For years, the job market has been a hirer’s market due to the high volume of candidates and the low number of opportunities. Oh, how the tables have turned…
Over the past couple of years, the balance of power has shifted in favour of candidates. The reason for this? There are 50.7% more job opportunities advertised compared to March 2021 – meaning that candidates have greater choice as to where they apply. In addition, the skills shortage has decreased the number of active candidates in the market. As a result, there has been a 42.2% drop in applications on average per job (Source: SEEK).
Recruitment prospects aren’t all doom and gloom though! Keep reading to learn about the techniques that other businesses have used to attract talent and thrive in the current skills shortage.
Communicate your benefits
Providing competitive benefits is one thing, communicating and advertising these benefits in an engaging and meaningful way is another. For example, companies often promote their opportunities by using phrases like:
- Flexible working arrangements
- Supportive culture
- Learning opportunities
- Career growth
While these points may be valid and true, they aren’t specific enough to be convincing selling points for most candidates. Furthermore, featuring generic selling points makes it difficult for your ads to stand out in the saturated job market.
Thankfully, there’s an easy fix. For example, instead of listing “flexible working arrangements”, you could highlight how employees can choose their hours, work from home, or earn extra annual leave. Showcasing specific details will help you stand out and strengthen your selling points. If you’re unsure of what benefits should be highlighted in your advertisements, SEEK Laws of Attraction and our previous article on retention are great places to start.
Keep it simple
While it may seem thorough to have a complex recruitment process with multiple steps to screen applicants, it could be hindering your recruitment prospects. Most candidates are time-poor, meaning that they’re less likely to apply for jobs that have complex application processes – like lengthy questionnaires or extended assignments. Keep it simple, only include the steps that are needed, and refine your processes where possible.
Keep the process moving
Now that you’ve shortlisted a bunch of great candidates, the hard work really begins. The reason for this? Candidates usually apply for multiple positions at a time, meaning that your top candidates could be under consideration for other roles. As such, candidates are likely to be snatched up by other employers, or worse – your competition, if your recruitment process takes too long. Things don’t always go to plan, so it’s sometimes impossible to prevent delays. If things start to drag, keep candidates engaged by maintaining regular contact and updating them on their progress.
Conduct executive search
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken candidate confidence, meaning that there are fewer candidates in the market who are actively looking for jobs. As such, headhunting and executive search have been growing in popularity. Executive search is the practice of proactively identifying and engaging with passive talent with the intention to get them to apply for a position you’re managing. Executive search yields high quality results. However, it takes time, effort, and experience to do it successfully. For assistance with your executive search needs, give us a call.
