Time spent on hiring the right person is time well spent!
“Candidate attraction” refers to the tools and techniques used to attract potential applicants to fill a vacancy.
The question many of my clients ask is “How do I find the right candidates to fulfil my vacancies and what mechanisms should I put into place to improve candidate attraction?”
Developing an effective candidate-attraction strategy involves a range of activities, for example aligning candidate attraction with future expansion plans, establishing measures for success, and choosing candidate-attraction channels that will reach the vacancy’s target audience.
Selecting the most appropriate candidate-attraction channels can also help the employer to source and build a pool of potential candidates that can revisited as new vacancies arise.
Brand
Building a reputation as a brand that values engagement with all candidates and provides feedback that is recognised for being straightforward, honest, and supportive is key to the way future applicants perceive the business.
Candidate attraction is a two-way process: employers should provide realistic information about the vacancy and the business so that candidates have a clearer choice when deciding if the vacancy and business reflect their own aspirations and values.
Where possible I would encourage my clients to advertise their roles on the Company website before going straight to job boards, this gives the candidate confidence that the vacancy is genuine, and the position remains open. It also helps build brand awareness allowing the candidate opportunity to review similar positions within the business.
My later blogs will cover processes after advertising the role.
It is important to write a job description that is a true reflection of the role, responsibilities, and includes a person specification. When a candidate searches for a role they will search using two main criteria: 1. Job Title; 2. Location.
It is likely that the candidate will then refine their search further taking into consideration skills, salary, benefits, career growth opportunity etc. Think carefully about the job title to attract the most suitable candidates. The job title Technician may seem appropriate in your sector however add the word, Vehicle, Motor, HGV, LCV, MOT, and you will spend less time trawling through unsuitable candidate applications.
Location
When it comes to Location, advertising the role to attract local employees can often be a key consideration, however with the possibility of remote working or an opportunity to work at multi-site locations, then suddenly your talent sourcing pool expands exponentially
The first paragraph of the job description should contain a summary of the role and responsibilities. It is this first paragraph that will be the window to the role when advertised on job boards or media platforms. Content can be limited on job boards so being precise to encourage interest at an early stage is key.
The remainder of the job profile should describe the role, skills and responsibilities required to carry out the duties. Key skills and competencies should be bulleted to reflect the level of knowledge required preferably split into essential and desirable skills. Specifics should include start date, Full time, part time, permanent, remote, salary, benefits etc.
Contact information and the stages that will be followed throughout the interview process is always an advantage to include e.g.:
Interview will take place over three stages:
- Initial telephone screening
- Assessment Centre
- Face-to face interview
It is important to remember that, If at any stage you update the job description you should make sure that this is done across all platforms.
Having a simple Job code can help with applications especially where you may have numerous vacancies for similar roles with similar job titles. Knowing which application to attach to which advertised role saves time.
Advertising the role
Placing job advertisements in print media still has a place especially where magazines are read for industry knowledge e.g., Car, construction equipment magazines for salespeople & technicians.
The employer’s corporate website should form the primary channel to communicate with job applicants.
Job boards such as Indeed, Monster, CV library are websites dedicated to recruitment that advertises vacancies on behalf of employers, typically for a subscription fee. They can be particularly useful for checking competitor activity and making sure that your advertised vacancy stands out.
Good social media interaction with regular advertising of roles on platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter to promote vacancies and source candidates can be extremely useful.
Recruitment advertising agencies have the potential to improve the hiring organisation’s ability to attract high-quality applicants, due to industry knowledge and pool of candidates. As a business we help source candidates for permanent and temporary positions offering a wide range of services, including candidate attraction and screening, initial interviewing, shortlisting, and reference checking. We also conduct Executive search or headhunting where appropriate to source senior or specialist staff.
Recruitment and careers fairs and open days can help employers to reach a large number of potential applicants, which can be particularly useful for large-scale recruitment campaigns or graduate recruitment programmes.
Applicant tracking systems containing information about former job applicants and can provide a useful starting point for a hiring organisation to contact potential candidates who have expressed an interest in working for it in the past.
An employee referral scheme encourages existing employees to recommend friends or former colleagues for vacancies within the organisation and can be a cost-effective alternative to more formal candidate-attraction methods.
Utilising as many channels as possible gives you the greatest opportunity of sourcing the right candidates. Were here to help you maximise the sources available to you – to attract and recruit the best candidates.
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