The New Tools of Job Recruiting
Raise your hand if you’re just a little tired of all the talk around “generational differences,” millennials, baby boomers, et al. The
Raise your hand if you’re just a little tired of all the talk around “generational differences,” millennials, baby boomers, et al. The reason for all this chatter though is that the rise of younger employees, coupled with new technology, has led to some significant changes in how businesses function. Case in point, recruitment.
The days of placing a classified ad in the newspaper are long gone. Digital tools like websites and social media are among the most common places for job seekers to discover a new opportunity. And with talent shortages becoming more and more of a problem for HR professionals – 68% of businesses said they had difficulty filling positions in 2016, up 18% from 2013 – catching the attention of the right candidates is especially important.
Want to make sure that your company is up to date on job recruiting in the 21st century? Follow these three tips.
- Get (mobile) optimized: More than three in four U.S. adults use a mobile device to access the internet, according to SmartInsights.com. Unfortunately, not all sites are optimized for mobile devices, which helps them load faster and appear more legible on a smaller screen. And this is a problem if you want someone to check out a job posting. More than half of people will click away from a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. You can also go the extra mile and optimize the application process, which, granted, is more of an investment on the IT side. That said, only 36% of companies have this feature, which could help you stand out among the competition.
- Be socially inclined: When asked what are their most effective recruiting strategies, 47% of businesses said social media. This tied an older – and more expensive – practice, using a recruitment agency, and beat out traditional advertising (44%) and even improving compensation for the position (42%)! It isn’t junior positions that are being filled thanks to social media. Every job-level category (executive, management, non-management hourly/salaried) has seen an increase in recruitment via social since 2011.
- Target the right people: On one hand, all the data sites like Google and Facebook gather from users is disconcerting, but when you want to advertise job openings to individuals with specific skill sets, it can be a tremendous asset. LinkedIn in particular allows you to target professionals with specific job titles and years of experience in a certain industry. Digital and social advertising for job positions also allows you to get in front of passive job seekers, who aren’t necessarily actively looking for a job, but could still be inclined to click on an opportunity if it sounds intriguing enough.
When you make a hire, you want to be sure that you’re getting the best candidate out there, not simply the best candidate who heard about the job. Although digital and social media may bring other HR headaches, when it comes to job recruiting, they can be incredibly helpful toward your company’s talent acquisition goals.
Curious about other HR and relocation trends affecting your business? Stay tuned for our annual Talent Management Trends Review, which combines all of the top data from leading studies and white papers into one easy-to-read and comprehensive report. We’ll be publishing it on our website in January!
