Jobinablog

Can't attract new candidates? Here are some reasons why

After having looked at problems that affect the recruitment process itself, I wanted to further look at the actual problems related to the sourcing of candidates for your company. These are not an endless list of problems (as that would fill a book up!), but they are some of the most common. Lou Adler has produced this list of 15 sourcing related problems, and what problems companies have in attracting staff to their company - how many do you find yourself saying yes to?  More than five does call for some action to be taken!

1.      The quality and quantity of candidates from job boards is declining.

2.      We tend to use the same sourcing methods every year.

3.      Our advertising is boring and out-dated.

4.      Our job ads are just cut-and-paste versions of our boring job descriptions.

5.      Ads are hard to find by top people who are casually looking.

6.      Ads are found, but top candidates don't apply.

7.      Our ads don't describe a compelling value proposition.

8.      Our ads are filled with disqualifiers and little about what's in it for the candidate.

9.      Our ads are written to exclude bad people, not attract good people.

10.  Our career website is difficult to navigate and search for jobs.

11.   We have not search-engine-optimized (SEO) our site or our ads.

12.   Our ads don't always come up first on the job boards we use.

13.   Good candidates say they're "not interested" early in the process.

14.   We don't get enough high-quality referrals.

15.  Our employees don't proactively seek out great people to refer.

15 Reasons why your recruitment process isn't working

If like many companies at the moment, you are experiencing recruiting problems, then maybe some soul searching is required to understand why. You need to look at your full recruitment process from attraction through interviewing to onboarding, and to ask some direct questions of your own process. So how many non-sourcing problems directly affect your recruitment of new staff? Here are Lou Adlers good reasons why your recruitment process could be failing - how many can you agree with? (Any more than 5 and you need some help!!)

1.      Job descriptions are boring.

2.      Application process is too long and top candidates opt-out.

3.      Managers don't spend enough time clarifying real job needs.

4.      Managers refuse to see good candidates, because they don't have exactly the right background.

5.      Managers don't respond quickly enough when resumes are sent to them.

6.      Good candidates are unimpressed with our interviewing process.

7.      Good candidates are unimpressed with the hiring manager.

8.      Good candidates want to know the salary package before talking.

9.      Candidates increasingly are rejecting offers or accepting other offers or better offers.

10.  We can't attract the best people with our salary packages.

11.  Managers over-specify skills, experience, academics, and industry background.

12.  Relocation is a problem.

13.  We can't move fast enough to decide and make offers.

14.  Managers aren't responsive or involved enough.

15.  We never have enough time to do it right.

SME's and interviewing - it doesn't mix, does it?

Recruiting the right people for your business is crucial, but are SME's (particularly owner managers) equipped to locate the people they need for their business? This was a subject I was recently asked about for an interview with Making Money magazine. I thought I would share one of the answers published in this months magazine. Asked the question, 'Do owner/managers need to brush up on their interview technique?', my response was:

" I don't think they (owner/managers) understand what recruitment is. And to be honest, why should they? It is a complex process that contains many changing variables, and many companies struggle to get their head around it. It isn't simply a question of them getting it right first time, because I don't believe they look at the process in that much detail anyway. Many times they instruct a colleague to place an advert in a local paper and then interview the best looking CV's. Then when it doesn't work out they can't understand why?"

Does this sound familiar? I hope it doesn't, but from my experiences it is an all too common occurrence!!

(If this is happening in your company and you want to change it, you know where we are!)

Marketing the company AND THE vacancy is critical

This may sound a strange statement, but it is becoming absolutely essential. Some companies have made major strides in this area, but many have missed the boat completely. Most candidates will visit the corporate website. The messages they read about the company, the mission, the vision, the people who work there and the career opportunities have a huge impact. These messages WILL make the candidates make their decision as to them choosing your company as a suitable employer. As an example here are the four criteria a 24 year old graduate recently used to find a job:

1. The quality of the company's whole web site - companies with poor quality sites were quickly eliminated from consideration.
2. The career message and career opportunities and how these were presented on the career page - if the emphasis wasn't on long term growth he wasn't interested.
3. Only if the above two criteria were met would he even begin to look for a job. In some cases, he just sent his CV to the recruiting department and let them look for the right job.
4. He accepted the job based on the hiring manager, the career path opportunities and some of the projects he'd be working on - as long as the salary package was fair.

Your target recruitment audience is getting more demanding and expects a good career site as a minimum, selling both the vacancy and the company itself.

Struggling writing Job Adverts? Here are 20+ teaser tips to help you.

A common problem with many (if not most) job adverts online and offline is that they persist in using the bulk of job specifications to write the adverts. They don't try and excite the reader ( the potential job seeker), so consequently they often don't get the desired result. So you need to put some more 'punchy' job teasers into the adverts that start to attract their interest. Here are 20+ job teasers that you can use to attract the interest of the reader:

• Tired of the same old grind? Here's a chance to shake things up and push yourself to achieve your full potential.
• Bring your skills and passion and join our team.
• Do you possess a high attention to detail with a 'zero tolerance' approach to errors? If you answered yes, we are looking to give you an opportunity to be on the leading edge.
• Launch your career and join the company voted "Best Company to Work For" by The Sunday Times. (Obviously you would need to use an appropriate 'award').
• Interested in joining a dynamic team environment that is constantly seeking innovative approaches and solutions?

5 things you must know when sourcing staff directly

Alot of my focus on my blog posts are based on direct recruiting strategies and how to use them effectively. I thought today I would add to this subject, with five tips on making sure that you are using your time effectively to source staff directly.

1. Know the right time to source people. Human nature suggests some times of the day are better than others for you personally, but bear in mind your 'targets'. There are times that simply don't make sense because people are likely to be otherwise engaged- in meetings for example. Think about when you are less busy during the day at your company and it will likely apply to other companies.
2. Know the skills you want to recruit. Simple I know, but if you don't know what you are looking for, then how can you possibly find people with those skills.
3. Know where to go to get what you want. Planning and homework required to understand where your target recruits will be. It may well be straight to job board databases, it might be business directories or online networks like LinkedIn, but make sure you plan - it will save alot of wasted time!
4. Competitors. Do not hire a competitor's employees if your intention is to put them out of business. Do hire a competitors employees if your intention is to gain good employees.
5. Think outside of the box. Think laterally where information on your recruitment targets may be. A few examples are: CV Databases online, your own database, business networks, social networks (online), all those business cards in your draw, the file that has all those letters selling you products and services (great for business development leads!), your sales and marketing teams (they have a wealth of names) and of course Google! There are many more sources - you just need to be creative.

These will help you start to develop your direct sourcing strategy a bit further, but feel free to email me if you want some further advice.

Can you answer the simple questions?

Interviewing staff is almost a weekly occurrence for companies, both large and small. But do your interviewers know what they will be asked by the prospective employee? Isn't it a little embarrassing when you have to reply to a question with a "..sorry, can I come back to you on that" or "..sorry I don't know". You should, however, have of already covered these 'answers' within the interview by giving the candidate the information first. So what basic questions am I talking about then? Below are 10 of the 'must be able to answer questions' that you need to have covered:

1. Who are you and what do you stand for?
2. Why should I work for your company?
3. What is the corporate culture like?
4. What kinds of people work there?
5. What skills are necessary to be a success with your company?
6. How competitive is your total remuneration package?
7. What is the reputation of your company locally?
8. Are you an ethical company?
9. Where do you stand on CSR (corporate social responsibility)?
10. What will having your company on your CV mean for my future?

Candidate questions are getting more thoughtful and probing - can you answer them effectively?

7 ways to use videos to drive traffic to your career site

Every single month hundreds of thousands of people go to sites like YouTube and watch videos. People are very comfortable watching video online -so how do you and your company make use of this massive rise in video curiosity?  Firstly you need to go  beyond your website and into online communities where your 'targets' are spending time surfing, chatting and buying. Then you go about planting links to your video content in high traffic relevant areas communities online where potential 'targets' are likely to find it! Then there are certain tactics you can use to drive traffic  back to your website, here are seven: