Recruiting Strategies That Should Be Part of Your Repertoire

As we all know, the economy has been sluggish for the last three or four years. Open positions have been few and relatively easy to fill with the large numbers of people searching for work. Companies have been keeping top performers to help them get through until things pick up.

Chatter indicates that 2012 will see an uptick in the number of hires in the private sector. Recruiting strategies that have worked during the down economy may continue to work for a small number of openings, but as the competition for talent increases, recruitment creativity will need to improve. If your business is still sluggish, now is the time to invest in building relationships and the company brand.

Below are a few traditional recruiting strategies you can utilize in your efforts to fill open positions:

• Pay attention to layoffs and develop relationships with the HR professionals who are working for the company laying off workers. Federal law requires that companies give employees and the public notice of layoffs. Keep an eye on the news and be one of the first to call. There will be many meetings with employees to discuss layoffs. Get yourself on the agenda and spend time getting to know the individuals being laid off.
• Build relationships with the unemployment offices in your recruiting footprint. Take every opportunity you can to educate them on your company and what you look for. Doing so will allow them to contact you when they find someone who has just been laid off. They can help screen for you and will advertise on your behalf.
• If you have a military base near you, reach out to staff there and develop a relationship. This will be more of a long-term relationship, as military personnel start looking for work a year prior to their release date. But, it will give you the opportunity to hire well-trained individuals.
• Network with recruiters in other industries. They will come across candidates who don’t fit their company but might fit yours. Don’t be afraid to share candidates with them so they share with you.

Newer strategies to find talent involve lots of Internet searching and sourcing.

• Create a corporate Facebook page – many websites are reporting that sourcing on Facebook is up. Don’t lose out by not having a presence!
• Start a LinkedIn group – and be active in other LinkedIn groups. Don’t just lurk. Be proactive and show that you are the subject matter expert in finding a job even if the group has nothing to do with finding a job. Group members will turn to you for advice and you can find more about their work history.
• Tweet! Use Twitter to announce openings and find experts who might be looking or (more likely) know of others looking.
• Dive into mobile marketing. Use QR codes on all of your advertising. Develop mobile marketing that can be texted to candidates. Texts can become viral and spread farther than you can imagine.
• Update your careers page to keep it fresh and exciting. Make it easy for candidates to apply online. If the application is too lengthy, candidates will not take the time to complete it and you will lose.

These are just a few of tips you can use to help find top talent. Feel free to chime in and share your favorite recruitment ideas.