Five Best Practices to Invigorate Your Recruiting Process

For most organizations, success is determined by the caliber of their employees. Employee recruitment, or attracting the best potential and most qualified candidates can be challenging and time-consuming, and hiring the wrong employee can prove extremely costly.

Here are five tips to help you find the right fit for your position.

1. Craft Job Descriptions to Sell Your Company

Let’s face it, to break through tens or hundreds of job postings, yours has to stand out. A posting should not only outline the duties and requirements of the position, it should sell the company. This means the more creative the post, the more you will grab the attention of prospects.

Detail perks, benefits, company culture, specialized equipment or office comforts that set your company apart.

Does your company offer paid time-off for employees to volunteer in their community? Say so. Survey after survey has shown Millennials are interested in careers that offer different types of benefits than were the generations before them. They’re less attracted by financial gain and more concerned with contributing to the greater good.

Research shows that the optimal length of an effective job posting is around 300-700 words.

Many recruiters have found that longer job postings tend to attract fewer candidates.

Be sure to include a few words about the hiring timeline. How quickly are you looking to fill the position?

2. Be Explicit About What’s Important for the Position

Recruitment is not a one-way street. While you are searching for the right employee, the candidate is also looking for the right company culture fit. Therefore, you need to be precise, clear, and direct. 

Don’t sugarcoat anything – including the working conditions or expectations, it should be a good fit for both employee and employer

Bulletize qualifications that applicants should have as well as the responsibilities the position entails.

Help the right candidate visualize a typical day on the job. Rather than saying “looking for a candidate with CAD skills,” say, “you will design complex machine parts from durable resins using SolidWorks CAD software.”

You may want to consider linking to a landing page on your website that describes your company’s vision, values, and goals, showcases the work environment, and includes employee pictures at company social events. This will help applicants get a feel for the company culture.

3. Harness the Existing Employees’ Networks

According to a recent study, one in six job seekers found their last job through social networking.

When searching for that elusive employee, why not get help from those who already know the company and understand what it takes to succeed there? Encourage employees to spread the word with family and friends and to share your job postings on their social networks.

And keep in mind that employees will dig deeper into their social networks if there is something in it for them. 

Start an employee referral plan — where employees receive a monetary bonus or additional paid time off for referring a candidate that is hired — start one.

4. Network with  Local Colleges, Universities, and Career Fairs for Entry-Level Positions

Work to foster relationships with academic departments, student clubs, and faculty members at colleges, universities, and technical institutions in your area. Stay in touch with their career centers by participating in organized career fairs and informing them of recent openings you have. Their goal is to help students find jobs, so they are always eager to build relationships with great employers.

5. Always Have a Back-Up Candidate- Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Candidate’s Basket 

It is best to choose at least two, and perhaps three, qualified candidates to undergo the interview process in the event one becomes disqualified during the hiring process or refuses the job offer you extend. You don’t want to have to go back to square one and start the hiring process over again.

Benefits of Outsourcing Recruiting and Selection Process

Recruiting the right candidates to succeed in your organization can be a time-consuming process. The experienced Human Resources team at ARI has helped clients across multiple industries and sectors find and hire the right candidates for their job openings. If you would like to discuss your recruiting needs contact us, today.