Snagging Top Talent in a Difficult Job Market

The “Great Resignation” is real, and many employers are struggling to fill vacant roles as competition for talent is more intense than ever. How do you stand apart when recruiting in today’s job market? Below are some tips for business owners and hiring managers looking to staff up.

Build your digital brand. Applicants will have formed opinions about your company’s mission, workplace culture, and opportunities for growth before they ever meet you. Make sure you are putting your best foot forward everywhere online. Ensure your brand stands out to candidates by having a clear mission and telling a unique story. Have an up to date, approachable website, and social channels that reflect the dynamics of your teams. Watch sites that post reviews of employers, such as Glassdoor or Indeed, to make sure you are accurately reflected. If needed, comment on past reviews to show understanding of critiques or describe changes made.

Know what you need. Today’s job applicants are in high demand, and likely evaluating multiple opportunities against one another. It’s important you are able to clearly articulate the job’s requirements and duties and understand exactly what qualities are needed to succeed in each position. The more specific the conversation about the position, the more likely you are to entice an applicant to choose you.

Relax requirements. Make sure that the job requirements listed are actually needed for the position. It’s possible that, with a little additional training, relaxed requirements could add significantly to your hiring pool while bringing new skills you didn’t know you needed.

Button up your process. Today’s job market is moving fast! If you have not updated your process to accommodate for quicker decision making, you will be left behind. Find ways to streamline the steps so that you can get more value out of each meeting with the applicant, ensure timely response times by your internal decision makers, and always follow-up with applicants as soon as possible. Even if they aren’t the right fit for the job now, you may want to recruit them for another opportunity later.

Relook at the office experience. Workplace flexibility is likely here to stay, with many applicants craving a hybrid or remote work experience. Consider how you can accommodate different workstyles, and you’ll widen your candidate pool. You will likely find more diversity in applicants, as well.

Focus on retention. High-retention workplaces tend to employ more engaged workers, according to Netsuite. New employees bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to an organization but losing key talent can cause employers to lose the in-depth knowledge and experience of current employees. Increase the focus on retaining your current employees by providing opportunities for growth, acknowledgment of contributions, great benefits, and more work/life balance.