80% of the workforce isn't on the job boards. They're passive candidates. But it's in this untapped workforce pool where you'll find best of the best employees. So it makes sense for employers to create a strategy around reaching passive candidates in order to attract these in-demand candidates. So it's at this point that many companies will hire a team of recruiters to hunt down these unicorn employees. But that it misses a huge opportunity to improve results. What employers forget is to create ongoing video content around what the workplace is like. Pairing recruiters with video content increases recruiter effectiveness by double or even triple digits. Why? Just like how great marketing teams make great sales even better, video content can improve the odds of recruiter outreach. When your recruiters share employee testimonials and leader interviews on a regular basis, they build rapport faster and convince passive candidates that it's worth making the switch to work for you.
When reaching candidates outside of job boards, one tip is to consider using social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. These platforms can help you connect with potential candidates and build relationships with them. They can also be used to share job postings and other information about your company. Reaching out to potential candidates through these platforms can help you connect with a larger pool of qualified candidates. Additionally, using these platforms can help you build relationships with candidates and keep them updated on your company and job openings.
Four out of five candidates are passive candidates, i.e. those who do not visit job boards. In our company, we noticed that we achieved a huge interest in applying to us by publishing short videos on social media, mainly LinkedIn. The films were less than two minutes long, during which the person recruiting for his team told who he was looking for, what the job was about, how much the candidate would earn, and what it was like to work for us. All shot on a phone, with questions written on the screen. Simple and extremely effective. During interviews, over 70% of applicants said they applied because of these videos. We do this every time and have exceptional results.
One method that has been extremely successful for me in finding solid candidates outside of job boards is attending networking events and industry specific seminars. To be clear, I do not treat these events as recruiting trips. I try not to bombard the people I meet with recruiting pitches. Instead, I view these events as a casual means to get the word out that our company is hiring. The majority of professionals who attend these types of events have tons of connections and friends who also work in the industry. You would be shocked how many people I talk to say they have a friend who is either actively looking for a new job or open to at least hearing about the position. After attending these events, I usually get three to four solid leads on attractive candidates.
If a candidate is interested in your brand and wants to learn more about what you do, they're going to end up on your website. That's why creating a Career page that lets them skip the awkward stages of applying via another website is such a great idea. This also gives you a chance to set a great first impression and inform potential applicants of everything your organization has to offer — from employee benefits, to work culture and your diversity and inclusivity initiatives too.
I have found passive candidates to be a minefield and email lists to be the best way to leverage this demographic. Of course, this only applies if you already have a pipeline of candidates. So instead of going hunting for new candidates on job boards or social media, why not engage the ones you already have in your CRM? Scouting for new candidates can be expensive and time-consuming compared to reaching out to candidates whose data you already have, including their interests and qualifications. For the best results, target your job ads to specific candidates instead of sending a mass email to everyone. Targeting increases open rates and will generate higher conversions, giving you greater ROI on your talent scouting efforts. Another advantage of your email list is that it is unique, setting you steps ahead in a competitive talent marketplace. When everyone is fighting for the same talent pool on job boards, you can leverage your exclusive email list and put in offers quickly.
One way to attract candidates without using a job board is to form a relationship with your local college or university. Many businesses work with colleges and universities to offer courses and work experience relevant to the needs of the business, benefiting both the students and the business. Courses can be tailored to meet the requirements of the business and in return, the business can offer internships or work experience, helping the students to gain the skills and experience they will require in the workplace. Students who successfully complete their internships can be offered regular employment when their studies finish but by offering these places you will raise the profile of the business among the college attendees and generate interest in the company. Your internees will become advocates for the business and you should find that the applications for vacant roles attract widespread interest.
Many employers do not realize that they have one of the best ways to reach candidates without using a job board already at their disposal, and this is through the social media prowess of their current employees. Over 90% of all employees have their own social media accounts and three-fourths of them have multiple ones. Encouraging your employees to post your job openings on their social media accounts, articles about the benefits of working in your industry, photos from work, and even potential future opportunities, can be an excellent way to extend your reach and find quality candidates. In addition, by utilizing this strategy, many of the candidates will come with pre-vetting, as they will often come recommended with a current team member’s backing. By encouraging your employees to use their social media accounts to promote a current employment opportunity, you can greatly increase your candidate pool without using a job board.
Hi there, It's Gilad Zilberman, CEO of SeatPick. I've had a lot of unfortunate experiences using popular online job boards such as UpWork, which is why I decided to reach out to potential candidates elsewhere, specifically, in closed social media groups. Here is the thing: there are a lot of amazing Facebook Groups filled with talented workers. If you put in the work to find and reach out to potential candidates who are interested in working with you, I have zero doubt that you will find some great people. This year alone, I found two wonderful people through Facebook Groups, and they've already contributed so much to my company.
Participate in career networking events and job fairs. This allows you to connect with job seekers in person. Meeting job seekers at these networking events can speed up the process of determining whether you wish to invite them for an interview. Otherwise, you would only be going by people's resumes at first. While the resume alone is helpful, it does not necessarily reveal everything about your applicants in terms of their personalities and behaviors.
Encourage your current employees to be advocates in your recruiting process by launching a referral program that incentivizes staff — typically a cash bonus — to send qualified candidates your way. Though it may lack glitz and glamour, it’s an effective tactic that flies under the radar, funneling a steady stream of job seekers who might otherwise overlook your job board advertisements. Furthermore, these potential new hires are likely to receive a positive primer on your company culture from the staffers who refer them.
Implement a referral program if you don’t have one. If you do, evaluate to see what you can do to make it more attractive in recruiting new talent. Brainstorm ways to encourage your employees to refer people they know to your company. A referral program is more effective at recruiting suitable candidates for your vacancies because your employees already know the company culture, the team environment, and the work and commitment needed for a position. They intuitively know who among their friends and family would be a good fit for the organization. In effect, your employees will have done the screening step for you, saving you time and effort.
Employee networks are often an untapped bastion of likeminded and similarly talented individuals. As your employees are well-ingrained within your company's culture, they are often the best people to ask when it comes to populating your recruitment funnel. To connect with talented candidates, ask for recommendations from your existing workforce. This includes not only their social networks, but also their interpersonal relationships with former colleagues, clients, and other professionals. As they know what skills you're looking for, they can suggest a great deal of candidates who fit your requirements. A referral program is best accompanied by a clear compensation structure. This method is often more effective than recruitment, and comes at a fraction of the cost. By rewarding employees for their assistance, it validates their efforts and incentivizes their continued contribution in the future. This motivates them to be proactive as they go out and source quality candidates.
The best hires I've ever made have been through people already working at my company. Whenever we need to hire for a new position, I first write an internal memo to hear if anyone knows someone suitable for the job. Traditionally, hiring is a bit like dating in the sense that both parties are kind of nervous, both might have widely different expectations, and no one knows if they'll be a good fit for each other. And like dating, hiring is better done through someone you know and trust. The person who is already working for your company can vouch for the work culture and the people there, and the same person can vouch for the potential hire. The best move I ever made was hiring a few skilled people in key positions. Through them, I've managed to hire many other great guys purely through their network.
Although Facebook has had its “Job” feature for quite some time, it may not be ideal if you require a more targeted search and is the reason why you should pivot to using their “Community Groups” section instead of Job Boards. The" Jobs" feature, while being extensive and providing access to thousands of candidates, may require a great deal of sifting and resources before being able to find the candidates you think are a good fit for your position. On the other hand, Facebook Community Groups provides access to those with interest and experience that is relevant to your industry. In addition, it allows you to stay in touch with those candidates if they need additional nurturing. If you need a more targeted search to fit your niche role, then Facebook Community Groups can be a great deal more effective and lessen the need for posting on a job board.
Although many employers will do this in passing, actually organizing a full fledged referral campaign through your network can be an effective way of accessing candidates outside the use of a job board. Referrals can come from many sources and have advantages that job boards do not often provide in that you can obtain more detailed information on candidates. By designing a campaign that takes in account all of your professional networking, personal friends, and even community organizations, you can tap into these resources by asking people associated with those entities if they know of individuals that may be a good fit for opportunities in your business. In addition, these reference sources are less likely to refer someone who they feel is not up to the task. By taking into account your entire network and then going through each one to acquire references, you can be able to reach out to candidates without having to go to job boards.
Leverage the network of your existing employees by asking for candidate referrals from them. Incentivize successful referrals so that employees will make an effort to vet referrals they will make instead of referring friends that don’t match the role. This will widen the scope of your recruitment search and will help guarantee high-quality hires because employees will refer candidates whom they can vouch for. Going beyond job boards with this strategic approach fast-tracks recruitment and makes for a more efficient process without sacrificing the quality of new hires.
Host a virtual job fair to reach a wider variety of candidates who want to work for you in particular. This is especially great for companies who have a work-from-home policy. You’ll attract a larger audience a fair that’s local by having the ability to talk with candidates all over the country-maybe even the world. Rather than just scrolling job boards for an opportunity in a certain field, you’ll have the opportunity to interview candidates who are specifically interested in your business. Hosting a virtual job fair allows you to meet potential talent that are pointedly interested in you and broadens the field.
If you know how to use it, LinkedIn can be a gold mine for quality candidates. LinkedIn has a vast online database of 500 million global users. The trick is knowing how to use the search function to find the needle-in-a-haystack candidate with all the attributes you seek. You can search by job title, industry, skills, and location. You can even search by what company they are currently working for. When you find a promising candidate, take a direct approach when you initially message them on LinkedIn. Don’t beat around the bush and start by striking up a casual conversation, which leads them to wonder what you want. Be courteous but tell them who you are, your company, the job you’re offering, and the proposed salary. The power of LinkedIn is that you can reach the kind of high-caliber candidates who are not typically browsing job boards.
CEO at Live Poll for Slides
Answered 3 years ago
Employee referrals are one of the most effective and cost-effective candidate recruitment strategies for any organisation. It primarily uses people's professional networks to find quality talent. Implementing a stipend system for successful hires improves the effectiveness of this strategy in talent acquisition. Developing a culture of respect toward referrals works in favour of strengthening the networking potency. Valuing the personal investments of the referring employee and referred hire boosts their morale and strengthens the organisation. Employers learn about quality candidates who trusted employees have vetted through referrals. Referrals are not limited to current staff members; former employees who had a positive experience with your company can offer referrals.