The competition for talent is the fiercest its been in decades. With the unemployment rate dropping below 4 percent for the first time since 2000, the job market is making it difficult to attract and hire the best talent.
What’s more, we’re seeing unemployment among college-educated professionals drop to as low as 2 percent. Add to that the fact that people are now comfortable having five different jobs in 10 years, and you have a difficult hiring situation on your hands.
So what’s a business leader to do? Your company’s success depends on having top-quality employees, and you’re now in competition with other businesses to win over the best talent. 
Below are three ways to win the Great Talent Competition of 2018.
1. Tout Your Company’s Awesomeness
Sure, job candidates have to sell themselves to prospective employers. However, it’s now crucial for business leaders and recruiters to sell how great a company is. When you’re vying for the same candidates as your competition, you have to make yourself stand apart. How exactly can you do that?
- Make your careers website and job descriptions shine. Don’t just slap the same ol’ boring job descriptions up online and hope for the best. Make use of the prime real estate in the top of a job description to talk about why your company is a cut above the rest.
- Capitalize on interviews. Whether it’s an initial phone screen or an in-person meeting, take some time during interviews to educate candidates on your company. And not just the nuts and bolts, but why exactly it’s great to work for you. Do you have excellent advancement opportunities? A unique culture? Comprehensive benefits? Make sure they walk away knowing every reason they should want to work for you.
- Create a strong employer brand. Take everything that’s great about working for your company and create an employer brand for yourself. Then, make sure it’s used across digital channels, in print materials, and out of your recruiters’ mouths.
2. Create a Smooth Recruitment Process
Nothing turns a candidate off more than a tedious and drawn-out application process. It all starts with applying online. Is it easy for people to apply to your jobs, or do you require them to use a special portal where they have to create a username and enter their job history manually? Some people may not even start an application if they’re required to go through that kind of rigmarole. Make sure applying to a job is quick and painless.
Then, it’s key to provide a pleasant interview experience. This doesn’t just mean when the candidate is in the actual interview — it’s about the communication before and after. People become annoyed and grow wary of an organization if they’re made to wait all the time. If, for whatever reason, the hiring process is taking a while, it’s imperative to continue communication with candidates. It’s as simple as shooting off an email and telling them that they’re still in the running and they can expect to hear from you soon. Or, if someone didn’t get job, don’t make them wait a millennia to hear the bad news.
Simply staying in touch will not only save you from losing out on great candidates, but will also save your reputation and ward off negative interview reviews on Glassdoor.
Looking for additional resources on on-boarding your new hires? Check out out top 10 tips here.
3. Choose the Right Recruiters
No matter if it’s an internal HR employee or an outside recruiter, whoever interacts with job candidates must do a couple key things right:
- Be a good brand steward. You worked hard to develop a brand for your company, and the person communicating with potential hires need to exude that brand. Make sure they know your talking points by heart and don’t misrepresent who you are as an employer.
- Connect with candidates. Recruiters must be personable and convey excitement about your company. No one will be psyched about a company if the first person they speak with leaves a bad taste in their mouth or conveys a lackluster view of the organization.
While you need to fill positions to keep things running, it’s not just about getting warm bodies in the door. You want to hire people who will work hard to make your organization succeed. So at the end of the day, make sure you and your recruiters are accurately communicating the skills and traits that will help someone really thrive in a role and your organization as a whole. Just because the competition is fierce doesn’t mean you should settle for anyone you can get.
Take these tips and start recruiting the talent that will make your company soar! StellaPop can help, connect with us for a free consultation.
