Unfortunately, recruiting fantastic employees for your company isn’t as simple as posting a position online. Potential outstanding team members are checking job boards, sure, but they’re first utilizing many other and more creative avenues to find the coolest job opportunities. That means your search to uncover the ideal people to fill your open roles is going to require some atypical recruiting tactics. But which ones will actually help you draw in awesome folks?
The Time Investment of Recruiting
Depending on the reputation and brand value of your company, you may not have to spend a ton of time recruiting. Hot names and fun environments draw a crowd. If you aren’t a well-known, eye-catching employer, though, how will you get people to stop, to read your online ad, and to then reach out? The goal here is to widen your pool of applicants and inquiries and to make your company stand out as a cool destination to at least investigate. If you aren’t the place everyone has already decided they want to be, what can you do? You’re going to have to start by putting some time – and creative effort – into recruiting.
Pick Us! Creative Ways to Recruit
Recruiting takes many forms, and like anything, there are trends and phases. Tried-and-true methods will always exist (asking employees for referrals), and there are some things you do because they seem to be the accepted norm right now (advertising online). But here are three additional, non-traditional recruiting strategies you should absolutely implement consistently. Without a doubt, at least one of these tactics will help to generate some buzz about your company among job seekers.
Social Media – Companies are using social media for business communication as well as recruiting. Caution! Don’t simply treat social as an avenue to post your latest job. The idea here is not to focus on the actual job opening. Instead, utilize social channels as a way to share fun photos and videos about the people who work at your organization, for example. Make your recruiting posts about the overall culture and experience available at your company. Maybe share a collage of images from a Friday when you catered lunch for the entire staff. People can always find your open positions on your “Careers” page or via web-crawling employment tools. Don’t just use social as if it’s just another job posting resource. Social media (for those who consume it daily and live there more than anywhere else online) is much more about “feeling” and “associating” with people and places. Make yourself a magnet for interest and talent.
Career Fairs – Sure, these seem like “old school” recruiting. But if your team needs some recent college graduates or early-career talent, don’t sleep on modern-day Career Fairs! Vendors are often invited to set up at no cost. And forget the stodgy old college campus library settings. These days, a lot of Career Fairs take place in cool locations. They are designed much more like open networking events where attendees can interact with companies as well as peers, grab a complimentary beverage and a snack, and connect on various levels with impactful professionals. Think of Career Fairs as an interactive, in-person branding strategy, and go into them with the goal of meeting some new people and expanding your network of valuable connections. Even if the potential candidates you meet are not the right answer for your job, they might know some awesome people to refer – and they will happily send them along to you now that they have met you in person and enjoyed the exchange.
A Company Event – Rent an event space or clear away some tables in the large conference room and host a social gathering. Offer free drinks and snacks as well as a chance to network. Post about it socially and encourage your employees to share the event details with their friends (particularly those that might be solid referrals for hire). Ensure that the event is themed around what makes working for your company fabulous. Maybe even set up some games or raffle off some prizes. Ever-increasing numbers of employees are making career decisions based on both the image they have of a company and what they believe the experience of working there will be like. Help show them that you are amazing!
Companies that are thoughtful and creative about their recruiting efforts will attract more and better talent. Period. Why not use social media and in-person events to really amp up the number of people who you engage, both directly and deeply? Good experiences and positive vibes can spread very quickly.
