We’ve officially been in the recruitment business for 20 years, and to celebrate we’re sharing our top tips for attracting and sourcing the best talent. Thank you to all of our wonderful staff, clients and candidates who have helped us get this far!
- Use simple job titles when posting ads
As a recruitment agency popular job sites (such as SEEK) share plenty of data-driven insights with us, particularly when it comes to improving ad response. Rule number one is: use simple, commonly used job titles will make your ad more search friendly and easier for applicants to find.
- Always include the salary and location in your job ads
One of the most frustrating things for a jobseeker is coming across a relevant job ad and realising the salary (and sometimes even the location) is missing. Transparency is key – give potential candidates the core information they need to ensure you only attract applicants who are happy with what’s on offer. Then your time isn’t wasted, and neither is theirs. If your budget is flexible, put a salary range.
- Never forget, the candidate is king
The recruitment market has been predominantly candidate driven for the past 20 years. Treat your candidates like your customers and give them the best service possible to ensure you build strong networks and protect your reputation.
- Run recruitment ads on social media
Posting your current job openings on social media helps, but unless you’re a major household brand you’ll probably need to run some paid adverts to drive high quality applications. Creating targeted recruitment ads on Facebook and LinkedIn is fairly straightforward after a little practice and experimentation, and if you do it right it can be a very cost-effective way to drive applications for jobs on your website.
- Experiment with employment screening tests during the recruitment process
Incorporating tests into your recruitment process is a good way to eliminate interview bias, make hiring more inclusive, and help identify the best candidates for the job based on their skills and ability. Many recruitment agencies offer psychometric testing as part of their service agreement, but there are plenty of options online.
- Don’t forget about the soft skills
In accounting and finance recruitment particularly, soft skills are in high demand. Remember to assess the candidate’s behaviour throughout the entire interview process, and look out for desirable attributes like self-awareness, empathy and creativity. The strongest candidates tend to have a healthy balance of technical skills and interpersonal attributes.
- Promote a flexible working environment
The modern workforce (especially Gen Zers) are moving further away from 9-5 jobs and demanding more flexibility. The number of people working from home is steadily on the rise, and top employers are differentiating themselves by offering flexible working hours. There are also plenty of studies that prove this improves employee morale and subsequently employee retention. Think about it.
- Incorporate video into your recruitment process to attract more candidates
Using video to enhance the recruitment process is becoming increasingly popular. It can speed up hiring by helping your job ads stand out and by giving resumes you receive an extra dimension. Common ways to utilise video include sharing job ads that feature videos, asking candidates to share pre-recorded video content as part of their application and conducting video interviews. Video content is also likely to receive higher engagement on your social platforms.
- Promote an employee referral program
Some of our best candidates come through referral channels, and this time-saving recruitment channel keeps everyone happy. We remind our candidates and employees regularly that we offer a great referral fee if we place a friend or colleague that they send our way in a new role.
- Consider using a boutique recruitment agency for specialised roles
Finding talented experts in niche professions can be a huge challenge for hiring managers. If you need to fill a vacancy quickly, speak to a recruitment agency who has networks in your specified area. The likelihood is they’ll instantly know a handful of people who could be interested in your job vacancy, and they’ll start speaking to their contacts straight away.
- Hold interview days outside the office
Lets face it, interviewing can be draining, time consuming and sometimes downright inconvenient; especially if you’re sitting at your desk finishing an urgent email while a candidate sits outside. Get out of the office for interviews, clear your diary, and say no to distractions. This will give you the headspace you need to be focused. A good recruitment agency will also offer interview rooms and facilities to their clients.
- Use automated software to streamline your recruitment process
Using specialised recruitment software has many benefits, and enables you to:
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- Manage all communication and track every step of the process in one place
- Build a database of candidates which can be searched for suitability for new roles quickly
- Post multiple job ads at once across different platforms
- Create automated updates, emails and templates
- Report on your most effective recruitment channels and make improvement
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There are plenty of options out there, but we’d recommend using JobAdder.
- Leverage your recruitment agency
People often forget that recruitment consultants are a highly valuable source of knowledge. A good recruiter will know everything about their chosen recruitment market and will be able to offer confidential advice as well as share insights into current market trends.
- Post your job ads on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
According to our data, the most popular times for job applications are between 11:00 and 16:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Share your job ads slightly before these peak times for maximum reach.
- Track your recruitment data
Most business decisions are data-driven, and your recruitment strategy should be too. Ensure that you track your candidate sources, and calculate the placement rate for each source to establish where your highest quality candidates are coming from. Then you can make sure you invest more resources into the most valuable channels.
