Steve Jobs once said that a small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players. The majority of companies would tend to agree with Jobs’ observation but many struggle to attract the A+ players.
To find these A+ players takes an effective and efficient recruiting strategy that exceeds industry standards. Businesses must lose the mindset that it is solely up to the candidate to impress them and not the other way around.
Perhaps the best place to begin when revamping a recruiting strategy is to first identify mistakes that might be discouraging A+ candidates from applying. Here are three common mistakes our team has identified that companies make time and time again that severely hurt their chances of recruiting the cream of the crop.
Communication
This is probably the biggest area where businesses fail in recruiting. The reason for this failure can be traced to the fact that there are a lot of moving parts in the communication between a candidate and hiring authority.
The first two areas that companies should look at when evaluating how well they are communicating with candidates are job descriptions and company description. Candidates value clarity when they are about to take a new job. The less questions they have about the job and company when they are about to make a decision the better. Whether it is online or during the interview, the company’s vision and purpose should be clearly defined and it should be easy for the candidate to see how the job they applied for fits into that vision.
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Once a candidate understands how the job fits into a business’s vision, it’s important to communicate how the candidate can fulfill the role. If a candidate isn’t quite clear how their skills are relevant or applicable to a position, it’s very likely they will continue to search for other opportunities.
Effective communication is just as important post interviews. Candidates want to know where they stand in the process and how much longer they have to wait for a decision. They also may have lingering questions they may want answered post interview, and it should be someone’s duty to follow-up on those questions in a timely fashion.
Timeliness
Being timely can be a tricky balance for companies when it comes to making a hiring decision. Certainly, companies want to take time to properly weigh all candidate options. But if they take too much time, companies risk losing the candidate’s interest and allow rival companies to recruit them.
When recruiting elite candidates there is no time waste. It is fair to assume that multiple companies will be recruiting the very best candidates. Showing speed in the recruiting process sends a strong message to a candidate that they are wanted.
To strike an even balance between thorough evaluation and speed, companies should impose deadlines on when a position needs to be filled. It should be fairly easy to set a timetable for hiring, as hiring managers can simply examine how long it took before to fill the same or similar position. Setting a deadline is a great way to prevent overthinking and gives candidates a time frame for how long the hiring process will be.
As mentioned in the previous section, being timely is also important when communicating with candidates. Any questions should be answered within 24 hours of them being asked. Humans by nature can be very impatient, so the quicker you can put their mind at ease the better.
Transparency
The very best candidates will know everything there is to know about a company. They will be just as aware of a company’s strengths as they are the weaknesses. Hiring managers who try to hide weaknesses or problems the company has will only isolate top candidates and raise doubts in their mind.
Honesty can go a long way in the recruiting game.
If there is something unflattering that is being said about a company, hiring managers should be straightforward about the issue. Bringing this up before a candidate does shows that the company has nothing to hide and is proactive in confronting the issue.
Transparency is also important when describing the position to a candidate. It does not look good when a candidate shows up the first day on the job and they are handed responsibilities that were never mentioned in the hiring process. Chances are that person will not last long with the company, which could create a glaring turnover problem for a business.
Hiring authorities need to be able to clearly explain job duties throughout all parts of the hiring process. The position should first be clearly explained on the application and then during the interview.
A very helpful way to paint a clear picture of job duties is to have the candidate talk to someone that works in the same or similar position that the candidate is applying for within the company. This person should have a substantial amount of experience in the position and should be able to clearly explain the position and answer any questions.
If your company is already avoiding these three mistakes, that is a great way to ensure you are attracting top talent to your open positions. If not, the team here at NexGoal has plenty of tips and proven knowledge on the recruiting and hiring process–and we are only one click away.
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