Attracting the right people amidst fierce competition for top-caliber talent is one of the biggest challenges in recruitment. Such is the reality in a candidate-driven market, where the ratio of job vacancies is much greater than the number of jobseekers. Not only do qualified applicants get to pick their employer, but they also have the power to negotiate for higher salaries and more lucrative incentives. Many companies spend thousands of dollars to step up their game in search of quality candidates, only to lose them to a better rival.

3 Steps to Improving Your Candidate Marketing

Then enter 2020 and COVID-19. Millions of workers worldwide lost their jobs due to the pandemic. The sudden and drastic collapse of the global economy shifted the candidate-driven market into an employer-driven one. In a matter of months, recruiters find themselves overwhelmed by droves of quality applicants seeking employment.

But how long before the recruitment scene changes again. Already, we see signs of the economy getting back on track. And as the economy recovers, hiring is seen to pick up. According to a survey by CareerArc, a social recruiting solutions company, 76% of businesses believe the hiring demand in 2021 will return to or even surpass pre-pandemic levels. The study also shows that 61% of full-time workers are hunting for new jobs. It implies that the candidate-driven market will a comeback sooner than expected and may do so with a vengeance.

Does it matter what kind of recruiting landscape you are in? Whether the hiring market is candidate-driven or employer-driven, recruiters must find the best people to fill vacancies. There is no point in receiving hundreds of applications if the applicants do not qualify for the job.  

Do you have what it takes to attract top talent? More importantly, how can you make the best candidates say “yes” to your offer? The only way to boost your recruitment results is by enhancing your candidate marketing strategy. Here are three steps to help you achieve that. 

Use of Recruitment Software

Let’s say you have over a hundred applicants.  How many hours must you spend manually reviewing each resume?  Even more time-consuming than screening applications is getting back to all applicants, qualified or not.  Most job seekers wait no more than two weeks to hear back from a company before moving on.  The talent you’re looking for could be among those you took too long to contact.

There are several ways you could lose top-quality candidates.  One of them, and perhaps the most evident, is using an outdated application process that relies too much on traditional recruitment methods.  How do you remedy this?  Streamline your hiring approach by utilizing technology to make recruitment smoother and more efficient.

A study by Jobscan, an employment marketplace website, shows that 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to attract, identify, and hire top-caliber candidates.  In recent years, several medium-scale and small businesses have adopted the practice.  These companies do not only achieve their recruitment goals but also save money in the long run.  After all, hiring could be expensive, especially if not done right.

ATS and other such sourcing software tools optimize the recruiting system, allowing you to post listings, sort candidate profiles, and send follow-up emails with merely a few clicks.  They save you from wasting time on unfit applicants through an efficient automated screening process that ranks candidates based on qualification indicators.  As a result, it speeds up the recruiting process without sacrificing the quality of new hires.  Recruitment software also enables you to collaborate with other HR teams to create a diverse talent pool. Furthermore, they enhance the candidate experience, which promotes your company brand.

Training HR to Think Like Marketers 

According to CareerArc, about 82 percent of job seekers take into account company brand and reputation. A staggering 94 percent claim they prefer to apply for a job with employers who promote their company online. Not only that. The majority of applicants are now prioritizing work-life balance over salary.  

So, what’s the implication of this to Human Resources? HR has to highlight the unique characteristics of the company to a community of possible employees. The organization’s values, culture, and image are essential to drawing top talent. The competition is no longer about who pays the highest or who has the most fun workplace. It is about who provides the best career development opportunities and employee engagement. Because job seekers consider the whole package before deciding, HR must show them the financial, professional, and personal benefits of being part of the business. This is why getting your HR recruitment right in the first place can you’re business up for sustainable success. 

And where do job seekers look for job postings? The answer is social media. In fact, 86 percent of applicants utilize social media sites to search for listings and apply for jobs directly. HR, therefore, should take advantage of this trend. Advertising on company social media channels is cheaper than posting on career websites. In many instances, it allows the company to reach a more extensive audience base. HR should use the platform to talk about workplace culture, values, incentives, and rewards. 

Finally, HR should work with the marketing department to monitor customer review sites such as Google My Business and social media, such as LinkedIn, to solidify the organization’s online presence.

Bring in a Specialist 

If you feel like you have done everything possible and still struggle to attract the ideal candidates, it is time to entrust your staffing need to experts. Unlike HR, which has other responsibilities besides recruiting, hiring specialists focus only on presenting you with candidates who match your specifications.  There is no need for you to worry about bringing in the wrong people for an interview. Leave the task of keeping in touch with prospective new hires to them. Let the experts take care of all the nitty-gritty aspects of hiring.  

Furthermore, experts have a broader network of highly qualified talent, which guarantees that they will find the right people for the roles you need to fill.  If you are looking for applicants with niche skills or particular industry knowledge, count on specialists to market your listing to specific candidates more effectively.  Take, for instance, veterinary practice.  Who better understands vets, what they want and how to engage them than specialist vet recruiters? These veterinary specialists will get the vet vacancies in front of the right candidates as they know the right places to market the jobs. 

More importantly, with the assistance of recruitment specialists, you can redirect your time, energy, and resources to keeping the business afloat or sustaining its growth.