4 Ways to Overcome Recruiting Obstacles in 2012

Recruiters have seen huge fluctuations over the past five years. Not only have the changes been economically influenced, but also technologically. Due to this, the face of recruiting has changed in many ways. Some are definitely for the better, while other changes have left difficulty in their wake.

Let’s look at four key recruitment obstacles and how you can overcome them:

1. Company Brand Building

You need to leverage all of the right tools to appeal to prospective candidates. When candidates look at companies, they aren’t just looking at the pay, but also the complete picture of what the company offers them. They hope to work for companies they want to work for.

Many candidates turn to social networks to see the company brand and get a sense of its personality. They’re also getting more adept at identifying the types of jobs that are the right fit for their personality and thinking about what type of employer will make them happy. A lot of people aren’t just looking for jobs, they’re looking at the company, their ethos, benefits, working environment, etc. With this said, your company will have to have an environment conducive to making people want to work there.

Employees these days desire great healthcare coverage and are more prone to go for positions with flexible hours or work options to ensure a good work-life balance. Play up all of these parts of the job offering if it has them. Share the perks of the job on the company Facebook page, upload videos of the office atmosphere on YouTube, etc. This can help potential employees discover if they would be a good fit for the company and the position.

2. Choice

There are so many ways in which candidates can search for jobs these days, including job boards, social networks, and company career sites, which makes it easier than ever to search for jobs all over the country. This means job seekers can be more selective.

This may sound odd, but create some obstacles for them so they know that you only want the best candidates. In short, play hard-to-get because people want what they can’t easily have, and the more they have to do to get the job, the more alluring the position might appear.

3. Focused Recruiting

There are so many job postings to apply to. You will need to make your job posting stand out from others by appealing to the right audience at the right time. You may have a sea of candidates to sift through because you are casting too wide of a net. It is important to make your posting as clear and concise as you can as to the qualifications you need candidates to have so you can deter people who are not going to be the right fit.

With so many job boards and places to advertise jobs, it’s difficult to get the right job in front of the right person — so how can you do this?

A great place to start is with your current employees. Encourage referrals and have them come up with their own network of trusted qualified candidates. This is also a great way to screen candidates as well. Current employees likely won’t suggest someone who is not a good fit for the opening, and will be happier working with people they get along with well. Have your employees use their social networks and use your company social networks along with the other forms of advertising.

When choosing job boards, think about the websites that make the most sense. Reduce your recruiting cost by only choosing the boards with the audience you need. Look for niche communities in the industry that offer opportunities for posting jobs.

Also, remember that the candidates that you want to appeal to will look for positions by choosing keywords, so you will want to make sure to use keywords that are standard for the industry, and certain phrases in the job qualifications, in order to match up with what candidates are searching for so they will find your posting.

4. Retention

This is often an obstacle because many employees are not a good fit from the beginning in a job. In fact, 84 percent plan to leave their jobs in 2012 due to this very reason. If you can keep good candidates after recruitment, it will make your job much easier. If you have taken all the above measures then you are halfway there…but the rest is up to management and morale of the company.

When employees are happy with their challenges at work, their rewards and recognition, and they feel like they are valued, then they will feel like your company is a place they want to stay. Retention doesn’t mean that recruiting will end. There are always going to be spots to fill and if the company is thriving due to having great employees, you will have more jobs to fill due to company growth!

Overcoming these recruitment obstacles is not an impossible feat if you use all the tools available to find the right candidates. It may take some research and time to figure out the best tactics, but all of your resources are at your fingertips on the web.

What other recruiting obstacles do you see cropping up this year?