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“Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
You’re looking to expand your team. Congratulations on your company’s growth spurt! Now you want to find candidates that fit your company culture and bring the right expertise to the job. While you could just post to one of the huge job sites like Craigslist or Indeed, there are a number of other unique and creative ways to grab the attention of your future colleague, and here are a few…
Offer Rewards: Offer a financial incentive to your current employees to assist with finding their new office buddy who will go the distance. Your staff know best what your company is all about and what success in the job entails. Set them on a mission to find the perfect candidate and reward them accordingly if they succeed.
Turn to your Network: Ask connections on your social networks to recommend people they think might be the right fit for your business. When candidates apply for the job you can see if you have any mutual connections and then reach out to those connections for “insider” information about the candidate.
Hangout: If you want to find the best talent in this hugely competitive market, go to where they are! Attend user’s groups, peruse online forums and read influential blogs; but don’t just lurk, comment and interact so they become familiar with you and your employer brand. Learn how to communicate authentically with the audience you are hoping to attract and you may be rewarded by finding a candidate you never even knew was in the market.
Niche Job Boards: Instead of putting your job listing into the mix of the huge job sites, you can target ideal candidates by using smaller, niche job boards that service specific business sectors and categories such as creative, media, nonprofit, start up, technology, etc.
Go Local: There are local chapters of associations for every possible business field on the planet. By attending association meetings, you might find the right employee with just the right skill set for your company.
Hire Inside: Perhaps the candidate you are looking for already resides within your company. Keep an eye out for existing employees who are up for new challenges and encourage their growth and development by applying for a job outside their prescribed career path.
Heads up for the Boomerang: Don’t forget those great people you’ve previously worked with at different companies or those who worked at your current organization before and might be excited to come back. Either way, reaching out to former colleagues can be an invaluable enterprise when looking to fill a job opening. As an added bonus, you won’t have to time upfront getting to know them – your shared history makes it so you can get down to business.
Eyes Wide Open: Quite often the best candidates already have jobs, so be on the lookout for exceptional customer service and transferable skills, even from people in roles that don’t exactly match your current job opening. The right candidate rarely just falls from the sky, sometimes you have to headhunt and poach.
Cold Emailing: Emailing is still the most effective marketing tool out there. If you craft a personalized, specific email with engaging content for the potential candidate you will probably receive a thoughtful response. Recruiting emails often command more respect and consideration than other forms of less personal approaches.
Alumni trawling: Target the alumni networks of colleges and other learning institutions in line with your job requirement. At a minimum, you’ll know you’re getting a candidate with a strong educational background.
Paid Internships: What? Actually pay an intern? For a nominal fee you can put your intern through a rigorous program to gauge their skills and see if they are a fit for your organization. If they excel, hire them permanently.
Buddy system: What about hiring a trusted, personal friend? You’ll be spending loads of time together and you already have an established level of trust and rapport with each other. Win-win! Be careful though, as this strategy does come with some risks. Make sure your friend is a good fit for your company – and vice versa – or you could be risking more than just losing a new employee!
Virtual “Help Wanted” Sign: Have a permanent “we are looking to hire” button on your website so you can collect resumes from visitors. If individuals are being proactive by searching a company’s website, you’ve already found a candidate who is willing to do some research.
Tried and tested: You can always use a recruitment agency. They are financially motivated to find you the right candidate and they can save you from wading through thousands of resumes.
Fair Trade: While seemingly antiquated, a good old fashioned career fair could be where you meet the perfect candidate. If you prefer to not leave the comfort of your home or office, a virtual one works just as well.
Community Outreach: Approach a nonprofit organization for assistance with sourcing candidates. They are always looking to place their clients in opportunities where they can succeed, and they have usually done all of the necessary background checks for you.
Resume Redux: Keep the top candidates from the last time you hired on file. When a new job opening comes up – go through these files; perhaps you already have the candidate you are looking for right under your nose.
Use Facebook ads: Target your ideal candidate with a targeted ad. This can help separate the wheat from the chaff, and likely cut down candidates that express only a cursory interest.
“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” — Aristotle
Remember that wherever you choose to list your job opening, make sure you have crafted a clearly defined job description. You don’t want to receive a ton of applications from unsuitable candidates. When crafting your description you should illustrate to potential candidates the benefits of working for your company along with a clear description of the job expectations. Keep in mind that it’s crucial that your company culture is also attractive to the candidate. After all, these days companies are judged on more than just the financial compensation given.
Let your job listing speak to potential new hires as if they are a customer or prospect. Really sell them on the promise of your company and its unique mission and values. Go to company review sites to find out the perceived negatives of your particular industry and counteract that with a job offer that addresses job issues head on.
Individuals might look great on paper but can they actually do the job? Trust your instincts and don’t be scared to go after passive candidates (those who already have a job and might not be looking for a new one).
In the end, don’t settle, be patient. Hiring the wrong candidate can drastically affect your business and spark another prolonged hiring search.
If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur. Red Adair
