This article was contributed to RecruitingDaily from Yello, who hosted the event this September in downtown Chicago.

How do you attract candidates to a workplace that’s not in a major metro area? Is investing in radio ads really a forward-thinking move? And on campus, why is it so difficult to get interviews scheduled?

Last week, talent leaders discussed these questions and more as they explored recruitment technology and its future at Recruiting Daily’s #HRTX Chicago 2018 event.

Check out the top takeaways:

Brand, brand, brand

One of #HRTX’s recurring themes was: how to recruit candidates to tough locations. That’s not surprising: much of today’s workforce, especially younger members, place premiums on living in mid-sized and large-sized metro locations. Are recruiters at a disadvantage trying to attract candidates to locations that are more rural, remote, or at a great distance from the nearest metro area?   

Not if you’re leveraging your employer brand. By showcasing your organization’s unique qualities to candidates, you can put a different spin on requisite attributes by building new value propositions. A remote location might not be ideal for everyone, but it might be the perfect place for a candidate that values spending time outdoors or wants to settle down with more space to grow a family.

Humanizing your company is another great way to take full advantage of your employer brand. Through recruitment marketing content that shows off the members of your team in an honest and relatable way, you build person-shaped doors that help bring your organization to life.

Local, local, local

Another recurring issue brought up by talent leaders was the challenge of reaching more local candidates. Most workers prefer living within a few miles of their home — especially hourly employees, 80% of which tend to live and work in a five-mile radius from their job. How do you effectively recruit candidates within arm’s reach?

Surprisingly, an effective but often underutilized tool is taking advantage of local advertising. Local radio stations, local podcasts and even local movie theater screens can place your brand at the front and center of candidates based in any particular region. By speaking directly to an engaged local audience, you’ll be able to reach candidates who are already invested in a particular city who might be looking for their next opportunity.

Personal, personal, personal

Recruiting leaders made it clear that on campus, the next generation of candidates have come to expect more personalized experiences. “Students” can’t just be lumped into one large blob — like any other group, the members of Generation Z all have different needs, interests, and career goals. Some students may desire working at a startup, but others might simply crave stability or the opportunity for growth. Being successful on campus means recruiting with a focus on the individual, not the group.

One common pain point for campus recruiters brought up during the #HRTX panel sessions was the coordination of interview scheduling. When meeting with dozens of students at a campus recruitment event, how can you ensure each qualified candidate is able to find a time to meet up? Yello’s solution is interview scheduling software, allowing recruiters to take full control over the planning and execution of recruitment events. Through an intuitive mobile interface, candidates can self-schedule one-on-one interviews and sessions with interview panels at times that work for both the student and the recruiter. Alleviating this common administrative headache helps recruiters spend more time with more talent.

For the second year in a row, Yello was proud to host #HRTX Chicago and help drive conversations about the future of talent acquisition forward. We’re pleased to be alongside industry leaders striving to achieve the same goal: empowering recruitment teams to humanize the candidate experience.

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Authors
Noel Cocca

CEO/Founder RecruitingDaily and avid skier, coach and avid father of two trying to keep up with my altruistic wife. Producing at the sweet spot talent acquisition to create great content for the living breathing human beings in recruiting and hiring. I try to ease the biggest to smallest problems from start-ups to enterprise. Founder of RecruitingDaily and our merry band of rabble-rousers.