Create an Internal Talent Marketplace

An internal talent marketplace (platform or interface) allows employees to showcase their skills and interests, apply for open positions, and connect with hiring managers. It creates transparency and enables employees to take control of their career development.

It also gives managers and company leaders insight into the skills that their existing workforce has now or wants to learn in order to forecast and close future skills gaps by moving skilled employees into new roles.

Jessica Miller-Merrell
Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Workology

Try Monthly Career Planning

Employees can often be terrified of raising career questions with their immediate boss—scared it could lead to reduced trust or worse…termination. To boost internal mobility, organizations have to actively encourage managers to set regular checkpoints with team members where long-term career planning is the focus (a monthly cadence is my personal recommendation).

Having done this twice recently, the common refrain I hear is, “Why would you allow your employees to move to alternate teams?” My response is simple: I’d always prefer talent to remain within our company, and if we can develop an appropriate transition plan, then there is no downtime, compared to if the employee becomes frustrated and ultimately leaves, causing a far greater burden than if we found a new home for them within the same company.

Patrick Ward
Founder, NanoGlobals

Share Stories of Growth

Spread the word when employees are promoted! When staff members are celebrated publicly, it can inspire everyone.

Your employees will feel empowered to create their own paths to success within the company. Consider an internal page on your website where employees can share success stories and you can feature open roles. When your team celebrates each other often, a culture of growth develops!

Liza Kirsh
Chief Marketing Officer, Dymapak

Post Internally First

To encourage employees to apply for internal positions, begin by posting the position internally only. Post positions in-house for at least 14 days before sharing externally.

This will encourage and give employees the opportunity to apply before having to compete with a wider applicant pool. Many internal candidates won’t apply, as they fear they won’t be able to compete, especially for higher positions. However, these employees have company history and knowledge that can’t be replicated. Show your employees that promoting from within is a priority for your company.

Asker Ahmed
Director and Founder, iProcess

Facilitate Employee Development

In my expert opinion, one of the most effective ways to improve internal mobility is by investing in employee development.

Well, employers should provide opportunities for their employees to learn new skills, take on additional responsibilities, and advance their careers. This can be done through job shadowing, mentoring, training programs, and offering tuition reimbursement for further education.

Rene Delgado
Founder and CEO, Shop Indoor Golf

Increase Transparency and Communication

In my expert opinion, to improve internal mobility, employers should increase transparency and communication with their employees. This includes providing clear job descriptions, career paths, and performance expectations.

Employers should also provide regular feedback and have open discussions with employees about their career goals and aspirations. This will help employees understand what opportunities are available to them and how they can advance within the company.

Matthew Appleton
E-commerce Manager, Appleton Sweets

Implement a Formal Internal Mobility Program

Experts prefer this, employers should implement a formal internal mobility program that outlines the process for internal job postings, transfers, and promotions. The best thing about this program is that it should be easily accessible to all employees and should be regularly updated to reflect the changing needs of the company.

The program should also be supported by senior leadership and be communicated clearly to all employees to ensure that everyone is aware of the opportunities available to them.

Alice Hall
Co-Founder and Creative Director, Rowen Homes

Cross-train Employees

Generally, each employee holds a single job description or list of tasks and responsibilities at one time. Employees, and their leaders, may consider this to be a level of internal comfort, whereby most people know their place and expectations.

This level of operation comes at a cost to individual employees who seek to learn more about your business operations and even contribute more to its success. Employees who aspire to higher levels of responsibility and authority need to know that this potential is realistic.

Evidence may come when certain opportunities for cross-training are advertised. Employees, for example, who are generally in a customer-facing position may be offered exposure to the internal operations, such as customers’ order processing.

For those seeking to reach higher and organizations valuing the skills and experience of tenured staff, internal mobility can be improved when staff is building upon skills, rather than only perfecting their original job description.

Ashley Kenny
Founder, Heirloom

Develop a Comprehensive Career Development Program

The best way to improve internal mobility for employees is to provide a clear path forward for career advancement. If you’re in a position where you’d like to move up in your organization but don’t know how or if it’s even possible, it can frustrate and demoralize you. We want our employees to feel empowered and confident in their ability to advance within the company, so we ensure they have access to guidance and resources that will help them get there.

One way to do this is to develop a comprehensive career development program. This program should give employees the tools and help they need to improve and advance in the company. This could mean having access to opportunities for training and growth, mentoring and coaching programs, and career counseling services. Also, organizations can create a culture of continuous learning and development by giving employees at all levels of the organization opportunities to learn and grow.

Kimberley Tyler-Smith
VP, Strategy and Growth, Resume Worded

Ensure that You Have the Proper Technologies

Big businesses, in my perspective, hold a complicated web of opportunities. It is understandable that hiring managers will find it difficult to balance hiring requirements with existing internal expertise. Increasing the visibility of opportunities and simplifying the identification and development of internal talent, talent management software helps make sense of it all.

Seek software with professional progression and internal mobility features. This will assist you in systematizing your efforts and making internal mobility accessible and realizable for the entire organization.

Joe Troyer
CEO and Growth Advisor, Digital Triggers

The post Improving Internal Mobility for Employees appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

If Hiring at Scale, Advertise on Job Search Sites

The answer largely depends on the scale of the hiring and the skill set the employer wants the interns to have. You can quickly and inexpensively hire one intern with widely shared skills by advertising your job through the schools closest to where the job is located. The larger the number of hires, the more unusual the skill set and the greater the number of candidates you’ll need to enter the hiring funnel.

This typically means investing hundreds of hours of staffing time over 12-15 months to identify target schools, plan with them to interview on-campus, and then travel to and conduct the interviews. Or, you can do all of that within a few weeks and at about 10 percent of the cost by reaching students as you would almost any other candidate: through relevant, niche, and general job search sites.

Steven Rothberg
Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, College Recruiter

Host a Booth at a Career Fair

Host a booth at a career fair to recruit student interns. Many universities offer a career fair once or twice a year to introduce students to the working world and help them land an internship or a job. When hosting, you can establish a working relationship with students and tell them about your brand, mission and values, and make them aware of any open internships you have for the upcoming season. It increases brand awareness while recruiting students.

Ann McFerran
CEO, Glamnetic

Maintain Alumni Connections

Assuming you liked your alma mater, there is no better place to recruit. Fellow soon-to-be alumni most likely have a lot in common with your thought process and rigor.

Although this could create a monoculture, I have often found it’s a smart place to start because you have to jump over fewer barriers to develop credibility. The ecosystem of the university aligns alumni with business success, so it’s useful to align business goals with secondary benefits like media attention or class credit for the interns.

Trevor Ewen
COO, QBench

Employ a Multifaceted Approach

With our institutes and NGOs, we employ a multifaceted approach that addresses the unique needs and motivations of the student population. This approach should leverage a mix of traditional and modern recruitment methods, including social media campaigns, campus events and targeted outreach to career centers and academic departments.

Businesses must prioritize their internship programs by offering meaningful work experiences, professional development opportunities and mentorship programs that align with students’ career aspirations. By doing so, businesses can attract and retain top talent while bolstering their brand and reputation in the marketplace.

James Scott
Founder, Embassy Row Project

Make It Worth Their While

If you want to recruit high-quality interns, see them as an integral part of your organization. There is always this misconception in the corporate world that companies do interns a favor by giving them a chance to earn important work experience. While this is true, let’s also not forget that interns represent a unique type of raw talent that you can use for the organization’s best interests.

So, instead of just offering internship programs for the sake of it, make your program worth it. Create a budget for it and make sure your interns get some stipend to cover their expenses. Make sure you also offer credible career growth opportunities for these emerging professionals.

Do not pick someone just to assign them to coffee duty or somewhere in the mailroom. Let them get up close and personal with the core operations of the business, where they can learn and appreciate the work.

Logan Nguyen
Co-Founder, MIDSS

Develop an Appealing Internship Program

An attractive internship program will draw the attention of potential student interns. Take the time to create a well-structured program that outlines tasks, provides learning opportunities and offers flexible hours. You should also consider what perks you can provide that would entice students, such as a stipend or transportation help.

Matt Teifke
CEO, Teifke Real Estate

Use Your Greek Organization’s Local Chapters

I’ve had outstanding success in recruiting students by utilizing the local university chapters of the Greek organizations that I and my network are members of. The students and sorority/fraternity members must motivate themselves to provide a great impression and work output for their organizations’ alumni to maintain top grades.

They also have experience working in a group, working on multiple projects of various kinds and understanding that their work will be scrutinized from a variety of perspectives. They can make incredible interns.

Jeanne Eury
Owner, 8 Arms Group

Look for Those that Exhibit a Passion for the Field

You can most effectively recruit student interns if you look for individuals who are passionate about the field. When recruiting, look for individuals who have a genuine interest in the field—this will guarantee their dedication and eagerness to learn.

When I was in the recruiting field, I found that the best interns were those who had previous experience in similar fields, such as volunteering at a charity or doing research on a particular topic.

I also actively sought interns who showed initiative and had the desire to learn more about the industry. Interns who truly love their work will undoubtedly do better than those who take the job for other reasons.

Pete Evering
Business Development Manager, Utopia Management

Reach Out to University Career Centers

Many universities have dedicated career centers that connect students with internships and job opportunities. By reaching out to these career centers and establishing a relationship, you can tap into a pool of highly motivated and qualified candidates who are actively seeking internships.

The second step is to look beyond candidates’ resumes and grades when hiring student interns. Instead, search for applicants who exhibit originality, zeal and a will to meet challenges.

For instance, I’ve previously hired interns who had launched their businesses or assumed leadership positions in extracurricular activities. These encounters can show traits that are helpful in a startup environment, such as problem-solving, teamwork and resilience.

Percy Grunwald
Co-Founder, Compare Banks

The post How Do I Recruit Student Interns? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Lack of Tech Savvy

One of the biggest issues that Generation Z recruiters face is a lack of connection with prospective candidates. Gen Zers are more tech-savvy, so they prefer digital communication over face-to-face interaction. That can make it difficult to create an authentic connection and build rapport with potential recruits.

If a recruiter doesn’t take the time to build a relationship with the candidate, they may be perceived as a “ghost recruiter”—someone who quickly contacts a candidate and then disappears.

To avoid this problem, recruiters should try to stay connected with prospective candidates over longer periods of time through multiple channels, such as email, social media, and text messaging.

Aviad Faruz
CEO, FARUZO

A Counter-offer From Their Current Employer

I’ve recently learned how many professionals, especially Gen Zers, look for job offers while already employed to negotiate their salary in their present workplace. Since they aren’t serious from the beginning and only need an offer in hand to prove their worth where they’re already working, they end up ghosting the recruiter involved.

With the looming recession forcing businesses to save costs, getting a raise isn’t as straightforward as it once was. Proving you have an offer ready if you’re denied a raise can sometimes help you get that much-needed salary jump without switching jobs.

While a few applicants are moral enough to excuse themselves, most don’t bother notifying the recruiter that they’ve accepted their company’s counteroffer and are, therefore, turning down the new opportunity.

Anjela Mangrum
President, Mangrum Career Solutions

Misrepresentation of the Position

If a candidate feels like they have been lied to or misled about the requirements, responsibilities or work environment of the role, that will cause a major loss of trust in the company. Lying about or misrepresenting a role is a good way to lose candidates from any generation.

The younger the candidate, the less patience they tend to have for this kind of behavior, and Gen Z in particular is likely to drop out of the application process without feeling the need to explain why. This is especially common with “remote-washed” positions, which seem to be fully remote from the job posting but in reality use a hybrid model, or are even mostly in-person.

That said, any change to the role’s responsibilities, compensation, benefits or work environment from what was originally described to the candidate is at risk of prompting them to ghost, especially if they feel the deception was intentional.

Archie Payne
CEO, CalTek Staffing

Taking Too Long to Respond 

As a recruiter in the tech niche, I am increasingly hiring Gen Z candidates. A key concern that comes up is how long it takes to hear from the recruiter/hiring manager/employer.

Gen Z grew up in an era of instant feedback, a phenomenon mostly driven by social media and they are not used to long waiting periods. Some have said that they deem it rude when they do not hear after as little as five days and will not hesitate to cut all communication and move on if this happens.

You might come back to them a few weeks later with a job offer, only to find that they will not respond to your messages or calls. Even if they haven’t accepted another job offer, they’ve definitely grown disinterested in yours.

Adding a disclaimer in the job posting on how long candidates might have to wait to hear from you can keep them engaged. And engaging them throughout the waiting period, for example, by sharing helpful content and updates, will keep top talent in your pipeline.

Joe Coletta
Founder and CEO, 180 Engineering

Unclear Job Descriptions

A lot of us have endured agonizing silence while waiting to hear from a potential employer, only to hear nothing at all. In actuality, though, it’s not only the recruiters who are ghosting the candidates—now it’s the candidates themselves. Some job seekers are quitting contact and responding to companies giving no notice. What is the cause, though?

The reason candidates are ghosting is that most of them reconsidered during the interview process or had done more research on your business after the fact. Although Gen Z isn’t afraid to turn down an offer if the job or benefits aren’t what they expect them to be, they usually know how to be polite. Gen Z already has the power to demand things like high pay or flexible work.

However, the candidates will ghost recruiters back if recruiters are unclear about the entire recruiting process and they feel ghosted. Always be upfront about the details of the offer and the expected hiring schedule.

Andre Oentoro
Founder and CEO, Breadnbeyond

Bias in the Recruitment Process

Gen Z candidates are among the most awakened and knowledgeable about workplace diversity, equality and inclusion. For recruiters interviewing candidates for a company with a flawed recruitment process, this becomes a sign of further problems down the line and in the organization in question.

Owing to their inclination to work for inclusive companies, Gen Z candidates will “ghost” recruiters from companies that they sense have bias, which may be clear in the language they use to advertise open roles in the company or in the requirements they mention.

Liam Liu
Co-Founder and CMO, Parcel Panel

Poor Communication

Gen Z is used to immediacy and fast-moving environments. Poor communication about the hiring timeline can lead Gen Z candidates to believe they’re no longer in the process if they haven’t heard from recruiters in just a couple of days.

When hiring managers and recruiters fail to keep candidates in the loop and cannot establish clear expectations for them regarding the steps and duration of the hiring process, candidates may choose to forget about the application and move on to other job opportunities.

Andrei Kurtuy
Co-Founder and CCO, Novoresume

Using a One-Size-Fits-All Approach

I was guilty of approaching hiring in a one-size-fits-all manner when I first started out as a CEO. But as I grew in experience, I came to see that this wasn’t the ideal strategy, particularly for Gen Z. People want to know that their unique skills and interests are considered and that they are more than just a resume. Gen Z prospects can see that you regard them as people and are interested in what they offer by personalizing the hiring process.

One strategy I’ve found to be effective is to provide each Gen Z prospect with a tailored message in an email or phone call. I spend a few minutes looking over their website or LinkedIn page, and I say anything I found intriguing about their educational background or professional experience. This shows my interest in them as a candidate and that I have taken an effort to get to know them.

Percy Grunwald
Co-Founder, Compare Banks

The post What Makes Gen Z Ghost Recruiters? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Reconsider Your Benefits

Your normal benefits package is likely less exciting to new graduates than to your more seasoned employees. If you want to successfully recruit fresh graduates, rethink the benefits you’re offering.

They’re often more interested in flexibility, values and giving back than they are in salaries or great health insurance. It doesn’t take much, but a few benefits specific to the younger generation will go a long way.

Logan Mallory
Vice President of Marketing, Motivosity

Make Relationships With Universities

Recruiters interested in recruiting recent graduates should create relationships with universities. Many universities have career departments that can help connect companies with recent graduates.

Partnering with universities can help recruiters reach a pool of qualified candidates. The relationships that recruiters build with universities can lead to participating in on-campus recruiting events, such as career fairs.

Bryor Mosley
Career Coach, Southern New Hampshire University

Emphasize Mentorship, Advancement and Development

Fresh graduates understand they’re going to be entering the workforce at the entry-level, but they don’t want to stay there forever. If you make it known that you’re a company where they can learn new skills, take on more responsibility and grow their career, you’re not only going to attract more recent graduates for your team, but you’ll also better target the top talent among them.

The graduates who will find advancement, mentorship and other ongoing development most enticing are the exact people you want to hire: those who are passionate about their careers and invested in ongoing learning and growth.

In many cases, these kinds of benefits will be more enticing for recent graduates than a role with a slightly higher salary or other workplace perks, because smart job seekers see how mentorship and skill building will lead to roles with a higher salary range in the future.

Matt Erhard
Managing Partner, Summit Search Group

Don’t Be Exploitive

Businesses have a bad habit of preying on those new to the field. We’ve all heard stories of terrible internships, paid or unpaid, and entry-level jobs that count on a person’s desperation to begin work in their field. Do not be a source of these practices.

New graduates, especially in current times, don’t have nearly as much luxury for gaining experience versus necessary compensation. Expecting someone to take a mediocre job with terrible benefits because they’re fresh to the field will be viewed poorly by graduates.

Even if they do take your job, you can be certain that they will split their attention due to needing to find other methods to make ends meet. If you want to attract recent graduates, offer opportunities that any worker would be interested in taking. When graduates are treated with respect rather than as opportunities for companies, they’ll be much more receptive to recruiting efforts.

Max Ade
CEO, Pickleheads

Use the Academic Calendar

Most senior college students are not likely to be job-hunting during midterms‌! To maximize the effectiveness of your recruitment campaigns, you must time them well.

Using firm funds to recruit recent graduates during test time is probably not a wise investment. Consider starting your recruitment campaign as the school year nears its conclusion. Not too late that all the other major businesses have beaten you to the top fresh graduates, and not too early that students have not yet considered their post-university employment options.

Strive for the sweet spot that will provide you access to recent graduates at the optimal time. If you are unsure of when to target recent graduates, your network of university and college career services departments can be helpful.

Alexandru Contes
Co-Founder, ReviewGrower

Participate in Career Fairs and Campus Events

Participate in career fairs and campus events to connect with potential candidates and build relationships with universities. This could include discussing the company culture and values, offering internships or entry-level positions and highlighting opportunities for growth and development within the company.

It’s important to be authentic and genuine in your interactions to build trust and a positive impression of the company. Additionally, utilizing social media and online job boards can help reach a wider pool of candidates.

Sam Chan
Founder, PiPiADS

Take a Holistic Look at Each Candidate

No matter the role, it is important to take a holistic look at each candidate to find out if they have the drive to excel and the soft skills to fit within the culture.

Recruiters should consider a few elements key to their strategy:

Identify opportunities to engage. Many campuses organize job fairs or on-campus recruiting. These events are great opportunities to connect with many candidates at once before they graduate.

Consider an internship program. A robust internship program is an ideal avenue to pre-train candidates, plus interns learn if the company culture is the right fit before they become a full-time hire.

Prioritize candidates who want to learn. New grads need to be brought up to speed quickly, and enthusiasm for learning helps them succeed.

Understand core competencies. The necessary skills for a new hire depend on a business’s talent needs. In some industries, candidates may need to have completed specific courses to succeed. In others, soft skills may be more important.

Jill Chapman
Director, Early Talent Programs, Insperity

Showcase Your Company Culture and Values

Recent graduates are often looking for a company that aligns with their values and offers opportunities for growth and development. By showcasing your company culture and values, you can attract fresh graduates who are looking for a company that aligns with their own beliefs and aspirations.

Brendan Bray
Team Manager at EC1 Partners

The post How Do You Recruit New Graduates? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Doesn’t Kill Employee Morale

It is extremely important for organizations to hire from within. This should be the foundation for developing talent and limiting attrition. There is nothing more demotivating for employees than being passed over for a leadership role by outside hires.

Organizations that continuously pass on internal candidates for leadership positions will kill their employee morale and force employee attrition. If your organization does not have an internal candidate that is equipped for the role, that is a direct failure by your company.

You should cultivate talent and train your people to move up in your organization. The goal should be to always have a long roster of talent that you can develop and move to strategic leadership roles.

These people know the company, know the culture and employees, and can seamlessly move into these roles with less downtime. Hiring new people should only be for entry-level and extremely specialized roles, not management.

Mark Smith
Program Chair, University of Advancing Technology

Develops a Committed Workforce

Internal hiring is important for several reasons, but one reason is that it can help to improve employee retention. When employees see opportunities for career advancement within their organization, they are more likely to stay with the company and invest in their work. This can lead to higher levels of employee engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity.

Internal hiring allows the organization to tap into the knowledge and skills of employees who are already familiar with the company culture and values, reducing the time and costs associated with onboarding new employees. The employer values their contributions and invests in their career development, which can help to create a more positive and committed workforce.

Salman Aslam
Managing Director, Omnicore Agency

Keeps Your Culture Strong

Hiring internally means keeping control over the culture you’re trying to create. New hires only stand to threaten that delicate butterfly that is culture unless you go to great lengths to verify their working style during the interview process.

Even if you’re careful, you don’t know how the new employee will be until they’re in the mix with the rest of your team. Hiring from within ensures you protect the culture you’ve built while proving to the rest of the team that you prioritize talent from within.

Jonathan Zacharias
Founder, GR0

Preserves Knowledge in the Company

Internal hiring and promotions are key to keeping hard-earned wisdom. While you can train new recruits with impeccable curricula and materials, nothing will replace the wisdom of a long-term employee who has weathered the storms and celebrated the triumphs alongside your company.

They simply have more context and can make decisions that take that context into account. They know the customers and have developed relationships, so keeping them around and rewarding their work with upward mobility or a change of scene can keep that knowledge with your organization. When someone leaves for a competitor, you can bet that hard-earned knowledge is going with them!

Gates Little
President and CEO, altLINE

Helps Your Team Progress

Internal hiring is crucial to show actively to your employees that you care about their progression, and that you can develop their skills to a point of career development through internal promotions.

Without internal progression, retention is likely to suffer as employees only see an “exit,” and no clear means of internal progression.

Tracey Beveridge
HR Director, Personnel Checks

Reduces External Recruitment Risks

Internal hiring is critical for companies as it helps reduce the risk associated with external recruitment, increases employee morale and engagement levels, and better fulfills managerial objectives.

An uncommon example of why internal hiring is beneficial is that it can help develop up-and-coming leaders and executives who have a deep understanding of the organization’s culture and values.

Hiring from within will allow those already familiar with the company to rise quickly in rank to positions of responsibility that many outside hires would need to be trained on before taking over. In addition, having a committed workforce from within fosters loyalty from team members, which further boosts overall productivity.

Grace He
People and Culture Director, Team Building

Eliminates Bad Calls for External Hires

Assessing cultural fit in advance is hard. And if you make the wrong call, culturally unfitting new hires will be gone within months. One advantage internal hires have is that you will already have a clear picture of their everyday behaviors.

Data you will not get in a one-off interview with externals. Don’t hire for skills; hire for attitude—and assessing attitude with internals is way easier.

Veronika Schäfer
Head of Learning Science, Zavvy

Spares HR From Drowning in Resumes

Resumes flood companies and we’ve all heard the stories of HR professionals who felt overwhelmed with the amount of information they have to process. So why not make their lives easier?

Internal recruitment can be a real game-changer for the recruiters’ workload, as it spares them the complex process of verifying new candidates’ qualifications. Cutting down recruitment stages is a perfect way of quickly covering emerging vacancies.

Not to mention reducing time-consuming onboarding processes. Sometimes the best solutions are hiding in plain sight, and managers overlook the fact that the most excellent candidate might be the one they work with every single day.

Martyna Szczesniak
Community Expert, MyPerfectResume

Bolsters Morale and Engagement

While there are many reasons to prioritize internal hiring, one of the most important is the message it communicates, being that the company values its employees and cares about their career progression.

When a workforce feels valued with a clear path to promotions and increased income, it boosts morale, engagement, and retention.

Hiring from existing talent sends a positive message and confirms the company’s commitment to rewarding talent and hard work. Internal hiring helps keep the highest performers by offering them tangible career progression within the organization.

Candace Barr
Owner, Executive Resume Writer, and Job Search Consultant, Strategic Resume

The post Why is Internal Hiring Important? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Don’t Recruit Just Based on School

Strictly hiring based on background or school is a usual way recruiters show bias. One way we can identify this is with what schools a company focuses on for job fairs. Making sure as a company you focus on recruiting from all levels of schools is a good way to give equal opportunity across the board.

Maegan Griffin
Founder, CEO and Nurse Practitioner, Skin Pharm

Check Your Wording

Double-check the wording of your job postings in order to identify and remove any potentially biased wording. While such wording is often unintentional, it can still disrupt your hiring initiative if it drives away potential applicants before they even think about trying.

You’ll be able to find online guidelines for writing bias-free job postings that will be easy to follow and highly effective. Once you’ve removed any unintended bias, then you’re free to spruce up your posting and inject your personal style into it.

With ‌extra care, you can avoid accidentally putting off potential applicants who might otherwise be an excellent fit for your roles. It may add a few minutes of time to creating your listings, but it will be well worth it for your business if it helps you land quality hires.

Max Schwartzapfel
CMO, Schwartzapfel Lawyers

Conduct Blind Reviews

One thing I have done to identify recruitment bias is to conduct blind reviews of job candidates. Blind reviews involve removing any identifying information, such as names, genders, dates of birth, and even universities attended, so that decisions can be made on the merits of a candidate’s qualifications alone.

This process removes potential sources of bias by preventing hiring managers from making assumptions based on demographic or other non-essential factors. Additionally, I have conducted surveys among my recruiting team to understand their own personal biases and experiences before developing an interview rubric for screening applicants.

Employers can also use data analytics on the impact of different recruiting strategies. For example, you could analyze whether certain recruitment channels are leading to more success in terms of applicant quality or diversifying your talent pool, versus looking at individuals who applied through less effective channels.

Travis Lindemoen
Managing Director, nexus IT group

Use a Standardized Interview Process

Companies should judge people on their credentials and achievements. If a company judges candidates during recruitment on their race, gender, beauty, or any other illogical thing, it’s highly unethical.

You can identify recruitment bias by using a standardized interview process. In this type of interview, an employer asks candidates the same set of questions for the designated position. It strongly minimizes biases in recruitment. We can fairly judge candidates based on their performance in the interview and the quality of their answers.

Don’t forget to set the questions according to the skills and abilities required for the particular job. This way, you can easily identify whether the interviewer is trying to discriminate. It is now a highly prevalent method of interviewing to avoid any unnecessary issues during the interview.

Saikat Ghosh
Associate Director, HR and Business, Technource

Do a Thorough Job Analysis

An effective approach to uncovering recruitment bias is to conduct a comprehensive examination of our job requirements and responsibilities. By gaining a clear understanding of what our positions entail and how performance is measured, we can pinpoint any potential biases in our hiring procedures. This vigilance enables us to eliminate discrimination and ensure that all applicants are evaluated fairly, regardless of factors such as their race or gender.

Kimberley Tyler-Smith
VP, Strategy and Growth, Resume Worded

Look for Patterns

This might sound bad, so please hear me out: but diversity isn’t just about goodness; it also is an incredible strategic advantage. For example, we actively review our recruiting practices nonstop, intentionally looking for patterns of new recruits.

If our engineers seem to reflect too many males, we go back over applications looking for females who might have been overlooked. This tactic has improved our skill sets and functional capabilities within the first year.

The old days of using “it’s just business” to rationalize building a company of people, all from one demographic, are over. Diversity is here to stay because it’s more than just good—it’s good business.

Shaun Connell
Founder and CEO, Credit Building Tips

The post 6 Ways to Identify Recruitment Bias appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Creates More Person-Job Misfits

During a recession, most companies try to cut costs by laying off several employees at once. Of course, a job market with few jobs and many job seekers can often result in more person-job misfits.

A person-job misfit happens when an applicant is hired for a position for which they do not fit. It can be because of over-qualification or irrelevant skills and experience. Basically, this leads to a mismatch between job seekers and available jobs.

During a recession, companies may focus on hiring individuals with more experience, regardless of their skills and values. This is because companies are less willing to put time and money into training new talent. They would rather have someone who can start off strong.

Additionally, job seekers would be more eager to secure employment, so they would accept jobs that are not a good fit for their skills and experience. This means that they could settle for jobs that do not use their full potential.

Paw Vej
Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Transforms Entry-level Applicants from More Experienced Careers

Recessions can wreak havoc on entire industries, and the employees in those industries are going to transition to other spaces that aren’t as affected by economic downturns, even if it means starting over. Someone with ten years of retail experience is going to move on to something in the digital realm because that is where the jobs are going.

If you’re in an industry that is attractive to those leaving a floundering industry, you’re going to have more applications to wade through, and a higher percentage of those applications are going to be filled out by people with little-to-no experience in your sector. You also have to decide whether to take a chance on one or more of those candidates, which can be a big thing to consider.

Brittany Dolin
Co-Founder, Pocketbook Agency

Lowers Overall Likelihood of Hiring

One significant effect is that organizations are less likely to hire new workers due to cost-cutting measures. This means that employers are more selective in choosing candidates and may even place a moratorium on certain types of positions.

Additionally, job seekers may be more cautious during a recession since they may not be sure if their job is secure or not. This can lead to more competition for fewer positions and longer hiring times. Companies are also likely to offer lower salaries than during periods of economic stability, which can lead to job seekers feeling less motivated to apply for jobs.

Brenton Thomas
CEO, Twibi Digital Marketing Agency

Places More Obstacles in Front of Recruiters

In the short term, businesses may lay off existing employees or stop hiring new ones altogether. Additionally, businesses may freeze pay increases or salaries may be reduced because of less demand for products or services by customers and clients.

Recruiters will have a harder time convincing potential candidates that this is an ideal time to join the business when there are no benefits, like increased pay or job security. On the other hand, in the long term, recessions often lead well-positioned organizations to target new markets with innovative solutions by newly hired personnel during economic upturns as they prepare for future growth prospects.

In addition, during times of economic uncertainty, there is less competition among applicants, making it easier for recruiters to select top talent from a larger pool of applicants compared with previous years when the competition was fierce. Astute recruiters can look past general resumes and focus on what makes each applicant unique.

Travis Lindemoen
Managing Director, nexus IT group

Limits an Employer’s Ability to Give Raises

A recession can have a notable effect on recruiting efforts, as businesses struggle to maintain multiple departments with limited financial resources.

An example of this is the inability of many employers to give raises; although it is likely that workers will continue to be recruited, it may be at the same salary as before or even lower sometimes, which reduces the overall money available. This lack of growth potential could further limit the pool of qualified applicants who are willing and able to take on new job opportunities.

Grace He
People and Culture Director, TeamBuilding

Changes Recruiting from One Phase to Another

Although the number of job opportunities may decrease during a recession, the recruiting function remains robust. It alters from trying to find qualified applicants who are looking to change building a talent pipeline for future needs.

Many more talented people who are currently employed are open to a dialogue in an uncertain economy, so if you concentrate your efforts on talent acquisition, you can create a pool of fantastic candidates that you otherwise might not have been able to reach if the economy was strong.

Dave Haney
CEO, Surety Systems, Inc.

Generates a More Helpful Situation

Contrary to what many companies believe, as a veteran recruiter, I contend that one of the best times to recruit is during a recession. Here’s why—during a recession, most companies halt their hiring. By continuing to interview, and possibly hire, during slow economic times sends a clear message to those talking to you that your company is resilient.

In addition, with fewer companies interviewing, you are less likely to get into a bidding war against another firm vying for the same candidate. Also, your chosen candidate will probably not be receiving a counteroffer from their current company.

Obviously, you don’t want to offer them a lower compensation package, but you definitely will not get into a bidding war and have to overpay. Finally, during a recession, many external recruiters may discount their fees in order to get your business. All good reasons to continue recruiting regardless of the economic climate.

Jamie McCann
Executive Recruiter, 3AM Marketing Services

Shifts to Working With Limited Resources

Business owners and leaders are feeling pressure to reduce costs and overhead, leaving recruiters to work with very limited resources, especially as costs continue to increase. As such, the cost of recruiting has gone up significantly, and resources available to recruiters will continue to decrease.

It’s no secret that economic uncertainty impacts recruiting. 2022 was a year of increasing inflation, leaving many companies actively contemplating cutting recruiting resources in order to save costs. This not only slows hiring in different industries, but it also can negatively impact the company’s bottom line.

Yes, recruiting is expensive, but it’s also necessary. The recruiting process sets the tone for a new employee’s entire experience. As a company, you want to present yourself as strong, inclusive and encouraging. Cutting recruiting resources will make your company seem essentially cheap and uninviting, and this deters quality talent from walking through your doors.

David Lewis
CEO and Founder, Monegenix

Increases Talent Quantity, but not Necessarily Quality

The reality is that yes, there’s more talent on the market, but that doesn’t mean there’s more exceptional talent on the market.

The last few years were a candidate’s market, where they were demanding high salaries and expected certain lifestyle accommodations. Many companies had to make hires based on tight budgets and where the market was, which was extraordinarily competitive.

This is a time to really dive in and assess your team’s skills against the business outcomes you seek. If you do not feel you have the best-in-class talent to achieve those outcomes, it’s a good time to network and up-level your talent or invest in upskilling your current team.

Kristine Shine
Founder and CEO, Shine Talent

The post How Does a Recession Affect Recruiting? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Conduct Regular One-on-One Meetings

There are several reasons conducting regular one-on-one meetings is a good practice for encouraging employees to apply for internal positions.

First, one-on-one meetings are an effective way of spotting exceptional talents within your workforce. It also allows you to focus on analyzing and providing feedback on their performance and prevents external blockers from impeding doing that. Hence, if an employee is performing great on a project, you can readily discuss internal mobility opportunities with him or her during these meetings. That way, you’ll make sure that opportunities are given to the right people.

Additionally, one-on-one meetings provide you with an easier way of gauging your employees’ needs. During these meetings, employees are more open to talking about their morale and productivity issues regarding certain tasks or projects. Hence, once an employee becomes unhappy with his or her position, you can discuss internal opportunities with him or her.

Paw Vej
Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Recognize Your Workforce

One powerful way to encourage employees to apply for internal positions is to create a culture of recognition and reward. This can be done by recognizing employees who have applied for and been successful in internal positions and rewarding them with bonuses, promotions or other incentives.

Providing your employees with access to resources such as career development programs, mentorship opportunities and job postings can help them feel more confident in their ability to apply for internal positions.

Ultimately, creating a culture of open communication between management and employees ensures that they can feel comfortable asking questions and expressing their interest in internal positions.

Ryan Rottman
Co-Founder and CEO, OSDB Sports

Send a Personal Invite 

We send a personal invite to key individuals we think would be a great fit for the role to build their courage to apply. We detail the email with why we think they should apply, how we would support them in the role and additional role details.

Even if the employee doesn’t get the offer, they know we selected them to apply, and that their team thinks highly of them. If an employee doesn’t get the offer, we share feedback and create a plan to build certain skills and gain experience.

Nicole Serres
President, Star Staffing

Encourage Individuals to Switch Jobs

Show your employees from the beginning that your company has many paths to advancement. Allow your A-listers to take center stage during employee orientation. Has anyone, say, moved from payroll to marketing to management? How did she plan out her career?

Tell tales that show why your staff members shouldn’t limit themselves to a single function. Solicit their interest in other available positions. Maintain this upbeat attitude even after training has ended.

For instance, if a new position opens up, you could notify the entire company via email. Or, you could make an internal board and publish a notice on the company intranet. Employees frequently misjudge the availability of opportunities because they are unaware of what is out there. And keep an open mind if an employee approaches you about leaving to pursue another opportunity. Don’t automatically label someone as a “technical engineer.” They might have unseen strengths in business development.

Samantha Odo
Real Estate Expert and Chief Operating Officer, Precondo

Get the Positions in Front of Them

At an organization with a lot of moving parts and constantly changing hiring needs, your employees may not have the time to go in and check the internal career site regularly.

We use multiple channels to ensure our people know about our current openings, and we pin a link to our career site to our internal communications hub. Our weekly newsletter calls out the opportunities in a section specifically for hiring. We also often spotlight open positions on our social media channels.

The benefit of this strategy goes beyond internal applicants, as it can also promote awareness that can drive additional employee referrals!

Patrick Ward
Manager, Talent Acquisition, Halloran Consulting Group, Inc.

Provide Mentorship Opportunities

I best encourage and support my employees to apply for internal positions by offering mentorship opportunities.

As you know, most times, employees may not apply for internal positions because of a lack of experience or uncertainty about the position’s duties. But for us, mentorship programs have been extremely effective in helping employees feel more confident in applying for internal positions and taking the next step in their careers.

With those programs, we provide a support system that not only helps employees understand what we expect of them in different roles, but also helps them to develop the skills and knowledge required to succeed in those positions.

Plus, our mentorship programs also provide a valuable opportunity for employees to network and build relationships with other professionals within the organization, which opens up extra opportunities for growth and advancement.

So, it’s an exciting chance to take on new roles with confidence.

Maria Harutyunyan
Co-Founder, Loopex Digital

Socialize Internal Positions With Slack

If you want to encourage employees to apply for internal positions, consider socializing the opening via Slack. It’s a simple and easy way to create more awareness of new career opportunities for current employees.

By sharing the opening in one or more Slack channels, you’re spreading the word internally much quicker than asking your team, “Who do you know?” Doing this early in your search will give you a clear sign of whether the right candidate exists internally or if you’ll need to pursue external candidates.

Tim Butler
Manager, Talent Acquisition, Sourcing Team, New Relic

Stretch Initiatives for Your Staff

In the growth of employees, pacing is crucial. Employees can gradually broaden their skill sets by taking on challenging new tasks as part of stretch initiatives. Tell your team members why they were chosen to work on these projects to avoid any confusion.

Employees become much more invested and engaged when allowed to voice their opinions, since they are aware of the potential effects on both their personal lives and the success of the company.

As the year progresses, have follow-up discussions regarding these stretch goals. This allows your staff a chance to communicate with you about what’s working and any difficulties they are experiencing. Your staff should gradually feel more comfortable with their abilities and be prepared to assume even greater responsibility.

Michael Koh
Senior IT Director, PropNex

Link the Opening to their Career Development Plan

Employees like to know what their next role will be. What skills do they need to reach that next promotion or lateral move? With well-organized career development plans and a skills inventory in each employee’s profile, I can easily see which employees are the best qualified for open positions.

Once the position is advertised internally, employees can see right away if they meet the requirements and if the position is on their development plan. I can then work with employees’ current managers and hiring managers (if different) to schedule interviews. It’s important that these impactful conversations occur directly between employees and managers, so that team members feel valued.

Susan Snipes
Chief People and Culture Consultant, GoCo

Streamline Internal Recommendations

One way to encourage employees to apply for internal positions is to emphasize company loyalty by streamlining internal recommendations. This method is a way to show employees they have an advantage over outside candidates. Having an internal recommendation for a job opening within the company will encourage employees to see a long future within the company.

Lionel Mora
CEO, Neoplants

Promote Growth and Development Programs

Employees who know their company cares about their growth and development are more likely to stay. That’s a fact. Create a program that allows your employees to share their desires and simultaneously help your leaders develop their teams. It can be that simple.

Irma Parone, ODCP
President, Parone Group

Be Transparent About Career Paths and Discuss Goals

One way to encourage employees to apply for internal positions is by facilitating open and honest conversations about career paths. By allowing time in the workday to discuss personal goals and ambitions, employees can determine if an internal position is a good fit for their professional development.

Additionally, providing resources that help explain job expectations, qualifications, roles and duties may help make applying for an internal position more transparent and inviting. Offering incentives such as monetary rewards or extra vacation days can further reward employees to pursue opportunities within the company.

The most important factor in retaining talented employees is recognizing their hard work and investing in their growth. Providing mentorship programs, special projects or additional training can show employees that their efforts are valued and appreciated.

Darren Shafae
Founder, ResumeBlaze

Cultivate High Employee Satisfaction

Studies show that companies with high employee satisfaction rates often have the highest internal application rates. This is because a happy employee will want to learn and grow within their current space, whereas an unhappy employee will seek opportunities elsewhere.

So, how do I keep my employees happy? Open communication. Talk to people with whom you work. Find out what their biggest frustrations with their current position are and what they wish the company would do differently. I promise the insights will pleasantly surprise you.

McKay Simmons
Account Executive, Ignite Recruitment

The post How Do You Encourage Employees to Apply for Internal Positions? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Incentivizing Existing Employees Instead of Recruiting

Hiring during a recession is certainly more difficult, as employers search for capable and available candidates who often overlook such opportunities while they wait for the economy to pick up again.

An uncommon approach to recruiting in 2023 could be to focus less on job seekers and more on talent retention—by providing better incentives than the competition for current employees, organizations could ensure a steady pool of talent ready for new responsibilities, regardless of the economic climate.

Tasia Duske
CEO, Museum Hack

Focusing on Entry-level

Typically, it is a lot easier to hire people during a recession. Since a lot of businesses want to minimize their costs by cutting down their workforce, it means that there are a lot more candidates than there are open positions. Hence, even if you simply stick with your current recruiting approach, you should be able to pool a significantly greater number of applicants compared to normal.

However, while recruiting talent is easier during a recession, retaining talent is much harder. During this time, there is a lot of movement since people are constantly seeking companies that offer better pay or a better work environment.

To address this, our recruiting strategy for 2023 would be to hire more fresh graduates or candidates with minimal experience. Since not a lot of companies are willing to hire these types of candidates during a recession, we’ll face no shortage of applicants, and we can make sure that they will stick with our company in the long term.

Paw Vej
Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Proving Your Company Is Recession-proof

People often transition from one industry to another during economic downturns. They see that certain industries suffer the most during recessions, and on top of that, never bounce back. Lots of people have left print journalism because of declining revenues and resources. Lots of people left the real estate and retail industries during the Great Recession. Many others left the food-and-beverage industry during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As one industry diminishes in terms of manpower, others show signs of growth. Consumer habits also change a lot during a recession—and many of those changes become permanent, often bolstering entire industries. If you’re in a space that shows signs of being recession-proof, the public is going to notice. Job seekers, in particular, are going to notice—and they’re going to want to apply for jobs at your company. You can use that to your advantage.

Brittany Dolin
Co-Founder, Pocketbook Agency

Viewing Recessions as Opportunities

While some companies are starting layoffs and hiring freezes, others see it as an opportunity to bring in skilled staff members. On the verge of an impending recession, a large number of Silicon Valley businesses are suspending hiring and implementing mass layoffs.

For instance, in a note, Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, stated that the layoffs would continue throughout 2023. Tech behemoths like Apple, meanwhile, see the economic downturn as an opportunity. For instance, Apple hired top engineering talent during the economic downturn following 9/11, which allowed the company to introduce the iPhone and iPod in the following years. Business executives must therefore see the recession as an opportunity for long-term growth and act accordingly.

Brian Clark
Founder, United Medical Education

Increasing Digital Marketing and Virtual Tool Usage

It is not necessarily easier to hire during a recession, as there is likely to be more competition for fewer jobs. During a recession, it is important to focus on recruiting the right talent who are driven and have the skills to help your business succeed.

My recruiting strategy in 2023 is to focus more on digital marketing to reach out to a broader candidate pool, and use targeted outreach to find the best talent. Additionally, I will be utilizing virtual recruitment tools to streamline the interview process and enable more efficient decision-making. I will also be leveraging data-driven insights to ensure that my recruiting strategy is aligned with my business goals.

Tawanda Johnson
HR & DEI Consultant, Sporting Smiles

Optimizing the Candidate Experience

The candidate experience will continue to be a deciding factor in competitive hiring. Over the past year, we saw that candidate experience was a critical, deciding factor in the overall success of the recruitment process.

From recruiting to screening to interviewing, providing constant communication, and building a positive candidate experience can make a significant difference in the candidate’s perception of a company and their decision to accept a position.

As the labor market continues to be in turmoil in the coming year, hiring teams will need to build brand-rich candidate experiences that include opportunities to demonstrate their skills through ethical, science-based job previews and/or simulation assessments and offer personalized feedback—as close to real-time as possible—while also providing an opportunity for the candidates to experience what the job is really like.

Eric Sydell
EVP of Innovation, Modern Hire

Leaning into Remote Hires With Diversity and Inclusion

It can be easier to hire during a recession, as there may be a larger pool of unemployed or underemployed individuals looking for work. When there’s a recession, people are more likely to take whatever job they can get—even if it’s not perfect for them or their needs—because they need the money.

This means that companies can find great talent at a lower price point than usual. However, it also depends on the specific industry and job market conditions. Recruiting strategies are constantly evolving and can change depending on economic conditions. We are focusing more on virtual recruiting and remote hiring due to the shift towards remote work. Additionally, we aim to build a diverse and inclusive workforce as part of our recruitment strategy.

Kimberley Tyler-Smith
VP, Strategy & Growth, Resume Worded

Involving the Extended Team in the Process

During a recession, the job candidate pool gets bigger, which is both good and more challenging. An attractive job opening will generate more interest, more candidates and a bigger pile of resumes and cover letters to wade through. You will probably need more people to sift through all of the applicants.

Finding the standouts becomes more labor-intensive, so you will need to devote more resources and personnel to assist you in compiling the best group of candidates. Sometimes, you may need to ask non-managers to help you with that. Call on your top producers to help you, as they know better than anyone else what skills are required to excel at your company. Seek feedback and assistance from them. Hiring during a recession typically calls for more manpower.

Juan Pablo Cappello
Co-Founder & CEO, Nue Life

Finding the Pros and Cons

Yes, it’s a great time for individuals who have taken the plunge to explore something new, such as freelancing or side hustles. This is how startups are born.

Right now, we are seeing Microsoft investing $10 billion in OpenAI but laying off 10,000 staff at the same time. Freelancing opportunities work well during recession times for those who take the brave decision because it pays well and, for the employer, it’s a low-risk strategy.

On the employment side, hiring during a recession can be tricky, and it really depends on the situation. Companies may have limited resources and budgets, so they may have to be more selective in whom they hire. On the other hand, there could be a large pool of qualified applicants, which gives employers plenty of options to choose from. Ultimately, it’s important for companies to carefully assess their needs and figure out what hiring approach works best for them.

Harman Singh
Director, Cyphere

The post Is It Easier to Hire During a Recession? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Start With Identifying Standards

The biggest misconception we have about identifying bias within a recruiting process is that we can easily spot it while we are in it. We usually spot bias in hindsight—or at the very least, after it’s too late to do something about it.

Identify bias by identifying standards for recruiting questions and evaluation metrics. Have hiring partners give anecdotal and quantitative scores and hold them up against predetermined standards and metrics.

Joey Price
Owner & Podcast Host, Jumpstart:HR

Look at the Outcomes

If your headcount is diverse, you are likely doing something correctly. If you continue to hire a homogeneous group of people despite interviewing diverse candidates, then no matter what process you are using, you’ll see your approach is off.

This is obviously a lagging indicator since the hiring has to be completed in order to reveal bias, but after a round or two of hires, you should be able to see whether your process supports a diverse team. It’s also important to be aware of unconscious biases in the recruiting process in order to avoid them, such as confirmation bias, affect heuristic, the halo or horn effect, affinity bias, conformity bias and gender bias.

In a competitive talent landscape, we can be quick to hire for fear of losing a great candidate, but snap decisions can lead to bias—even if it isn’t intentional! We need to take time to ensure the best fit and commitment to DEI.

Amy Spurling
CEO & Founder, Compt

Create a Clear and Structured Process

It is inevitable to be influenced by bias during the hiring process; however, if you begin by assessing the required skills and values your company looks for, it will help to strengthen the process.

Refrain from using excuses such as “the individual appears more motivated” or “the applicant will work well with the team” as a justification for hiring. If the groundwork is done and you remain consistent, that should be enough.

Carlota Montoro
International Talent Consultant, Independant Consultant

Use a Multi-modal Approach

Bias can easily infiltrate any recruitment process, as all people inherently have biases. To counteract this, a multi-modal approach is crucial in order to create an unbiased hiring process.

One option is to use structured interviews, where all candidates are asked the same questions and evaluated based on predetermined criteria. This can help to reduce the influence of unconscious bias and ensure that you evaluate all candidates fairly. Having a diverse hiring panel can also help to reduce bias in the recruitment process.

Even with structured interviews and a diverse hiring panel, there may still be instances of bias. Another way to address this is to use objective measures, such as skills tests or work samples, to evaluate candidates besides interviews. You can also use blind resume reviews, where names, addresses and other personal information are removed from resumes to prevent bias based on factors such as race, gender or socioeconomic background.

Cristina Imre
Executive Coach & Mentor for Founders, Quantum Wins

Examine the Beliefs that Shape Your Company

As an anthropologist, I recommend examining the power dynamics and the cultural values and beliefs that shape the organization. These dynamics and values often result in implicit biases in the recruitment process.

To identify bias, it’s crucial to regularly review and analyze the data and metrics related to the recruitment process, including demographic information and hiring outcomes. This analysis can reveal disparities and provide insights into where biases may exist.

Once bias has been identified, it’s essential to address it proactively through training, education and implementing strategies to increase diversity and inclusiveness in the recruitment process. This can include creating more diverse interview panels, using objective and standardized evaluations and promoting a culture of open communication and inclusiveness.

Matt Artz
Business Anthropologist, Matt Artz (Consultant)

Be Mindful of the Screening Process

One way to mitigate bias in the recruitment process is to be mindful of the language and criteria used to screen and select candidates. Automated screening tools can help to identify issues such as gender-specific language, that may cause discriminatory practices.

Once any biases have been identified, it is important to develop a plan of action to address them. This could include implementing fair recruitment policies, training hiring managers on unconscious bias and introducing diversity goals and initiatives. When communicating with hiring managers about candidates, be as gender-neutral as possible. Refer to the candidate as “the candidate” rather than saying “she” or “he.”

Tawanda Johnson
HR & DEI Consultant, Sporting Smiles

Employ AI Judiciously

Unconscious bias often happens in the recruiting process as teams innately gravitate toward candidates with similar characteristics and backgrounds, rather than focusing specifically on more objective information, like job-relevant skill sets and potential for success.

Because of the powerful nature of AI algorithms, hiring teams can mitigate bias during the interview and assessment process by matching candidate skills to job-specific roles to identify the best fit. Additionally, algorithms trained with protected class data can identify previously undetected biases, and once they are identified, they can be removed from the decision-making process. This is the case, of course, as long as the AI recruiting system does not introduce its own biases; we must employ AI judiciously and sparingly to mitigate and identify bias.

Eric Sydell
EVP of Innovation, Modern Hire

Review Percentages

I’ve been fortunate to have had a lot of candid conversations over the years with a lot of employers, recruitment process outsourcing companies and recruitment advertising agencies. Many of those conversations have centered on the efforts by some employers to reduce bias in their recruitment process in order to be more inclusive and increase the diversity of their workforces. However, many of the conversations have also centered on how to increase bias in order to be more inclusive and increase the diversity of their workforces.

Bias isn’t necessarily good or bad. Bias can mean increasing your outreach to under-represented groups in order to be more inclusive. If the employer believes that the existence of bias is leading them to be less inclusive and so they want to identify and then eliminate that bias, one of the best approaches is to first identify and measure the total addressable market and then compare that to your marketing funnel at each stage from top to bottom.

Steven Rothberg
Founder & Chief Visionary Officer, College Recruiter

Introduce Multiple Perspectives

Many candidates who have interviewed with large companies such as Amazon report they had to go through “rounds” of interviews with various managers across the company. This process reduces chances of favoritism, preferential treatment or other forms of bias, so I recommend considering introducing multiple managers from different areas to do “short-round” interviews with a potential new candidate.

Amri Celeste
Interview Coach, A Celeste Coaching

Educate on How to Recognize Biases

Unconscious bias is prejudice or stereotyping that can influence decisions without conscious awareness. Several types of unconscious bias may be present during recruitment processes, such as:

• affinity bias (the tendency to favor people similar to oneself)
• confirmation bias (the tendency to see information that confirms one’s beliefs while ignoring evidence that contradicts them)
• in-group bias (the tendency that people have to favor their own group above others).

To prevent unconscious bias from influencing recruitment decisions, organizations must take proactive steps. Companies should create a comprehensive hiring policy with concrete guidelines for DEI in recruitment, implement measures such as blind screening and standardized interviews during the selection process, provide DEI training on how to recognize unconscious biases and consider using outside recruiters who specialize in diversity recruiting.

Vivian Acquah
Inclusive Workplace Wellness Advocate, Amplify DEI

Identify Patterns and Develop a Bias Reduction Plan

Use blind recruitment techniques such as removing all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from the resume screening process. Consistently use structured asynchronous video interviews with Whitebox Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is trained to be blind towards age, gender, ethnicity for a fair and objective assessment approach.

Also, use diverse interview panels and train your recruitment teams on the importance of diversity and inclusion. Once you have the data to identify any patterns or disparities in the recruitment process, develop a bias reduction plan, monitor progress and continuously review and update your recruitment process.

Sunny Saurabh
Co-Founder & CEO, Interviewer.AI

The post How to Identify and Address Bias in the Recruitment Process appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Bring in Gamification for Talent Acquisition

In the near future, I believe we’ll be seeing much more gamification when it comes to talent and hiring tools. It will allow us as employers to assess candidate abilities in creative ways that go beyond traditional methods like interviews or written tests, making it possible to evaluate skills like problem-solving ability or creativity through gameplay instead of asking about them directly. Plus, they’re fun — which is just an added bonus!

The same goes for career development, gamified tools can help employees gain new skills while having fun! It’s an engaging way for individuals within an organization (as well as those outside who may want access) to customize their own paths without fear of failure: mistakes made during practice won’t have irreparable impacts on their career paths, unlike real-life experiences may have done!

Overall, I think using gamification will revolutionize how companies attract top-notch candidates, something I’m looking forward to seeing over time!

Maria Harutyunyan
Co-Founder, Loopex Digital

Heading Back to the Basics With More Personal Recruiting Efforts

Recruiting is selling the best person for the job on the fact that you’re the best employer to offer them a job. While I’ve seen the upfront cost-saving benefits of a well-streamlined hiring process, employers still need to tailor their approach to the individual they are looking to hire. Resume parsing, knock-out questions, video interviews and automated workflows are all great, but it’s the personal touches that make the difference.

Have the hiring manager or even someone a level up in the organization reach out to a highly sought-after candidate directly. Take them out to lunch at their favorite restaurant. Give them an office tour and introduce them to their coworkers. If the position is remote, an Uber Eats gift card and a face-to-face Zoom call with the team can go a long way.

Susan Snipes
Chief People and Culture Consultant, GoCo

3D Virtual Reality Interviews Will Be Used

Talent and hiring practices are constantly being impacted by the ever-evolving technology landscape. One future prediction I see for talent and hiring practices is the use of virtual reality (VR) interviews. With VR, companies can simulate an entire interview process with a potential candidate in an immersive 3D environment, enabling them to make more informed decisions about who to hire.

Not only does this provide a more accurate assessment of someone’s competencies, but it also allows employers to save time and resources when interviewing candidates from all around the world without any travel costs. Moreover, it offers applicants a much safer and more comfortable way to express themselves than most traditional recruitment methods.

Grace He
People and Culture Director, teambuilding.com

Application of AI in Talent Searches and Recruitment

We have seen the application of AI in recruitment over the last year, and we expect this to ramp up significantly in 2023. AI will be used to automate some of the processes involved in recruiting, including scanning candidates, screening resumes and developing suitability models to help recruiters narrow down their search for talent.

We may also start seeing AI interviews in 2023. Candidates may literally sit down with an AI where they will answer questions, after which the AI will screen and shortlist candidates based on predetermined criteria. This may help to remove some of the instinctive human biases that often arise in traditional recruitment methods.

Logan Nguyen
Co-Founder, MIDSS

Hiring Tools Will Be More Prominent

The use and development of talent and hiring tools will continue to gain traction and will be more prominent in 2023. Integrating them into our system will be easier, and they will be part of every automated process. This will start with creating job descriptions that will attract more people, automating the search and filtering of applicants and will continue into payroll and employee evaluation. Getting the right talent and hiring tools will be essential in kick-starting your automated process. The success will set the tone for all other automated systems and will give it an excellent head start.

Fawaz Naser
CEO, Softlist

Rely On Automated Recruiting Tools to Sift Applicants

As the great resignation continues, recruiters will rely more heavily on automated recruiting tools to sift through a surplus of applicants. While some may fear that these computerized systems will replace more human elements of the hiring process, the truth is that they simply can’t do that. Computers are limited in the information they can gather about a candidate based on their resume alone, and they need human input to better understand the potential of a candidate and to verify details. So, while the computers gather information, they leave the final decision to recruiters who can then use the tools to narrow down their choices.

Matthew Ramirez
CEO, Rephrasely

Social Media Screening Tools Will Improve

My prediction is that we will see a resurgence of powerful hiring tools for social media screening and background checks. Recruiters will want to know if candidates have what it takes to represent the company on social media in a respectable and appropriate way. According to Statista, we’re spending more than two hours daily on social media and that number is probably going to go even higher, and recruiters will want to know if our social media tendencies are appropriate or not.

Natalia Brzezinska
Marketing & Outreach Manager, UK Passport Photo

The post The Future of Talent and Hiring Tools: 7 Predictions and Trends appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Since 1976, every U.S. President has designated February as Black History Month. This recognition is not limited to the United States. Other countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black histories. But is this enough? Simply put, no, it’s not. Especially in the workplace.

There’s no time like the present for companies to take an introspective look at their hiring, retention, and promotion practices to see if they’re prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Keep reading to learn more about where we collectively stand with DEI in 2023.

The Current State of DEI Affairs

It’s been a tough few years.  From the global pandemic to the war in Ukraine to an uncertain economic future, employers and employees both have faced challenges in (and out of) work.

But what does that mean for DEI in the workplace?

According to a recent report by Workhuman, “2023 will begin with a test of organizational commitment to the day-to-day work of inclusivity, equity, and diversity.”  According to Dr. Meisha-Ann Martin, Senior Director of Research and People Analytics at Workhuman, leaders are often tempted to cut certain priorities in the face of a looming recession – and DEI may be one of those.

And, apparently, Workhuman isn’t alone in this prediction.

According to the 2023 Monster Work Watch Report, 11 percent of employers say that DEI programs are “among the first to go when they are forced to cut costs,” coming in third behind organizational events and bonuses. Additionally, only 5 percent of recruiters say that DEI efforts are among their top three priorities.

So, where does this leave us as we move forward in 2023?

Embracing Organizational Transparency Will Be Key to Attracting and Retaining Diverse Employees

According to Workhuman’s January 2023 index, employees are questioning their leaders’ commitment to DEI.

For example, the index showed that:

• 17.1 percent of respondents are concerned about their future at their employer because of the lack of diverse leadership and voices.
• 21.1 percent of respondents are “questioning the intentions” of their leaders around social justice issues.
• 32.8 percent of respondents claimed they would consider leaving their employer if their DEI strategy doesn’t improve within the first six months of 2023, with employees of color reporting the highest percentages.

These results should not be taken lightly. Clearly, employers need to re-think their communication and branding strategies around DEI as we head into the second month of 2023.

If employers want to distinguish themselves when recruiting and retaining employees, they should focus on transparency around diversity at all levels of the organization – from eliminating unconscious biases in the hiring process to (truly) supporting employee resource groups – and everything in between.

In other words, they must show their true commitment to maintaining a diverse and equitable workforce at every point of the employee journey. Here are three ways employers can demonstrate transparency in the workplace in 2023.

3 Ways Employers Can Demonstrate Transparency in the Workplace

• Prioritize Open Communication:  For DEI initiatives to be effective, organizations must foster a supportive (and accepting) environment for open communication.  This will not only result in honest conversations around DEI, but it will also build trust between employers and employees.
• Increase Your Diversity Hiring: Employers should continue to increase diversity in their talent pools. The more diverse candidates are, the more a company will realize increased creativity, innovation, and profits – helping to stave off economic uncertainty.
• Don’t Just Know the Numbers; Incorporate Data Into Your DEI Strategy: Understanding industry and company data is one thing.  Incorporating it into a company’s DEI strategy and holding them accountable to their goals is another.  And with the need for additional transparency, companies can use this data to build a “DEI strategy scoreboard,” helping to build visibility.

In 2023, employers must continue to prioritize DEI with visible action and accountable transparency. Doing so can help employers deliver positive outcomes in recruitment, retention, and promoting talent in what looks to be a challenging economic landscape.

The post Celebrating Black History Month with a Look at DEI in 2023 appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Not Valuing Soft Skills in Employees

Not recognizing the value of soft skills is one mistake to avoid when conducting employee skills assessments. Soft skills — such as communication, problem-solving and collaboration — are critical for workplace success and should be measured alongside hard skills required for job roles.

This can be avoided by encouraging employees to speak up during their assessments and posing questions that focus on their ability to perform less skills-based tasks within their role. An uncommon approach could include assigning a project or task in advance of the assessment, giving candidates an opportunity to demonstrate both technical and interpersonal skill-sets in a more natural setting than a traditional interview or assessment.

Michael Alexis
CEO, swag.org

Confusing Skills With Other Characteristics

You may be measuring skills in the hiring process and using this information to match candidates to jobs. Keep in mind, many skills can be trained. Other aspects of fit can be predictive of job success and long-term retention and can be very fair to diverse candidates.

Hiring teams have access to science-based candidate insights to help identify and hire the right talent. Virtual assessments with job simulations, like Modern Hire’s Virtual Job Tryouts, provide a realistic preview of a typical day on the job while measuring a host of job-related characteristics that are critical for success.

VJTs can even predict the success of a candidate in the open position and recommend them for the job; they can also predict the likelihood of the candidate not working out. By embracing science-based assessments, HR leaders can focus on hiring qualified candidates that are likely to have a positive impact on the organization, while increasing retention and reducing turnover in the new year ahead.

Eric Sydell
EVP of Innovation, Modern Hire

Basing the Assessments Solely on Job Performance 

While job performance is an important aspect of an employee’s skills and abilities, it is not the only one. Other factors, such as communication skills, problem-solving abilities and teamwork, can also be important indicators of an employee’s skills and potential.

To avoid this mistake, it’s important to use a variety of assessment methods, such as interviews, observation, and testing, to gain a comprehensive understanding of an employee’s skills and abilities.

Additionally, it’s important to ensure that the assessment is job-related and measures the skills and abilities that are necessary for successful job performance. Involving multiple people in the assessment process, such as managers, supervisors and peers can help with this problem. This will provide a more well-rounded view of an employee’s skills and help to mitigate any bias that may be present.

Paw Vej
Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Not Sticking With an 80/20 Formula

An over-reliance on skills assessments can lead to concerns when you hire new employees. A skills assessment doesn’t take into account work ethic, workplace experience or other pertinent information that hiring managers must take into account before hiring someone.

If someone scores well on the skills assessment, that should be part of the calculus of whether that candidate is worthy of being selected, but it should only be a small part of it. I think 20% is acceptable. Some might think 25% or 30% is more appropriate, but ultimately a candidate should be hired based on their performance at previous employment stops. Aptitude matters, but it isn’t the only thing that matters.

Brittany Dolin
Co-Founder, Pocketbook Agency

Turning It into an Employer Skills Assessment

Questions matter. Skill assessments have their obvious origins in employee and/or candidate evaluation. When labor markets are tight, as they have been for some time, prospective and current employees scrutinize the employer as much or more than they are being scrutinized at every turn in the candidate/employee lifecycle.

Skill assessments can reflect positively on a company, have a negligible impact or make a company look really bad. While I’m sure other responders will dive into the specific reasons this can happen (gender bias, lack of accessibility, etc.), my overall point is to remove any possibility that the tables can be turned on the employer.

Jeremy Ames
Senior Manager, Accenture

Basing Solely on Job Title or Tenure

Avoid basing the assessment solely on an individual’s job title or tenure. This can lead to inaccurate or incomplete assessments, as an employee’s job title or tenure does not necessarily reflect their current level of skill or proficiency.

It’s important to use a variety of assessment methods that provide a comprehensive view of an employee’s skills. These methods might include:

• Job performance evaluations
• Skill-specific tests or assessments
• Self-assessments
• Peer evaluations
• 360-degree evaluations
• On-the-job assessments
• Training and development opportunities

It’s also important to provide employees with clear criteria and performance standards, so they know what they need to do to demonstrate their skills and abilities. And be sure to communicate with the employee in advance on the areas and skills that will be focused on in the assessment. This will enable them to prepare adequately and be ready to demonstrate their skills.

Johannes Larsson
Founder & CEO, JohannesLarsson.com

Not Involving Employees in the Process

One mistake to avoid when conducting employee skills assessments is to assess employees on items outside of their job descriptions. We can avoid this by ensuring that the skills assessments are specific to the tasks and responsibilities associated with our employees’ jobs.

It is important to provide the team with clear instructions and guidelines on how they should complete the assessment, so they have a better understanding of what is expected of them. Involve your employees in the assessment process and ensure that their feedback is taken into account.

Christa Reed
Head of Job Market Research, JobSearcher

Not Giving Employees the Chance to Upset Your Biases

Let’s face it. We are humans, and every human is fundamentally a box of biases. These biases are not all inherently evil, as they are generalized predictions from the repetitiveness of previous experiences.

When you have two or three employees with a significantly shared trait repeat the same outcome, a manager would be naturally prone to associating such outcome (or skill or deficiency) with that trait and expecting another entirely different employee with that trait to repeat the same outcome. This is a bias.

But when conducting employee skills evaluations, strive to give employees an even playing field to upset these biases. Don’t be too quick to tap into the predictions of your existing biases. “Oh, he has X trait, he should automatically excel (or struggle) at Y skill”..don’t be too quick to assume. Strive to treat each employee as a new entity and give them a blank slate to prove their capacity and surprise you.

Lotus Felix
CEO, Lotus Brains Studio

The post 8 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Conducting Skills Assessments appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

• • • I Make Job Offers Announcements Fun
    • Prioritize Alignment to Values, Checks and Balances and Speed
    • Job Offers Are Based on Potential and Fit
    • We’ve Got a 2-step Process: Meet & Greet and Skills Assessment
    • We Check For Technical Ability and Behavioral Fit
    • We Use An High Touch Approach and Position-Specific Compensation Research
    • Search Committees Recommend 3-5 Applicants and we Take it From There
    • We Review Resumes to Identify Desired Skillsets and Monitor Red Flags 

I Make Job Offers Announcements Fun

As a former recruiter, I love being the bearer of good news so I like to make good news fun. Whether it is for a new hire or a new vendor relationship, I enjoy making the candidate/vendor feel special and wanted.

When a candidate hears from the hiring manager it is already a tense call with mostly doubtful thoughts running through their minds. Which is the perfect opportunity of letting them know our team, company, or CEO thought you were “heads above the rest”. I love politely asking “Will you be our Director of Marketing?”

For a vendor, our team requested one last meeting to ask their team questions and as things began to look serious I walked in with bottles of champagne letting them know they won our business.

LT Ladino, CEO & Founder, vCandidates.com

Prioritize Alignment to Values, Checks and Balances and Speed

At nth venture, we start with testing every candidate’s alignment to our purpose: setting talented people free through the value of ownership, and the comp model we have built around that. We also have a question bank aligned to our professional values: Integrity, Discipline and Acumen.

Individuals generally start with the hiring manager or in a screening interview, and then move to a panel interview and finally an interview with our CEO – but it can vary a bit depending on the role.

One important tenet of our process is the concept of “two keys” – no one person can make a hiring decision, they must have the approval of a peer outside their reporting structure (and generally, the whole team participating should be aligned).

Finally, we move fast – we typically go from posting to offer within 3-4 weeks – every req is “top of mind” in part because we run so lean.

Nathan Deily, Chief People Officer, nth Venture

Job Offers Are Based on Potential and Fit

At our company, we make job offers based on the potential and fit of the candidate. We do not have a formulaic way of making offers, but we take into account the candidate’s prior experience, achievements and unique skill set. We also look at the team’s current needs and growth trajectory.

When we make an offer to someone, we do so with the understanding that they will make a significant impact on the company’s growth strategy. This is one of the most important decisions we make, so we take great care in understanding if this will be a good match for both parties.

Admir Salcinovic, Co-Founder, Pricelisto

We’ve Got a 2-Step Process: Meet and Greet, Skills Assessment

Job offers at my marketing job at CyberPilot are offered based on the experience of the two interviews that you have beforehand.

The first interview is a friendly meet and greet! You talk a bit about yourself, ask about the job, your skills, and to see if you fit in with the company in general. If the first interview goes well you get invited to the second interview!

The second interview is where you get to test your skills in the form of a specific case you have to work on. In my case, I had to work on a blog post about a very technical subject and turn it into something that everyone could understand. Luckily it went well. I got a phone call a few days later, where I got offered the job.

Søren Jensen, Junior Digital Marketer, CyberPilot

We Check For Technical Ability and Behavioral Fit

At Disrupter School, we base our job offers based on technical ability and behavioral fit. As great as a good background is, ensuring the candidate can do the job at a high level is essential for us as a small business.

Being a good behavioral fit is our other key requirement. Knowing how a potential candidate will fit within the company culture coupled with their ability makes the decision much easier when we make our offers.

Charles Tichenor IV, Founder, Disrupter School

We Use An High Touch Approach and Position-Specific Compensation Research

We use a combination of a standard offering, position-specific compensation research and a personal call to present the offer.

A standard offer letter is a formal, written offer from an employer to an applicant. It outlines the basic terms and conditions of employment, including salary, benefits and any other relevant information. It is usually sent by mail or email.

A position-specific compensation research is usually completed by our compensation department. It is a detailed analysis of the market data and offers of our competitors in the same role. It is used to inform us of the correct compensation package we should offer the candidate.

A personal call is usually made by our hiring manager or recruiter to personally present the offer. It is used to ensure that the candidate understands the offer and can ask any questions they may have.

Luciano Colos, Founder & CEO, PitchGrade

Search Committees Recommend 3-5 Applicants and We Take it From There

At my company, we have a search committee that reviews resumes and does the initial interview. The search committee will then recommend their top 3-5 applicants and have another interview with the applicant and include the hiring manager. The hiring manager will then decide which applicant they feel is best suited for the position and offer them the position based on a successful background check. HR will conduct the background check and, if it comes back clear, the hiring manager will contact the applicant to set up their first day, etc. HR will take it from there and begin the new employe onboarding process.

Lindsey Hight, HR Professional, Sporting Smiles

We Review Resumes to Identify Desired Skillsets and Monitor Red Flags 

The job offer process at my company typically starts when we begin reviewing applications and resumes. This involves filtering through all of the applicants to find the most promising candidates based on their qualifications, experience and skillsets. We also look for any red flags or warning signs that might indicate someone is not the right fit for the job.

Once we have a list of potential candidates, we usually start with phone interviews to get an initial sense of their qualifications and experience. This helps us narrow down our list even further so that only the most promising candidates are invited to come in-person for an interview.

Once we have interviewed all of the candidates that meet our initial criteria, we then make a decision about who to extend an offer to. This is usually based on their interview performance and overall fit with our company culture.

Martin Seeley, CEO, Mattress Next Day

The post How Job Offers Are Made at 8 Companies appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

• • Ask Your Clients for Referrals
  • Reach Out to Conference Presenters/Hosts
  • Check Expat Hubs
  • Host a Pink Slip Party
  • Use Social Media to Source Passive Candidates
  • Check Retirement Communities
  • Find Appropriate Facebook Groups
  • Do an Audit of Past Candidates
  • Use Online Billboards
  • Recruit Diverse Talent at Historically Black Colleges
  • Engage College Faculty
  • Hold an Open House

Ask Your Clients for Referrals

One of the best ways to source great candidates is to call your clients (and competitors of your clients) to see who else they use in your space. 

Who is the best person they have dealt with outside of your company in the role that you are seeking? If you approach someone with a compliment that you have heard that they are great at their job, you will find the discussion starts a lot easier!

Ineke McMahon, Director, Path to Promotion

Reach Out to Conference Presenters/Hosts

I always review professional association annual conferences and professional developments for the speaker line-ups. 

Generally, these sessions host colleagues in the field who showcase their expertise and share their best practices. In this reach, you might also receive generous referrals to other potential candidates. Conference presenters tend to be well-resourced.

Diane Fennig, Senior Consultant, The Gallagher Group 

Check Expat Hubs

One of the best ways of picking up above-average talent is to hunt for expat enclaves online. A bit of Googling will likely locate an expat or transplant group for your city/country/etc. and these groups are usually filled with various experts that are often looking for work but having a hard time finding one due to visa restrictions or something similar. 

If you’re willing to put in the extra time to get them online and operational, then these expat groups can be a substantial source for qualified candidates.

Dragos Badea, CEO, Yarooms

Host a Pink Slip Party

If you are looking for one creative way to source candidates that are available and actively looking, then host a party. The Pink Slip party is an open call to viable candidates who have been laid off, let go, or are considering their options from their current location.  

By shaping a business social scene, you and your team can connect with potential team members in a more meaningful way before a traditional interview process occurs. Here’s how you do it: 

• • Create a call to candidates through social media promotion. 
  • Check the resumes submitted and invite the candidates who better align with the role of the party. Notify those who do not.
  • Communicate with individuals on the team that’s hiring to be in attendance.
  • Create an intentional atmosphere where the company’s culture & sense of community can be experienced.
  • Consider food and drinks. It is a social event. 

If you want to source ready and available candidates and get buy-in from them, create a unique experience—throw a party.

Khalilah “KO” Olokunola, Chief People Strategist, khalilaholokunola.com

Use Social Media to Source Passive Candidates

Hiring managers and HR professionals have a hugely demanding role to play, in that they need to be constantly on the lookout for new talent, maintain their current supply and ensure that they keep hiring processes and systems up to date. 

One of the most creative (but still underutilized) ways to source passive candidates is via social media. Potential new hires are typically relaxed when scrolling social media and are more likely to curiously engage with a job posting. 

Of course, the difficulty lies in being able to pinpoint the exact type of candidate suitable for the role, but with more precise targeting and testing of variables, this can quickly become a go-to creative method for hiring the best candidates.

Tracey Beveridge, HR Director, Personnel Checks

Check Retirement Communities

Resourceful recruiters will find unlimited, untapped talent in retirement communities.

 Having retired, many seniors are more bored than they expected to be. This is especially true after being so isolated during the pandemic. With benefits such as four-day workweeks and remote work (great for those who love traveling), going back to work for them is more attractive than ever.

While you may have to invest in training them in newer technologies, you’ll have experienced talent eager to re-enter the workforce. Sourcing candidates creatively means looking beyond job boards and going into retirement- theirs.

Raina Kumra, Founder & CEO, Spicewell

Find Appropriate Facebook Groups

A company I worked with was having a hard time finding dozer operators for their mining sites. A lot of these candidates are not on LinkedIn or other traditional job sites, especially specialized ones. 

There are, however, multiple Facebook groups focused specifically on dozer operators. One of these groups has over 7,000 members, and some of them are pretty active. So, beyond being able to source candidates directly, you might also get help from the group members in terms of referrals.

Atta Tarki, Founder & Author, ECA Partners

Do an Audit of Past Candidates

The number of times I’ve seen hundreds of excellent candidate profiles go to waste simply because they weren’t accepted for the position they applied for is, quite frankly, shocking. 

Many companies do at least a version of this, by asking candidates to sign up to their employment portal so that they are kept in mind for future opportunities, but I would recommend a more hands-on approach where candidates are filed into various buckets for future role opportunities. 

There are various bits of HR software that can do this, but I don’t see them used to their full potential all too often. Finding new candidates is always a challenge, so why do that when you can mine the ones that you already had some contact with?

Kate Kandefer, CEO, SEOwind

Use Online Billboards

One creative way to source candidates that we just recently started using is online billboards. 

We are trying to catch candidates’ attention by posting a generic job announcement on an online billboard. This job announcement will feature our benefits and direct them to the link to view our job postings.

Lindsey Hight, HR Professional, Sporting Smiles

Recruit Diverse Talent at Historically Black Colleges

One creative way to recruit diverse talent is to host career days with on-site interviews at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to encourage students to apply for jobs at your organization. 

Not only does this allow recruiters to target a diverse channel and access underrepresented populations, but it also allows recruiters access to the next generation of talent entering the workforce and opens up an entirely new pool of potential candidates.

Dr. Shirley Knowles, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Progress

Engage College Faculty

Engaging with local university or college deans and professors can provide you with both student and alum candidates. 

These faculty members have built and maintained relationships with students and business leaders in their fields. They know the students’ work ethic and abilities. Once you have established a trusted relationship, they will encourage their students to apply with you. 

As alumni often maintain relationships with their department faculty even after graduation, they may reach out to see if they know anyone hiring. Networking in this way provides an inexpensive way to recruit talent.

Andrew Adamo, VP, Bullion Shark

Hold an Open House

Tech companies are more than businesses; they’re brands (or, at least, they should be). People want to see the behind-the-scenes magic. How are apps developed and tested? Who came up with that genius code? What new and cool perk have you added to the office? 

Reach out to local colleges, coding camps, and competitors and let them know you’re offering a sneak peek into the inner workings of your company. Promote the event on social media so even customers can get in on the fun. Then, at the end of the tour, let everyone know you’re hiring and encourage them to apply, or spread the word to someone who’s looking. 

Rob Reeves, CEO & President, Redfish Technology

The post 12 Creative Ways to Source Candidates In 2023 appeared first on RecruitingDaily.