5 Ways to Get More Candidates to Accept Your Offers
In the words of Joni Mitchell, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?” We often take for granted the better things in life when we get used to having them done a certain way.
Employers are used to having the upper hand with candidates. However, as the economy improves and and top candidates gain access to more opportunities, hiring professionals and recruiters have to change their attitudes. It’s a candidates market out there, so you’ll need to adopt new strategies if you’re going to succeed.
Here are five ways to win the war for talent today:
1. Employer Branding
Understanding what motivates job seekers is pivotal for employer branding. Job seekers now place more emphasis on professional growth, cultural fit, and fulfilling careers than they ever have before. In fact, 64 percent of millennials would rather make $40K at a job they love than make $100K at a job they think is boring.
To effectively engage top candidates, employers should promote their brands in unique way that set them apart from competitors. Like any other product or service, employers have to sell their companies to candidates.
2. Company Culture
According to CareerBuilder, Nearly 80 percent of millennials look for people and cultural fit with employers, and 83 percent of candidates would accept a salary 5 percent lower than the expected offer if the company had a reputation as a great employer.
Companies should be honest about their cultures and use personality assessments to help determine which candidate are good fits. Positioning the cultural message in a way that shows candidates they are valued and recognized will go on a long way in attract the best talent.
3. Compensation and Benefits
Seventy-six percent of millennials say the retirement benefits offered by a prospective employer are a major factor in their decision to accept or reject a job offer.
Today’s job seekers are more savvy than their counterparts in previous generations, thanks in no small part to the sheer number of resources they have at their disposal. They are more likely to be informed about industry standards when it comes to salaries and benefits.
4. Expedite the Process
One of the most effective ways to land a top candidate is to get there first, which is why time is so important during the interview process. Employers should work to make the interview process as quick and efficient as possible.
Transparency is also important during the interview stage. Communicate to candidates about how long the process will take and when they should expect to be contacted. It can make a world of difference: Only 26 percent of employers communicate to candidates about their status in the interview process. If a candidate is on the fence about your company, a complicated and lengthy interview process isn’t going to convince them to stick around.
5. Start Onboarding Before the First Day
Onboarding is an afterthought for many companies. Only slightly worse than this is the fact that some companies wait to start onboarding new hires until their first day on the job. This is foolish.
The moment a candidate has accepted an offer should be the moment you start thinking of them as an employee. This means getting their paperwork out of the way, reaching out to them about seating and technology preferences, and introducing them to teammates before the big day.
Obviously, you can’t send proprietary information before the employee walks in on their first day, but you can make them feel welcome in the days before their arrival!
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Gone (at least for now) are the days when employers had the upper hand in the job market. Employers have to work harder to win over the candidates they want in this economy. It doesn’t have to be difficult. Small tweaks here and there can help employers acquire the talent they have been missing out on.
A version of this article originally appeared on the Click Boarding blog.
Christine Marino is the chief revenue officer at Click Boarding.