While COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc, the employment picture isn't as bleak as it was in March or April.
Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate has declined to 11.1%, as of July 2020. As a result, a majority of businesses are ramping up recruitment efforts to sustain amidst today's challenging climate.
With so much talent to choose from, it might be challenging for companies to find and recruit cream-of-the-crop job candidates.
This blog will detail three effective tips to help businesses locate the best employees and get them onboard.
1. Tap into the power of niche marketplaces
With a growing number of job boards, it’s easier than ever for recruiters to promote vacancies and connect with job candidates.
That noted, if you rely solely on global job boards, like Glassdoor or Indeed, you might end up with a gigantic pool of unqualified candidates that don't fit your requirements. Why? Because most job seekers using global job boards desperately send their applications at whatever comes their way in an effort to land any job they can.
To combat this, try using niche marketplaces. One of the core advantages of such marketplaces is they'll help you find candidates with a unique blend of skills on a resume, as well as industry expertise necessary to succeed in the role. And with COVID-19 making remote work the new normal, you won’t have to be limited to talent in your area.
Here are five niche marketplaces to take advantage of:
Ladders: It focuses on "100K+ talent" and helps recruiters connect with highly-experienced job seekers, mainly for managerial positions.
StartUpers: If you're looking for developers or technical professionals in general, the platform can offer a vast network of experienced candidates.
Handshake: It gives access to over 14 million students and recent alumni to help recruiters connect with young talent early in their careers.
Angular Jobs: It's the perfect option if you're looking for developers and front-end engineers.
Problogger: It's ideal for findings candidates with a knack for writing, copywriting, and SEO.
2. Squeeze the most from referral recruiting
While it's true that outbound recruiting can yield substantial results, you shouldn't dismiss referral recruiting.
For one, referral hires have the highest applicant-to-hire conversion rate of 40% . On top of that, there’s data that indicates that referral hires stay with the company longer compared to other employees. Lastly, around 51% of employers spend less in recruiting costs with employee referrals, according to a Jobvite study.
That noted, most employers have their referral programs running in the background, and as a result, they don't operate at their maximum.
To tackle it, hire a dedicated recruiter to:
Market the program effectively to existing staff.
Continually fish out referrals by combing through employees' networks.
Carry out outreach to prospective hires.
Once you invest enough time and effort into designing and implementing your referral program, you’ll be able to supercharge your recruiting strategy with top-notch human capital.
3. Ask COVID-19 questions
Facebook is looking to transition almost half of its 45,000 employees to work from home. Plus, there are other tech-sector giants like Spotify and Twitter that plan to let their employees work remotely for as long as they want.
But remote work isn’t for everyone. And while it's true that some working professionals can excel in a remote capacity, others may not be cut out for it.That’s why if your business continues to operate remotely, but you plan to re-open brick-and-mortar offices soon, you may want to assess the potential hire’s ability to deal with prolonged remote work via some questions related to COVID-19.
COVID-19 questions to ask candidates include:
How have you been spending your time amidst the crisis?
Do you feel you are more or less productive when working from home?
Have you learned anything about yourself during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Will you prefer to work from home or from our office when it re-opens? Why?
Asking the questions above will help you to gauge the person's resilience, emotional intelligence in general, and how they can deal with crisis situations.
About the author
Max Woolf is a writer. He’s passionate about helping people land their dream jobs through the expert career industry coverage. In his spare time, Max enjoys biking and traveling to European countries. You can find him on LinkedIn.
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