The job market today is saturated with candidates who apply to a multitude of jobs in the hopes that one will come through. With such an emphasis on quantity how do you find candidates of good quality? These 6 steps will get you on your way to recruiting the best person for the job:
1. Put Effort into Your Job Postings
No matter where you are posting a job opening—Facebook, Craigslist, your website, etc.—a few extra details about the position can go a long way. By making sure you outline the responsibilities and requirements of the job, you will weed out applicants who are applying to a large number of jobs that seem vaguely related to their experience. For example, if recruiting for apartment jobs, list the exact skills, software and other requirements needed of a new leasing consultant to avoid unqualified inquiries.
2. Go Beyond Job Boards
Today’s job boards are overloaded with both recruiters and applicants. Sites like Monster or CareerBuilder may attract a high volume of applications, but they foster an environment of quantity over quality. Job boards are full of apartment job postings, making it difficult for yours to stand out. While job boards can attract excellent candidates, they should not be relied on as your main source of potential employees.
3. Focus on Social Media
During the recruiting process your company should be very vocal on its social media outlets. The main advantage of recruiting via social media is that you are dipping into a pool of people that are already passionate about your company. A job opening post on LinkedIn or Facebook will be seen by people who follow or are fans of your company, motivating them to apply or spread the word to their own networks. While the pool of candidates accessible through social media may be smaller than on job boards, the applicants you get are more likely to be a good fit.
4. Follow up with Applicants
The job search process in the current job market can be discouraging; and as such a follow up email (even if to say the position was given to someone else) will be a welcome communication to candidates. Simply ignoring applications is a good way to frustrate candidates who could be potential employees, promoters, or clients of your company.
5. Use Your Employee Network
Outside of electronic job boards and the social media world, old-fashioned word of mouth could hook the best person for a job. By asking employees for referrals for a position you are drawing on people who already know the inside of your company. Consider starting off your recruiting process by asking around the office.
Recruiting is a process that evolves with time and technology, and by following these steps you will not only keep up with current recruiting trends but attract the most desirable candidates.
