Top tips to hire in a challenging market

When it’s a tough talent market out there and finding great people to join your team is a challenge, do you find yourself falling back on what you’ve always done from a recruitment standpoint in the hope you’ll get success?

If so, it could be time to think differently about your process and start to get creative in your approach...

Here are our top tips on things to think about when it comes to recruiting top talent amid hiring challenges:

Focus On The Skills Needed, Not Simply Education And Experience

Taking a skills-first approach to your recruitment will open up a wider and more diverse talent pool to choose from.

Likewise, forgoing educational and past work experience, unless it’s actually relevant to the job, is a great way of increasing the number of applications from candidates and attracting a different range of backgrounds and experiences into your business.

Use Social Media And Content Marketing

If you find you’re getting the same types of candidate applications through your traditional recruitment channels, try supplementing these with social and content recruitment campaigns.

From showcasing your company culture to “sharing pictures of events and important milestones, social media and content marketing can breathe new life into your recruiting plan and engage with potential employees in new ways.

Hold ‘Open House’ Events

Consider hosting a recruitment event at your place of work and invite people who might be interested in joining your company.

Not only will you be able to evaluate potential candidates en-masse, but it also gives them the chance to see what your work life looks like first-hand, in a less formal setting.

Offer An Irresistible Employee Referral Bonus

Referrals are nothing new, but are you making the most out of your employee referral program?

By rewarding your team for tapping into their own networks to recommend people to you, you stand a great chance of saving on both time and resource.

Plus, if you do hire someone off the back of a referral, that new starter will have a company advocate ready and waiting to help them settle in.

Develop Your EVP

Having a brilliant Employee Value Proposition (EVP) can making attracting and hiring new employees a lot easier.

If you can do a great job of communicating what it’s like to work for you and what you can offer them in return, whether through your socials, website, videos, testimonials etc., you’ll differentiate yourself from others and will start to attract the right people who buy in to your business.

In essence, if you are finding hiring a challenge and your typical methods aren’t working for you at the moment, it’s time to think outside the box a little and get creative.

Any changes don’t have to be truly ground-breaking, but little tweaks to your process to try and engage new people in a new could be beneficial and help get the type of candidate you’re looking for to apply.