Get Out of Your Recruiting Rut

Another year is almost in the books, with another on the horizon. If your response is “ho hum,” it’s time to shake things up. Recruiting is a dynamic field, with tremendous opportunity for improvement.

Here a few things you can do that will help you become more engaged in your job, and get more candidates to apply to your company.
Revamp your employee referral program. Employee referral remains the top source of external hires. If it’s been a while since you reviewed your program, now is the time to do it. Meaningful incentives can make a difference. If you’re offering $100 for every referral that leads to a hire, your program needs attention.
Update your careers site or careers page. When was the last time your careers site or careers page was refreshed? Relevant content and images of engaged, happy employees help attract candidates. And while you’re at it, think about adding video. Showcase your workplace, let employees talk about their jobs or include a message from the CEO – or all of the above.
Try a new job board or two. If you’ve been posting your job ads to the same old job boards for as long as you can remember, it’s time to branch out. This doesn’t mean you have to abandon your current strategy. Instead, try experimenting with a small percentage of your employment advertising budget. For example, decide that for highly specialized positions you will advertise at niche sites.
Get social. In an age where social media channels have become preferred platforms for conversation, a surprising number of midsize and small businesses still have not embraced social recruiting. Make this the year you will start using social media to promote job opportunities and attract candidates. If you are sort of social, make a commitment to expand your efforts. There’s a reason social recruiting is a best practice.
Explore best practices. Speaking of best practices, tap them for all they’re worth. Even if you’re a small company, there are often takeaways from big company case studies that can help you source, recruit, hire, and retain talent.
Identify bottlenecks. Take a close look at your recruiting and hiring processes, with attention to areas that need improvement. Then fix them. This will reduce frustration for all concerned, including you.
Apply to your own company. If you want to gain insight into your application process, apply to one of your company’s open jobs. Staffing and recruiting consultancy CareerXroads has long advised companies to make time for this exercise. The process often proves eye-opening.
Get creative.  Try something completely different. For example, Definitive Healthcare, a provider of data for the healthcare industry, has held several speed interviewing sessions. Speed interviewing, like speed dating, allows a company to meet with a lot of interested candidates at one time. Definitive Healthcare recruiters have been pleased with the results of these sessions, which take place in the evening – and the company says candidates have fun.

Paula Santonocito, Contributing Editor for Recruiting Daily Advisor, is a business journalist specializing in employment issues. She is the author of more than 1,000 articles on a wide range of human resource and career topics, with an emphasis on recruiting and hiring. Her articles have been featured in many global and domestic publications and information outlets, referenced in academic and legal publications as well as books, and translated into several languages.