Quote: ” Hiring the right people take time, the right questions, and a healthy does of curiosity.” Richard Branson
Problem: How do I attract the right candidate
In this article we will discuss social media, recruiting platforms, networks, employee referrals, and costs. You don’t need to employ all of these strategies unless you have the bandwidth to do it. I’m going to take a leap and guess you need a fast solution to an immediate problem.
Before we get into the How let me address the number one problem you are facing: Time. Hiring does take time. Don’t let anyone tell you it does not. I will address some good hacks to save time in this process.
Since time and efficiency is our goal, utilizing the top platforms will save you time if you use them correctly.
If you are working with a headhunter or recruiting firm, sure they can get you candidates in the door but that doesn’t mean they are a good culture fit or they have the skill set you are looking for. You don’t need to use them. I’ve been recruiting for over 15 years and 99% of the time I handle it all in house. This saves companies millions when they are able to recruit organically by attracting and screening their own candidates. Recruiting organically also creates a much better experience for the candidate and builds the company brand, which is something we’ll get into in our Job Posting article.
Lets Dive in
Start with your network. Send out an email, facebook post, instagram etc and let people know you are looking for a new position. They will want to see a Position Description so make sure to have one ready. This may generate some resumes flowing into your inbox.
If your company is active on social media then start making posts about the openings you have. Then get creative and discuss top employees in that department. Start highlighting employee success stories. This is a great way for applicants to get to know your culture before they apply.
Next ask your employees to provide you with recommendations. They are your best advertisement for your company and culture. Incentivize them with a $200 bonus if they bring someone who is hired on and stays for 6 months.
Cost
The above are the lowest cost methods of recruiting. For the next options you will spend between $300-$2,000 for your recruiting efforts. The costs depends on how the platform has decided to charge you for the job postings. Due to constant changes I will be unable to go into the pricing of each one. Outside the time it takes to set these up, this is the first cost in recruiting. Not the last.
The good news is at different times Indeed, Zip Recruiter and Linkedin have a had free job posting options. Always check each platform and try the free options before spending money on recruiting. As stated the way they charge also changes as well. It used to be per month and now it’s per day but also per resume. It’s odd. You’ll need to be vigilant about using these platforms who charge you daily.
Job Boards I have used
Lately, I’ve used Indeed, Linkedin and Zip Recruiter. If you are hiring for a high level position then such an Executive or VP position then Linkedin would be where I would start. For nearly all others I would use Indeed and Zip Recruiter although there are many job boards in the market giving you multiple options.
Linkedin is straight forward and easy to use. I like their more simplistic process to get your job post up and running immediately. You will need a linkedin account with the recruiter feature added. For those who enjoy more of the networking side of things when it comes to recruiting, then Linkedin will be great for you. For myself, with limited time, I find this aspect a time-wasting activity. The candidates tended to be of good quality.
They also have climbed on the pay to play bandwagon. The more you pay the more they will post your job. They used to charge on a per Job or month basis which would put them at the top for me from a cost vs time standpoint but this is no longer the case. This creates a huge unknown in cost for a business who is thinking about using their service. Many businesses cannot tolerate such risk. I would start with their free plan and if you get solid leads consider running a paid job posting.
Zip recruiter is good for positions requiring advanced technical skills. I tended to like their flat pricing model better than the others. Although right now the pricing is hidden so I’m not sure how they are charging. Another positive aspect is I received much less unqualified candidates. If you have an IT position or other technically skilled position, I think Zip Recruiter is a solid option to try, especially if they have a free option.
They seem to be able to filter unqualified candidates much better and their candidate pool remains diverse in my opinion. You’ll need to try it and decide for yourself.
Indeed is fairly user friendly and straight forward. They are the top of the market and I think they are the best overall. For me, there are many risks which need to be addressed. While they are constantly innovating and adding features, since I am always short on time, I find many of them make the recruitment process inefficient. One exception to this is the resume library where you can proactively search for candidates. My advise is if you use Indeed keep everything very simple and don’t dive into all the features.
One con I’ve found over the last few years they have promoted more irrelevant candidates than any other platform. This should be a major concern for any company. When unqualified candidates apply it exposes a business owner to unacceptable litigation and discrimination risk. Indeed’s features of responding to candidates who are not qualified also exposes companies to litigation. Even after jumping through all hoops of the “new features,” the unqualified candidates were never reduced.
Watch Out
Job boards are clearly pushing diversity over properly qualified candidates. Whatever platform you go with, keep track of candidates who are not qualified and aske the job board for a refund for those candidates. While the screening questions on these sites are a must, they lack true ability to stop unqualified candidates from applying which wastes time and money, especially when you get to the next con.
Price is the final issue. These sites are unashamed of their pay to play model. You want more candidates? Then you pay more. This is unethical in my opinion. But it is their platform and they can treat customers however they want. We can choose not to use them.
Now, if you are charged for per day for 15 resumes and 8 or more of them are not qualified then they effectively provided less than 50% value for the money. As a customer I do not like this model. It doesn’t allow for a company to plan and track their actual recruitment budget.
A better option
Businesses can create an Open Positions page on their website and host their jobs themselves. Then use the network you’ve built on Linkedin, social media, or an email list. Anytime you have an opening in your company, send it to your network and let them do the recruiting. Add an Employee Referral program to this method for higher employee engagement.
Final Thoughts:
The most important thing you must remember is if you are paying by the day then you must login and monitor the candidates every single day. Yes this is a huge waste of time and interruptions but if you don’t the platforms will run your budget through the roof.
The way to manage this is to set your daily budget and check it daily for 10 days. Once you have enough qualified candidates then turn it off immediately. If you need to turn it back on then you can. But this will at least help you manage your spend to some degree.
If you are in a specialized industries then look at specific forums or job boards for that industry. I would even look at publications and newsletters which cater to your specific industry.
Conclusion:
Save your money! There are so many free options from your network to your own employees for recruiting. Try these first and see what candidates come your way.
Expect to spend between $300 and $2000 on a job posting. This is the first cost, not the last.
Save time by using the largest job boards, making strong use of screening questions and resume libraries. Try their free options first if they have one.
Save money by monitoring jobs postings every day and turn them off when you have enough qualified candidates.
If you have time, try all of these. If you are short on time. Try the free stuff and then Indeed.
