There's no one "right" recruiting strategy. Every firm will succeed with different strategies because firms have different cultures and talent needs.
Rather than trying to specify a particular recruiting path, I'm sharing five strategies you can use to improve your hiring results. Take note of these ideas and consider how to incorporate them into your recruiting toolbox.
Branding
In terms of recruiting, branding is positioning your firm as the best place to work for a targeted group of job seekers.
How do you want job candidates to perceive your firm? Don't just talk about your organization, mission, vision and values. While those are part of your brand, your message should focus on what will make potential recruits want to work for you.
Craft your message to share more about your firm’s culture, the unique benefits you offer, how you create a positive employee experience and the impact your people have clients and the community.
Ensure every step of the candidate’s journey answers the question, "What's in it for me?" and you'll attract better candidates.
Leverage virtual recruiting opportunities
On-campus recruiting effectively reached new hires for years, but virtual career fairs are more important in today’s remote and hybrid workforce.
Candidates who attend virtual career fairs and do video interviews may meet with dozens of employers daily. So you need to ask memorable questions to stand out from the crowd. Of course, you'll still need to ask fundamental questions about their background and interests. But pair your standard interview questions with more unique conversation starters. Having deeper conversations reveals a lot about the candidate and helps you stand out.
Leverage technology
Do you leave voice mails and send emails but get no responses?
Eight-in-ten adults in the U.S. don't answer calls from unknown numbers and 14% ignore voicemails. As for email? We’re drowning in it. The average inbox has 200 emails, and many get caught in a spam filter or forgotten.
For these reasons, text recruiting is growing in popularity because 98% of text messages get read.
You don’t want to conduct a full job interview over text, but it's excellent for asking a few pre-screening questions, scheduling and confirming interviews and following up with candidates.
Think outside the box
Permanent hires aren't your only talent option. Today, there are more options than ever for outsourced and temporary talent. Best of all, many of the services that connect you to these people pre-screen talent for you.
Build your pipeline of passive candidates
Tour recruiting team's theme should be "Always Be Recruiting." You must build connections with passive candidates to keep your pipeline full.
Passive candidates aren't actively looking for a new job but are open to new opportunities. To reach passive candidates, build relationships with them by joining alumni groups and professional networks. If you meet a great prospect who isn't quite ready to make a change, stay in touch by inviting them to coffee every few months or extending invitations to firm events. Getting them on board may take time and effort, but that investment can pay dividends later.
The war for talent is real, and remote work has only increased competition for the best people. Add these strategies to your recruiting toolbox, and you’ll meet better candidates and succeed on your recruiting journey.
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The Boomer Talent Circle is a community of talent leaders from forward-thinking firms who are committed to aligning human resources and firm strategy at the highest levels. Apply now to start shaping your firm for the future.
As a Project Manager for Boomer Consulting, Inc., Jacqueline plans, executes and manages the people, resources and scope of many of our firm’s projects, programs and events. Her primary focus is on managing projects for IT Consulting, Strategic Planning and Talent Consulting. In addition, Jacqueline works closely with leadership to oversee the company’s human resources by managing hiring, onboarding, training and development and overseeing our Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS). She also supports our Allyship for Diversity commitment at BCI, which seeks to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion within Boomer Consulting and the accounting profession. Jacqueline also works on the strategy and development of our eLearning initiatives.