telling people why they want to work with your company!
Also, make sure places like Glassdoor, Google, and other workplace review sites have accurate and honest information. You can address concerns or celebrate great comments on these sites.
2. DON’T Neglect Your Careers Page
While you want people to know how great your organization is, they want basic information. These include:
Is your workplace schedule remote, in-person, or hybrid?
What are you core values?
What benefits can the candidate anticipate?
It is great to list your open positions, but in a candidate’s market, most organizations can’t assume people want to work for their company “just because.” To attract talent, it’s important to link to your career site in all job postings so prospective applicants can learn more about what you offer. Information about the company’s, benefit offerings, your hiring process, and any awards are just a few ways to connect with potential candidates.
3. DO Tell EVERYONE about Your Open Position!
“It’s on our website.” That’s great and… If that is where your recruiting strategy stops, it is unlikely you are getting enough qualified applicants for your open positions. In March, 11.5 million jobs were posted by employers. Think about that for a moment, 11.5 million. Your job posting is in competition, and you need to get ahead of the race for recruiting talent.
Take a moment and think about how candidates know about your open positions – LinkedIn, Indeed, Google, Instagram, Twitter, Handshake, professional organizations, trade and technical schools, local community colleges, word of mouth, direct sourcing? If you aren’t using some or any of these places to post positions, what are you waiting for? Make sure your posting is available to a large audience to cast a wide net. While the net is catching candidates you don’t know about, take time to connect with candidates you source or directly engage to discuss your job opportunity.
4. DON’T Make the Application Complicated or Illegal
What do you need to know from your employment application? First, the basics - name, education, work experience, and relevant skills. Second, some insight into if the person has the expertise or capacity for the position. Asking candidates to respond to written questions or record a video to tell you about their knowledge of a given area can be a great starting point. These types of exercises can give you a great deal of information on the candidate’s knowledge, experience, capacity, and communication skills.
Avoid requiring candidates to answer questions about age, gender, race, religion, political affiliation, and marital/family status. This information does not help you gauge a candidate’s abilities and it’s against the law.
5. DO Respond to Candidate Questions and Communications
No one likes to be ignored. Remember the last time you were job hunting. It was stressful and frustrating.
You can’t always answer every question every candidate asks to the depth they would like, but you can acknowledge the call or email and respond as appropriate.
6. DON’T Make the Candidate Guess What the Job Involves
If you don’t know what is expected of a position in your organization, meet with the hiring manager to learn what the job entails. Job descriptions are one of the least favorite tasks when recruiting talent. You know what you want the job to do but getting it on paper can be challenging.
Job descriptions help keep everyone on the same page. Organizations owe it to employees and candidates to let them know:
Qualifications for the position – Do I need a degree? Are leadership skills essential?
Overview of the position – What does this job look like from 35,000 feet?
Supervisor/Direct Reports - Who they report to and who reports to them.
Overview of Performance Responsibilities – Let candidates know what they will be doing without listing every, single, little detail of the job.
Physical Requirements – List the physical and mental capabilities needed to successfully do the job
Save yourself and candidates’ time by telling them about the position. Let them apply for the right job and you focus on qualified candidates.
7. DO Develop an Interview Process Worth the Candidate’s and Team’s Time
Time is precious for your candidates and interview team. When setting up your interview process, make sure the right people are at the table including organizational leaders, supervisors, and subject matter experts as needed. Develop a set of consistent knowledge and behavioral interview questions to learn about your candidate. Also consider including presentations, tasks, and/or exercises to see your candidate’s talents in action.
8. DON’T Ask Illegal Questions
While most realize questions like “Do you plan to marry and have children?” or “Does your disability affect your work?” are obviously against the law, other questions like “What year did you graduate from high school?” or “Can you work on Sundays?” may seem benign, but they could be interpreted as asking about age and religion. Keep your questions focused on the candidate’s knowledge, experience, and skills. Avoid overly personal questions and you should be safe.
9. DO be Prepared to Honestly Answer Candidate Questions
Make sure you and your team are prepared for questions that candidates may ask about the position and organization. Compensation and benefit information should be available and prepared in advance. Answer questions about your organization with honesty. Have your timeline prepared for next steps in the process.
10. DON’T Assume Colleagues Know How to Interview
You know how to interview candidates, what questions to ask, and how to handle yourself in good and bad interviews. It’s your job. Your colleagues know how to do their job in the organization, but do they know how to appropriately interview candidates without legal issues?
Take time to train the interview team. Help peers understand the importance of asking candidates the same questions and asking follow-up questions based on candidates’ applications and answers. Model how to be engaging and welcoming without being overly friendly. Explain what is legal and what will get you in trouble. Most importantly, share how to use established criteria to help select the best candidate and move beyond subjective and “fit.”
11. DO Engage Candidates Who are Not Hired for Future Positions (if qualified)
Not every candidate is right for every position, but there may be a future business need that the person in front of you would be ideal. Always be watching for quality candidates to become part of your organization. If appropriate, explore other career opportunities with a candidate after the interview and make notes to yourself so you can follow up with candidates who show potential.
12. DON’T Ghost Candidates (aka Follow Up After an Interview)
When a candidate walks out the door, technically, you have no responsibility to follow up with the candidates who are not chosen. However, no one likes to be left guessing and wondering if they got that “perfect” job. A personal email informing applicants that they did not get a position is appreciated, but so is a general notification letting people know they are not being interviewed or moving on in the process. Candidates appreciate this more than you will ever know, and it goes a long way in building your company’s reputation.
Whether you choose to try one or all these recruiting recommendations, making your organization accessible to potential talent is paramount to your organization’s success. So, choose one right now and get started.
A little overwhelmed by all of this or just don’t have the time? The Bradley Partnerships (TBP) is here for you. TBP provides a full suite of HR services and Organizational Effectiveness solutions including recruiting services for a variety of positions. To learn more about our services, you can reach us at our corporate office at: (724)799-8170, visit our website at www.bradleypartnerships.com, or email us at info@bradleypartnerships.com.
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