When it comes to recruitment, being proactive is key to success. Why invest in proactive recruiting efforts?
A wide and diverse talent pool
For one, it helps you to reach a wider pool of candidates than you would if you were only relying on those who came to you. This can lead to a more diverse group of applicants, which can be beneficial for your company in terms of both talent and perspective.
Advantage over competitors
Additionally, proactive recruiting allows you to get a jump on the competition. If you are the first to reach out to a potential candidate, you are more likely to be top of mind when they are making their decision about where to work. This can give you a significant advantage over other companies who are recruiting for the same role.
Strong relationships with candidates
Finally, proactive recruiting can help you to build relationships with potential candidates before they even start the job application process. This can make the transition into your company smoother and help to ensure that they are a good fit for your culture.
There are a number of proactive recruitment strategies that you can try in order to attract the best talent.
✅ Build a talent pool
If you want to be proactive in your recruitment strategy, one great way to do so is to build a talent pool. This is a group of people who have been identified as being high-potential candidates for open positions at your company. To build a talent pool, you can work with recruiting agencies, search firms, or online job boards. You can also reach out to people you know who might be a good fit for your company. Once you have a talent pool, you can actively recruit from it when positions become available. This will help you to fill positions quickly and with high-quality candidates.
✅ Make your online presence strong
To attract top talent, you need to have an online presence and ensure that your job portal is mobile-friendly. A survey by Indeed showed that 78% of millennials, 73% of Gen Xers, and 57.2% of Baby Boomers use mobile phones when searching for jobs. Make sure your business is easy to find online, through SEO and social media. This will make you more visible to potential candidates. You can also hold events or release information that potential candidates will be interested in.
✅ Make applications as easy as possible
If you want to improve your recruitment process, make sure your application is straightforward and only asks for essential information. This will make it more likely that candidates will complete the application process and increase your chances of finding the right person for the job.
Proactive recruiting is an organic process, not a “must-hire the candidate” like reactive recruitment. Hence, keep an eye on your application questions and keep it to the requirements to attract potential candidates.
✅ Appeal to a better cultural fit
This could be your best chance to poach some employees from other companies who have had a bad experience or who don't feel like they fit in. Your values, mission, and teams can be a big attraction for anyone who is unhappy with their current situation.
Advertising your company culture and work/life balance on your careers page and website is a great way to attract the right kind of person to your business. The right people will be just as attracted to the fun and friendly aspects of your job as they will be to the salary.
✅ Take advantage of networking opportunities
Although networking is one of the oldest channels of recruiting, the way you network for proactive recruitment purposes is different than other types of networking.
Slack, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all great networking tools that can help you build relationships with future candidates. You can find potential recruits on Reddit, especially if you're looking for tech talent.
Recruiters can have more success finding top talent by venturing into niche communities instead of sticking to big sites like LinkedIn. With less competition, employers will be more noticeable to candidates, and these candidates are more likely to respond to job postings in a community where they are actively seeking employment.
Hiring is an art more than a science, but companies can stay competitive in today's candidate-focused market by having a long-term vision for their talent brand and a proactive recruitment strategy.
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