How to stand out as a recruiter and attract the right candidates

There are numerous job vacancies posted every day, yet how many attract the right candidate for the job?

Finding the right candidate can often seem challenging for recruiters, especially with Covid making it harder to attract and retain good candidates. Since it has become a candidate driven market, recruiters need to be a little more creative when it comes to attracting the right people. Therefore, it’s important to remember that job adverts are still adverts, thus you really need to sell your company and role in order to stand out, as simply putting an advert out there just won’t work.

As well, you need to consider what it is a potential candidate is looking for. It’s important you understand what motivates and inspires them to invest in a company. You need to stop assuming that people are dying to work for you, as many candidates will look for more than a pension scheme and company laptop. Be creative and look at what the best companies such as Google and Facebook do to attract candidates.

You need to keep up with the times, as the choice to be home-based is highly desirable. Over the pandemic period many people have proven that they can work effectively from home and therefore don’t want to spend money and time travelling into an office. Companies need to be more flexible and accommodating in order to attract more candidates to the role.

Also, don’t start a job advert by listing what you want from your applicants; instead start by telling prospects what is in it for them, as it’s important to have something to offer if you want to attract the right candidate. To conclude, here are a few tips to help you stand out and attract top talent to your company:

• One of the simplest solutions to attracting candidates is to make sure you’re offering a competitive salary, as this can be make or break for some job seekers.

   

• Try to make applying as quick and easy as possible, nobody wants to spend 30 minuets filling out forms and questionnaires.

   

• Make your job description clear and concise, as this is the first thing a candidate will check. If a candidate reads a job description and still isn’t sure about what they will be doing, then it’s highly unlikely that they will want to apply.

   

• Less is not always more – try to include as much detail as possible in the job description, as potential candidates will want to know if they have the necessary skills required for the position.

   

• Most importantly, if you want to recruit the best candidate then you need to be offering the best benefits. 28 days holiday and a company laptop just don’t cut it anymore. Candidates want to see flexible and remote working, subsidised gym memberships, access to mental health support, and opportunities for career progression.