CourageousHR | Recruiting the perfect candidate.

As an employer, one of your goals should be building up a team full of superstars, hard workers who can take your business to the next level. However, this can be easier said than done. While there are certainly lots of people looking for jobs, there isn’t always an abundance of people with the right skills for the job available.

According to this Recruitment strategies report 2017, the biggest challenge recruiters faced was a shortage of skilled candidates. So how do you find the perfect candidate for a hard to fill position?

To attract the top talent to your hard to fill positions you must develop a quality recruitment and hiring strategy.

Know your ideal candidate

You can’t expect to find the perfect candidate if you don’t know who the perfect candidate is. It’s important to know the type of characteristics, motivation, skills and personality traits for two main reasons. They must not only be a good fit for your company and its culture but also the role itself.

Defining a candidate can be difficult and it will take some planning but when done effectively it will make the whole process easier, quicker and more efficient.

Engage your current employees

You might be looking for a new employee, but your current employees can be valuable for this process. Find out, in your employee’s eyes, what makes working at your company great. What benefits do they enjoy, what daily freedoms do they appreciate, or any other factors that make them happy to work for you. Then leverage these things to attract new talent.

While you go through this process it can also be worthwhile to ask your employees for any referrals for the open position. Not only is this a good opportunity to find fresh talent, but a referral program is considered to be one of the most powerful resources for finding appropriate candidates. It makes sense that people who fit in well at your company may know others who are similar. This in turn can help boost employee satisfaction.

Write a great job description

The job description should be tailored to that “ideal candidate” you defined earlier. This is your chance to attract the talent you’re looking for. Highlight the benefits, perks and any rewards that come with working for you. What sets your company apart from the hundreds of other jobs listed on the relevant job boards?

While it’s important to list what the job requires, and what you expect of the candidate, it’s also important not to set the bar too high.

Once you have perfected your job ad, you should diversify your talent generation channels. Direct applications are great, because it means potential employees are interested in your company, but you should always take advantage of job boards, like Gumtree as well.

The Interview

The most obvious part of the talent acquisition process is of course the interview. There’s countless ways to conduct an interview but it’s important you get it right as it’s usually the only time you get face to face with potential employees.

One effective way of finding great candidates for a hard to fill position is to explore their competencies and motivations. A good approach is to use the star behavioural interview questions.

College Recruiting

Another, lesser thought of approach to finding top talent is to target young adults who are just beginning their professional career. There’s many benefits to getting in contact with colleges and universities.

Firstly, you can start small by implementing intern programs which means you can be sure before on boarding anyone to a more permanent position. Secondly, if you decide someone is a good fit, you can train and mentor them to create the talent you want for your company. Graduates are often more driven and willing to learn and are less focused on securing a large salary.

Define your ideal candidate, find out what their must have qualities are and what they want from a role. Advertise these things and make sure you highlight what sets your company apart. Conduct a quality interview, and lastly, have an open mind, you never know where your next superstar will come from.

Author bio:
Ellie Saunders is a young mother who is passionate about digital businesses. She is currently enjoying her marketing role at eVoice, a place where businesses can get virtual and toll-free numbers.