Are Your Recruiters Making These 3 Major Mistakes?

The best practices for the hiring processes in general have changed dramatically over the past few years. The failure to acknowledge the evolving job market and adapt to the demands of today’s job seekers can lead to missed opportunities — and lost revenue.

Here are three recruiting mistakes that may stand between your business and the best and the brightest job applicants.

1. Lack of a Recruitment Strategy

Social media offers an abundance of ways to connect with prospective candidates, but the lack of a concrete, detailed recruiting plan can lead to wasted time and resources. It pays to establish a “big picture” plan in order to determine strategic recruiting goals and the targeted tactics your team will use to achieve those goals.

Does your company lack a clearly defined recruiting plan? Here’s what you need to do:

1. Understand each position you are recruiting for, including everything from key criteria to core competencies and cultural fit. The more specific the job description, the more refined a recruiter’s search will be.
2. Align recruiting goals with overall corporate goals and initiatives.
3. Outline the key deliverables for each stage of the recruiting process.
4. Identify the best recruiting channels for your company/industry/role. Use actual data — don’t just guess.
5. Establish a library of best practices resources and share it with the team.

2. Failure to Sell the Employer Brand

Today’s job seekers — particularly the millennials — aren’t just looking for any old job. They’re looking for companies that share their visions and values. In this fast-paced digital age, job seekers will move on if your employer brand doesn’t hold their attention.

It’s critical for recruiters to catch — and maintain — a potential applicant’s interest by communicating an attractive, informative, and enticing message. Give candidates a reason to connect with your brand and strive to be part of it.

Here are some tips for selling your corporate and employer brand to candidates:

1. Leverage existing proof points. Share industry awards, videos of current employees, and other branding/cultural messages on the company’s website and social media profiles. Share customer success stories, too. Be ready to bring these things up whenever you are communicating with a candidate.
2. Share personal stories that convey your company’s culture. Share insights about what it’s like to work for your company.
3. Go beyond the requisition. Job reqs are often bland. Would you want to work for your company if all you saw was the requisition? Paint a picture of what it would be like working in that role — what the day looks like, what the projects are, and who you’re working with.

3. Failure to Focus on Relationships

A job seeker who isn’t the right fit right now may still have some long-term potential. The best recruiters know that building relationships is an essential part of any hiring process.

By creating and nurturing genuine relationships with candidates, recruiters can build strong talent piplines, ensuring that the right candidates are primed and ready should the right opportunity arise.

So, what can recruiters do to build long-term relationships with candidates who may not be a current fit?

1. Be honest. Let candidates know why they didn’t move on in the process, and why the role wasn’t a fit — and let them know promptly!
2. Offer advice to the candidate. If you see mistakes that raise red flags on their LinkedIn profile, let them know. Point them to additional sources for appropriate roles. Helping others will come back to you in spades.
3. Keep in touch. Send an email periodically, asking about the candidate’s current career situation. Do they have a new role? Are they still looking? Take note of their answers. If personal emails aren’t a possibility, send a useful article once a quarter as a way to reach out and continue to foster the relationship.

It’s a brave new world when it comes to hiring practices, but unprecedented results are within reach for those who stick to winning strategies and avoid these costly mistakes.