It’s a tough time to be a recruiter. There are more open jobs than applicants. Employee turnover is on the rise. Job seekers are taking their time finding new positions and expect a competitive wage. With employers and staffing firms clamoring for attention, how can you be heard over the roar?
Grab candidate attention and keep them engaged through social media, a candidate-friendly website and automation.
Attract Candidates Through Social Media
Social media can attract the attention of even passive candidates – those not currently looking for work but open to hearing about opportunities. They won’t look at your job posts like active job seekers but might be interested in industry insights, interview tips or career advice.
Social media can boost traffic to your website, promote your brand and increase the number of applications you receive. Include text-based content, graphics, imagery and video. Mix up the format to generate interest from individuals attracted by different media.
Post job opportunities. Share helpful tips like responses to tough interview questions. Try interactive content such as “Ask the Recruiter,” in which you solicit questions from job seekers and post the answers. Show that you are easy to work with and a helpful career resource.
Build a Candidate-Friendly Website
If you look at older staffing websites, many of them are geared entirely toward employers. That can be a costly error. All the job orders in the world won’t help your bottom line if you don’t have people to fill them.
Employers usually won’t engage with your website as much as job seekers do. Candidates find your site when looking for jobs or by reading a blog containing valuable information. They stay longer and visit more pages than employers. If your site isn’t at least 50% candidate-oriented, it’s tough to compete for talent.
What Makes a Site Job-Seeker-Friendly?
- What’s in it for me? Candidate-focused content is missing on many staffing websites. Your home page should feature straightforward navigation for job seekers. Include a job seekers’ page with information about the application and hiring process and why candidates should choose you as their career partner.
- Blogs geared toward job seekers. Blogs are a great way to bring job seeker traffic to your website and present yourself as a resource. Include tips for finding a job, working with a recruiter and succeeding on the job.
- Clear calls to action. Some candidates want to read about your company, but many just want to review your jobs. Make it easy for them to navigate to your career board, view and apply to job listings, submit a resume or ask questions.
- Mobile-Friendliness. Close to 90% of candidates look for jobs on mobile devices – especially light industrial candidates. They expect it to be easy to search for jobs and apply from their phone.
Use Automation to Keep Talent Engaged
One of the top frustrations expressed by candidates is ghosting by recruiters. Recruiters struggle to manage their workload but are only so many hours in the day – how’s a recruiter supposed to keep up?
There’s a simple solution – automation.
- Create automated replies to thank candidates for applying, keep them updated on the next steps, or let them know they won’t be moving forward.
- Send a targeted email or text to candidates who have skills that match a new job requisition. An automated message to individuals you’ve already vetted is a lot easier than starting over with new applicants.
- Send candidates a reminder the day before their first day with their start time, where to report and how to notify you if they can’t make it. It nudges forgetful candidates and gives you a day to replace them instead of scrambling to replace no-shows first thing in the morning.
- Schedule a message for the end of the first day to ask how it went. As their assignment gets close to its end date, ask if they want to continue or would rather you find them something else. A simple automated message may prevent them from going to another staffing firm.