Top 20 Tips for Talent Recruitment and Talent Acquisition Success

Want to develop the quality of your candidates and increase their level of intent? We have complied a list of our top 20 tips for talent recruitment and talent acquisition success. If you choose to follow them, they will help you stir your company in the right direction.

EMPLOYEE REFERRAL SCHEME.

Start by hiring the best candidates you can and ensuring that they have fulfilling and rewarding jobs. If you do this, then they will support you in opening up their talented networks to you and your business. You can continue this method for years until you naturally outgrow the size of your employees’ networks.

PREVIOUSLY UNSUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES.

Don’t rule out those who weren’t a good fit for a past position at that time. They might have narrowly missed out and gone on to gain great experience since. If you have their old application on file, get in touch and see if they'll be tempted to try again. This method works best if you have a policy for being respectful and even constructive when letting down unsuccessful applicants.

USE A SCORECARD.

The person who gets hired is often the one who creates the best gut reaction among the interviewers. This sentimentality means that sometimes the most suitable and qualified person is missing out to the most likeable or personable. Quantitative data on a scorecard can help remove this mishap.

THINK ABOUT THE CANDIDATES' APPLICATION EXPERIENCE.

HR should consider everything from ease of application, pre-interview communications, and the actual experience that the candidate goes through for the interview. Recruiting takes two parties, so by skillfully sending positive signals to candidates throughout the process, you can build their interest and develop a good hiring reputation.

DIVERSITY.

Companies that run a diverse recruitment policy benefit massively in the long run. Employees from different backgrounds, countries, ethnicities and all sorts of varying demographics can all offer new knowledge and experience to an inclusive and successful team. The wider the range of applicants, the better.

BE OPEN TO REMOTE WORK ARRANGEMENTS.

The workforce is much different from 10 years ago. Many young and talented professionals now are digital natives, having grown up connected to the internet. Becoming open to and exploring remote work is a great way to attract employees who value the work-life balance. Often, talented candidates are simply seeking flexibility rather than rigidity.

OFF-BOARD WITH CAUTION.

Whilst it might seem counterintuitive to look after those who are leaving your organisation, by letting them go on friendly and positive terms, you’re converting them into an ambassador. This helps you for three reasons. Firstly. it’s good for your image as it’s a positive review from firsthand experience. Secondly, that former employee can refer your business to their talented network. Thirdly, it might make them want to return in the future. Not all exits have to be negative.

REMOVE UNCONSCIOUS BIASES IN YOUR PROCESS.

Where a candidate is from or went to university are a couple of things that can affect our judgement. The HR team can work together so that the person doing the interviewing doesn’t know anything about the candidate and can judge them purely based on performance. This doesn’t work for every position, but it is an interesting technique.

ASK BETTER QUESTIONS IN INTERVIEWS.

Most candidates will be over-prepared for a barrage of typical interview questions. Instead, they want to be challenged with unique questions or given the opportunity to test their wits. Find ways to provoke creativity, intelligence, and rapid-thought in the interview process. This will show you a lot about your candidates.

TALK TO YOUR MARKETING TEAM.

Your own marketing department will have plenty of ideas for how to advertise and promote new positions, but beyond that, they can work on your digital reputation. Prospective employees are going to research your organisation, so it’s down to the marketing team to ensure that search engine results are positive ones. Websites like Glassdoor play a huge role in candidate decision-making.

THINK ABOUT THE BIG 5 CANDIDATE CONSIDERATIONS.

When a candidate is job hunting and making applications, there are typically five things that they want to know. Remarkably, some businesses on the hiring side don’t bother to include these.

1. What is the salary and is it competitive?
2. Are there bonuses or commissions available?
3. What are the benefits of working for this organisation?
4. What does the company culture say about the company?
5. How autonomous is the role?

ALWAYS HIRE FOR QUALITY.

This almost goes without saying, but a lot of businesses fail to acknowledge quality over quantity. If two excellent performers can do the job of four adequate ones, the business would be in a better position to hire two, look after them better, and have less managing to do.

INTEGRITY AND HONESTY IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION.

Some jobs simply aren’t glamorous or rewarding. You can’t change that. But hiring on false pretences causes disparity between the employee and their work, resulting in them leaving on bad terms. It’s better to be truthful when describing the job so that an applicant who is a good match can fill the role.

HANG OUT IN THE RIGHT PLACES.

The recruiting team will have to learn where the talented candidates hang out. Are they on particular forums, in LinkedIn groups, or making moves in other digital networking spaces like Github or Moz? Putting an advert on a website like Indeed might work for general listings, but what about technical work with few potential applicants? Finding them is part of the challenge.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT LINKEDIN.

Most recruiters are looking for professionals there, and most professionals are there when looking for jobs. If your LinkedIn game is not up to par, other recruiters will sniff out and take the best talent. Step up your LinkedIn game, yesterday.

KEEP THE PROCESS AS PERSONABLE AS YOU CAN.

Copy and paste messages during the application process make the candidate feel that they’re just a number, which is exactly the opposite of how you want to make them feel. It’s more time consuming to write personalised emails, but in pursuit of great talent, it is an absolute must to add some personality and good communication to the process.

BREAK OLD HABITS.

What worked in the past might not work in the future, especially in the ever-changing recruitment landscape. A while ago, you might have been looking for talent on forums, then the next week you were using hashtags. Employee wants and needs are constantly changing, as well as their digital habits. So it’s the recruiters that can innovate, adapt, and overcome that will find themselves managing the best talent in an increasingly difficult market.

LEARN HOW TO TELL A GOOD STORY.

When a candidate applies for a job, they will have made certain justifications about why it’s good for them. It meets their skills, they agree with the salary, and they could see themselves working there. That final point often gets overlooked. A good recruitment process will involve telling a story that candidates can relate to and buy into so that they can build a mental vision of working in the organisation.

A GOOD JOB SELLS ITSELF.

Don’t be too sales-y and desperate in your approach to filling a job role. If the job itself is desirable, it will attract people. If the job is not desirable, maybe it’s the job or the perks of the job that need to be changed. Overselling a job will create suspicion and make good candidates question why the role is so hard to fill.

Did we miss anything? Let us know your best talent recruitment and talent acquisition success stories and tips. If you need assistance in terms of hiring the best talent in product, engineering or design & data, get in touch.

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