14 Simple Tips to Improve Your Recruiting Efforts Right Now
Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers!
Today’s Question: What’s one sweet and simple tip you’d give other recruiters to help improve their recruiting efforts right now?
These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization composed of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs.
It’s best to focus on the candidates who show passion, discipline, and a willingness to learn, rather than getting hung up on credentials. It not only makes hiring easier, but it also makes work better.
— Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
When you post a listing, you naturally want to attract as many qualified candidates as possible. However, this may cause you to unconsciously cast your net too wide. Make sure you include in your ad essential qualifications such as specific skills or experience a candidate will need to do the job. It’s better to have a smaller list of higher-quality applicants than a lot of less qualified ones.
— Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting
You can leverage online tools that help you identify and remediate any language that may skew toward one gender or demographic. Replace words like “drive,” “strong,” and “analytical” with more broadly appealing words like “inspire,” “steady,” and “thorough.” This will help pull a wider range of talent into your pool.
— Matthew Podolsky, Florida Law Advisers, P.A.
Sometimes, people unconsciously discriminate against potential hires because of their names. If you want to build a diverse and inclusive workforce — and stop missing out on great candidates for illogical reasons — try recruiting blind. That means reviewing candidates’ resumes without any names attached.
— Riccardo Conte, Virtus Flow
The worst feeling for an employee is being ghosted by an employer. Even if the only update you have is “We are still in the process of interviewing candidates,” that is helpful information. If you want to keep people engaged, don’t let prospective employees go more than three days without hearing an update from you.
— Kelsey Raymond, Influence & Co.
Joining very niche social media groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Reddit can give you great results. These places often host extremely focused conversations where experts and professionals share their opinions and knowledge. Job ads are often welcome in such spaces. For the best outcome, engage the audience and avoid undue self-promotion.
— Blair Williams, MemberPress
You can improve your recruitment efforts today by posting your open job on multiple websites. Some companies stick to one or two boards because those boards often deliver, but if you’re having trouble attracting quality candidates, expanding your reach should be your first step.
— John Turner, SeedProd LLC
The people who already work for you can be your best recruiters. They have firsthand experience working for your company and know what it takes to succeed. If your employees are happy in their work and feel they’re fairly compensated, they can be great cheerleaders. Chances are they already have existing networks of people with appropriate skill sets to tap into.
— Matt Diggity, Diggity Marketing
Don’t limit yourself by only looking for talent locally. The pandemic has proven that working remotely is possible and effective. If you open your company up to having remote workers in different parts of the country or the world, you’ll be able to select from a wider talent pool.
— Alfredo Atanacio, Uassist.ME
Instead of only requesting a cover letter and resume, invite candidates to also submit short videos explaining why they’re a good fit for your company. Make sure they mention your company name in the video — that way, you know candidates won’t be sending a generic mass submission.
— Bryan Citrin, Chiropractic Advertising
The best employees aren’t always the ones who got the best grades. Focus more on the person. What drives them? Where do they see themselves in the future? What made them apply for your job? There’s nothing worse than losing out on a good employee just because they didn’t check a certain qualification box.
— Ibrahim Alkurd, New Mine
Create a straightforward application asking only for hard skills needed for the job and some way of showcasing those. Then, go by attitude. Don’t include a field for resume uploads — repositories, portfolios, homepages, and (very) recent certificates only. According to the stats from my CRM over the last year, this approach has definitely yielded much better talent for us.
— Joey Bertschler, bitgrit
Red-flag questions are simple inquiries designed to see if the person filling out the application is paying attention and following directions. You can weed out unfit candidates with a simple directive like “Include your favorite breakfast food in the subject line.” Those who don’t do so clearly weren’t paying enough attention.
— Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
Facebook’s jobs platform is a great way to get a lot of applicants. On Facebook, you should theoretically be able to get a large boost in reach and attract an increased following for your business at the same time.
— Nicole Munoz, Nicole Munoz Consulting, Inc.