65% of recruiters believe the talent shortage is one of the biggest challenges in hiring.
In order to attract candidates, companies are placing equal amounts of time on promoting their jobs as they do marketing their products and services.
To remain competitive for talent, here are 8 tips to keep candidates interested in your job.
1. Keep in touch
According to Glassdoor, it takes approximately 22.9 days for a candidate to be hired. This number has increased by more than 10 days since 2010.
If you have a qualified candidate, but you can’t hire them right away, try to keep them engaged and interested.
For example, if you’ve scheduled an interview for a few weeks from now, stay in touch with good candidates to keep them engaged. You can send emails every four or five days to let them know that you’ll get in touch with them soon. This will help you reinforce a relationship with future employees and keep communications open.
Peter Jackson, an HR manager at Essay Geeks, says:
‘It sometimes takes me a month to schedule an interview. When this happens, I try to communicate with good candidates every step of the way. This is a harsh industry. While they are waiting for you to hire them, someone else may call with a different offer and take over your candidate!”
2. Be personable
If your hiring process takes a long time, candidates may be tempted to accept another offer.
According to The Muse, demonstrating competence and warmth are the key qualities every hiring manager must possess. Instead of keeping every interaction strictly business, try to be more open and personable.
Candidates will feel more positive about a job position if you dedicate some time to show you value their application and qualifications. Take this e-mail from HubSpot as an example.
HubSpot did a great job in keeping the candidate interested and in the loop about opportunities at the company, as well as formed some initial relationships with who may turn into future star employees.
3. Value your existing employees
Candidates like to imagine themselves as future employees and sometimes evidence of strong employer-employee relations can be the determining factor between a candidate choosing one job or another.
Piktochart is a true example of a company that values the qualities of their employees.
The company attends an annual retreat at a different location around the world to celebrate milestones, network and have fun. Piktochart’s Head of Marketing, Marta Olszewska says that their retreat present Hopeful Awards to employees who best exemplify company values like having a helpful attitude.
4. Create an online talent community
Passive candidates can be intimidated or not informed enough of the job opportunities you have.
To attract candidates that are a right fit for your job positions, organize an online talent community. This will help them keep their options open and not push them to disclose information in public.
You can create an online discussion and check who contributes to it. In this way, you will know who would be interested in the job you have open.
Here are some examples of good online communities.
5. Act on layoffs quickly
You should approach good candidates as soon as they face unemployment. Having a secure offer right after your previous boss has left you jobless is very motivating.
You don’t even have to wait for layoffs. If the right opportunity comes, try to get a good employee to work in your company.
According to a recent study at the Corporate Responsibility Magazine, most professionals will jump to an employment opportunity if the company that offers it has a stronger reputation. Use this to your advantage and grab those good employees from a company with a weaker reputation than yours.
6. Take notes of good candidates
Perhaps you met a person who has the necessary qualifications, and would want to hire them sometime in the future. If you don’t have an open role for them at the moment, take a note and keep record of good candidates.
Even if the job position is not open yet, keep track of the candidates just in case. Are they currently employed? Are they happy in the current workplace?
Furthermore, surveys say that only 35% of developers actually like their job. This means that the remaining 65% would gladly switch companies if a better opportunity arises.
7. Organize events
Informal events can be beneficial for everyone. Both the recruiter and the passive candidate can network and bond over coffee.
There are many ways to organize events. Take the Lego Company – they actually have a Brick Factor competition around the country where people get hired on the spot if they earn the title of Master Model Builder.
8. Promote yourself
When it comes to promoting yourself as a recruiter, many employers make a big mistake here. Instead of speaking as a recruiter, promote yourself as an expert. Candidates prefer to speak to a specialist who can value their qualifications.
If you are interested in learning some ways of promoting yourself to candidates and customers, here are some ideas.
Chris Richardson is a journalist, editor, and a blogger. He loves to write, learn new things, and meet new outgoing people. Chris is also fond of traveling, sports, and playing the guitar.