Contribution by sponsor Kim Benedict

Co-Founder, CEO | We help companies scale through high impact talent acquisition strategies & execution

Does this sound familiar?

A mission-critical vacancy. You hurry up and post the job online.  The result, all the wrong candidates—or no candidates at all.

Work piles up. Critical deadlines loom.

At this point, you have no choice. Time to bite the bullet and pay a recruitment agency. Anything to get someone in that seat fast!

These “recruitment 911” moments happen all too often—and many business leaders don’t realize it’s not the candidates that are the problem. It’s their recruitment process.

Take “Bob,” for example.  Bob is a collection of many of the conversations that we have with tech CEOs. “We’ve interviewed fifteen candidates and no one’s a fit,” Bob says. Or, “We’ve had the role posted for six weeks and zero viable candidates have applied!”

Bob can’t grow his company because he can’t find the right talent.  He doesn’t have the budget or the desire to pay expensive agency fees—but what’s the alternative?

There’s no silver bullet in recruitment, but a few simple changes can generate big results—especially for companies like Bob’s.  Here are some of our recommendations to get started.

1. Use an applicant tracking technology. Many companies (including tech firms!) still manage candidate applications through email. Handling vacancies through a technology platform not only makes it easy to manage candidate flow and gain valuable data, but vastly increases role visibility. Not using appropriate technology robs you of countless impressions and opportunities to connect with a wider candidate pool, especially on mobile. Depending on your budget and your hiring volumes we recommend Jobvite, Jazz or Breezy.
2. Create an interesting and authentic job ad. Generic job ads source generic candidates. To catch the attention of even the most passive candidates, create a job ad that reflects the colour and culture of your organization, and that discusses both the good and the bad points of the opportunity. Everyone is looking for “smart” people that are “collaborative”.  What makes your opportunity unique?  What makes your foosball table more attractive?
3. Show your culture in creative ways. Just like a new client, a potential employee will look for information about your company to support their decision. Add photos, testimonials, reviews and more to your web portals (not just your career page) to show candidates that you deliver on your employee promise. Sources like Indeed, Glassdoor and Stack Overflow offer free company pages where you can provide insights into your company culture.  As part of TalentMinded‘s recruitment program, we interview the CEO and write interesting blog posts and articles about them and their company to complement our hiring efforts.
4. Proactively source candidates online. Don’t just ‘post and pray’. Take time each week to reach out and network with potential candidates. In reaching out to a candidate, you’re not just connecting to the individual but potentially to their whole network. Not every connection will lead to a candidate—but even individuals who aren’t a fit may refer you to the perfect person for the job.
5. Determine your process upfront.  Don’t make things up as you go along. Savvy candidates, especially more passive ones, won’t last if you take too long between steps or deliver a poor candidate experience. Recruitment is a process. Proper planning at the outset will save you time in the long run.
6. Enhance your personal LinkedIn profile. Just as savvy hiring managers look up candidates online, so do in-demand candidates research the people they’ll be working for. Don’t underestimate the amount of time potential candidates spend researching you and your company online. If a candidate looks at your LinkedIn or Glassdoor profile, what will they find? Will they be inspired by your vision, your passion, and your direction for the company?

Do these tactics work?  We helped Bob implement the right applicant technology and had it set up in 72 hours. We created a new, interesting job ad that was posted in the right locations and shared via targeted social media platforms, increasing visibility and reach. And we helped create an online presence that reflected the true company culture—quickly and easily.

Within weeks, quality candidates filled the pipeline, five were shortlisted—and the company made the perfect hire.

Stop making recruitment harder than it needs to be!  With some good planning, a deeper understanding of what makes your culture attractive, and the right sourcing tactics, you can get better hiring results.

TalentMinded helps tech companies grow their business through high-impact talent acquisition programs. We provide flexible, scalable monthly managed recruitment services (people, process, tools, technology) to help you hire the right people, and build talent pipelines for today and the future.