Back to another day in this dull economic climate. Hiring freezes and layoffs are happening everywhere, while more and more candidates are entering the job market, uncertain about what the future holds for them. As a recruiter with an idealist mentality and high EQ, the pressure is on.
How do I manage to bring the right opportunity to this high volume of candidates?
How do I continue to nurture my candidates' faith?
How do I ensure that my team's morale stays high now that they have fewer candidates to help?
Most importantly, how do I get myself ready for when the storm hits? I know from my 15 years as a recruiter that when the economy bounces back, hiring needs go through the roof.
To set myself and my team up for success, I split our day up to achieve three major goals:
1) Get to know my candidates and vice versa
Becoming my candidate's favorite choice
It's important that I'm my candidate's go-to recruiter. For that, I establish purposeful connections with them. I keep track of previous encounters, share our wins and news, and send personal messages about potential opportunities that await them. But it's a delicate balance between giving them false hope and creating meaningful interactions.
Be social
Social media is our primary channel for informing candidates about our company. We make sure that we're creating valuable content for our candidates, and frequent posts keep us on the forefront of our potential talents' minds. It's also been a great way for us to establish connections with passive candidates.
Build a relationship with passive talent
Passive talent usually turns out to be high quality, and they are often looking out for better opportunities. We benefit from taking time out of our day to contact and nurture passive talent.
Help your candidates grow
Candidates spend a lot of time in the hiring process, and it's important that they get something valuable from it, even if it's not a job offer. We give candidates extensive feedback, discuss potential opportunities suitable for their background, and help them gain skills that make them desirable in the job market. We have also helped many high-potential candidates find mentorship opportunities.
2) Set my recruiters up for success
Personal branding
It's crucial that my recruiters shine in their own identity. I want my team to effectively represent our brand, not hide behind it. It's important that my candidates and clients truly understand my recruiters' values, specialties, and personalities so that they can find and form more meaningful connections with whomever suits them best. The more my team members grow individually, the better it is for me and our firm.
I encourage my recruiters to focus on their social media presence for a good part of their day; this includes responding to inquiries and creating valuable content in their niche for their target audience. They're the bridge between industry professionals and potential candidates, so who better to deliver insights to both parties? My recruiters use the platform to display their technical expertise and their deep understanding about each role and its responsibilities.
Networking with professionals
Being a part of a professional network is invaluable in the recruiting world. With the right network, we get access to incredible talent and clients. Most importantly, we gain plenty of knowledge about the niche that we're recruiting for. At the end of the day, a good understanding of what the role entails, what's expected from the employee, and an awareness of cost is what lands the dream candidate.
Delve into data
We can almost always do better. With a busy recruiting climate, we seldom have the time to look back and analyze bottlenecks. Now that the hiring scene is not so busy, I think it can be incredibly insightful for my recruiters to look at data, gain insights, project future trends, and experiment with new approaches!
3) Keep jobs at the ready
Sketch out your ideal candidate for benchmarking
We have a set of positions that we hire for often. I make sure to identify these positions and map out what an ideal candidate for this role would be like. With that as the benchmark, we know exactly what to look for in potential candidates.
Revisit JDs
Technology is growing fast, and skill requirements for jobs are changing every day. I make sure that my recruiters do thorough market research to understand what skills are most in demand and which one of those are truly viable for the job at hand. After a dull hiring season, there will always be a storm of hiring requirements, and it's imperative that we're prepared to meet the demands. This ranges from revisiting job descriptions to matching the "here and now" of roles.
Market research
I want my team to be experts in the field that they are hiring for. Only then will they know how to have meaningful conversations with potential candidates, prescreen candidates efficiently, and ultimately pitch competitive offers that land great talent. I make sure to educate my team about how and why they need to dive head-first into market research and ensure that they have a good amount of time for it.
What does this do for us?
Navigating the challenges of a sluggish hiring climate, we find resilience and strategy in building strong candidate relationships, empowering our team, and staying ahead of market trends. By fostering genuine connections, enhancing personal branding, and leveraging data-driven insights, we ensure readiness for the inevitable hiring surge. Ultimately, these efforts not only sustain morale but also position our team for future success, proving that even in tough times, there are valuable opportunities to grow and prepare.
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