4 Ways to Broaden and Shorten Your Recruiting Horizon

In today’s candidate-driven market, you might find that your recruiting efforts are getting less responses from qualified candidates than you’d like. Adopt these four strategies to open your recruitment to more qualified candidates and shorten your time to hire:

Look Beyond Job Titles

It’s understandable and simpler to try and re-fill a vacated position with someone with the same job title. Unfortunately, this can result in unintentionally shutting out qualified Talent who could very well be great candidates – and great fits for your team or company. With many (not all) positions’ job titles being mostly arbitrary (one company’s ‘Director of First Impressions’ is another company’s ‘Front Desk Coordinator’, for instance), scrutinize for skills, experience, capabilities, and even personality fit first as well as positions held.

Consider Candidates with Long-Term Unemployment

Too often, those who have been unemployed for a while share the same predicament as employees who are overlooked because they don’t have the right job titles. And just like them, they are probably worth a second look. Long-term unemployment may have stemmed from personal decisions (such as working freelance, exploring a different career or choosing to spend more time with family) or other factors that in no way affect job performance or tenure

Keep the Recruiting Pipeline Going

Companies that are continuously open to applicants stand to save time and money when an actual need to hire arises. Remain receptive to and accessible to job seekers by keeping them engaged in social media, maintaining a candidate network, or, on a more personal scale, keeping in contact (such as by connecting with them on LinkedIn). When the time comes to hire, having these avenues available can minimize the cost associated with needing to aggressively recruit, such as placing more job ads to uncover the most candidates in the least amount of time. Having candidates in the pipeline can also reduce time-to-hire.

Offer Competitive, Creative Compensation

It used to be that in the market for skilled labor, the employer who wins is usually the one that bids highest. Luckily for smart employers, things have changed as top Talent are recognizing that the highest bidder isn’t necessarily the best employer. To stand out as an employer, think beyond wages and salary (although these need to be reasonably competitive as well), and offer low-cost, high-value benefits such as flex time, telecommuting, even a better career path that you can create based on the specific candidate. Additional tips on how to do this effectively are also outlined in a previous post.