Recruitment can be a daunting task for small business owners; they need to make sure that candidates are suitable and can handle the job. Recruiting employees is a long and expensive process, but one that has to be done carefully. The candidate must have the right skill set for the job and can work with your team.
How can a business find the best candidate for its industry? Here are ten best practices to help companies attract and hire great candidates:
- 1. Have an insightful job description that attracts top talent
- 2. Create a candidate experience that will retain hard-to-find talent
- 3. Review candidate qualifications before candidate engagement
- 4. Engage candidate attention through phone-screening interviews
- 5. Use candidate tracking software to monitor candidate progress throughout recruitment
- 6. Build a candidate pipeline with an internal referral program
- 7. Utilize an automated resume parser to distribute candidate resumes
- 8. Keep candidate communication consistent throughout recruitment
- 9. Train employees in candidate engagement tools for increased success during candidate recruitment
1. Have an insightful job description that attracts top talent
One of the most underrated tasks when it comes to recruiting is writing a job description that will draw in quality candidates who fit your organization’s culture and skill requirements. Use the right keywords, be descriptive about duties, and account for all things necessary in performing daily tasks, especially time management skills if they’re essential for this position.
2. Create a candidate experience that will retain hard-to-find talent
Candidates are looking for organizations that take an interest in them, and there is no better way to show this than by actively participating in the candidate’s career discovery journey. Be sure to include candidate contact information in job descriptions, respond to candidate resumes within 24 hours, and schedule interviews comfortably around current employees’ schedules.
3. Review candidate qualifications before candidate engagement
Be sure to have a candidate qualification checklist so you can quickly review each candidate’s resume before inviting someone in for an interview. If they don’t meet your requirements, politely decline their application and let them know how you found out about their profile on recruitment platforms or wherever else they may have posted it. If they qualify, schedule an interview and move forward.
4. Engage candidate attention through phone-screening interviews
We often hear from business owners that candidate engagement is critical during the candidate experience process. This means reaching out to candidates who have applied for open positions in your organization by conducting a friendly candidate screening call early on during the candidate recruiting process. This gives you the chance to learn more about their background while also giving them insight into whether they are qualified for the position you are attempting to fill.
5. Use candidate tracking software to monitor candidate progress throughout recruitment
There are several things businesses can do during candidate recruiting that allow them to monitor each candidate’s progress—between scheduling interviews all the way until after new hires start. Frequently, candidate interview scheduling software can be easy to use, from setting up candidate contact information and job descriptions to candidate interviews. It also allows businesses to monitor candidate responses, scheduling, and candidate progression.
6. Build a candidate pipeline with an internal referral program
One of the best ways for organizations to find quality candidates quickly is by having an internal employee referral program in place. Company employees will already know who their friends and colleagues are and what they’re qualified for, so creating a quick pipeline of potential hires won’t take long at all.
7. Utilize an automated resume parser to distribute candidate resumes
One of the easiest ways for businesses to find candidate contact information is by using an automated resume parser. Candidate tracking software allows you to upload candidate resumes in bulk and parse through them with ease, allowing companies to invite candidates in for interviews that are most qualified for their jobs. What’s even better? You can do it in one day. If you have 100 candidate resumes uploaded at once (and you’re not inviting everyone), then it takes 10 minutes at most.
8. Keep candidate communication consistent throughout recruitment
Applicants will need constant feedback during recruitment to know where they stand regarding your organization’s selection process, so be sure to include candidate engagement features when mapping out candidate experience. Using candidate management software in candidate recruitment will allow companies to send updates in bulk, making candidate feedback easier than ever before!
9. Train employees in candidate engagement tools for increased success during candidate recruitment
One easy way for businesses to train their employees on candidate engagement is by using the right resources. They should provide webinars that companies can use to distribute information about using different features of our products. Your employees will be able to give you advice when they themselves are hiring new team members down the line!
In summary, candidate recruitment is an essential candidate experience that can have long-lasting effects on candidate relationships, candidate engagement, and candidate attrition. Using the right candidate recruiting tools will help you find quality candidate contact information more easily and send candidate updates in bulk to keep applicants informed of their progress.
