How to recruit in a candidate driven market

Being in a candidate driven market can have its challenges however it is also an opportunity to refresh your approach to recruitment.

Candidates have so much choice in the market and are often juggling multiple interviews and subsequently job offers.

Here are a few of out top tips when it comes to recruiting.....

1. Recruit the best person for the role rather than someone with industry knowledge.

Recruiting from outside of your immediate sector can mean more work initially in training them but it can often reinvigorate a team. A new hire from outside the sector will no doubt have a different view point, a new approach to marketing your organisation and will spot potential gaps in the market that have so far remained unseen.

2. Differentiate yourself from other employers to increase the volume of high caliber applications.

In a candidate driven market place, employers are often fighting within the same talent pool. Using your organisation’s branding when advertising your vacancy can often attract those candidates that may not be fully active within the job seeking market but who keep an eye on job boards in hopes of inspiration among the plethora of generic job adverts.

3. Be prepared to make a decision when you have only met a handful of candidates.

As an employer, when you start any recruitment campaign the ideal scenario is to compare and contrast a number of candidates to ensure you have seen enough talent to make a well-rounded decision. In a market that is lacking high caliber, skilled marketers, companies have to complete recruitment processes on the back of between one and three interviews or risk losing a good quality candidate.

4. Manage your recruitment process in reverse.

Too often hiring managers get sign off for a role and take the position to market but then realise that annual leave, bank holidays and meetings have blocked their diary out for a few weeks. To secure the best talent in the current market, processes need to be smooth, succinct and timely. Employers will often need to tweak their normal process to get a decision made and offer out before a candidate has another final interview with other organisations.