The competition for finding top talent is incredibly fierce in today’s economy, with several businesses offering premium benefits and competitive salaries to attract the best candidates to their company. However, it can be difficult to find qualified job applicants, and most small businesses don’t even have the resources or time needed to truly commit to the recruitment process.
But don’t worry! Here are a few tried-and-tested tips that can help you find the best and most qualified job applicants for your company:
Use your network
One effective way to find good candidates is to ask for referrals from your network or your team. This will help save money and time, as you won’t have to draft a detailed job description, post it to numerous job boards, or even comb through dozens of resumes and cover letters.
Using your network can be even more effective if you reward your employees for referrals. You can start a practice of offering monetary rewards to team members who recommend other qualified people. Since your employees have a good grasp of what their job entails, you can trust them to find other people with good employee traits who will be a good fit for your company.
Integrate flexible interviewing software
It’s important to integrate flexible interviewing software into the hiring process, especially during this post-pandemic period. These software programs give a more personal touch than simple phone interviews and allow you to gain a better insight into the individual’s personality and character when in-person meetings are not possible. Incorporating flexible interviewing software makes long-distance recruitment easier as well.
Create a strong job description
You can find qualified job applicants by creating a strong job description and posting it on approved websites and boards, like Indeed. Applicants want to make a good and lasting first impression, and it’s important that you try to do the same. Typos, complicated words, and grammatical errors can turn candidates away.
Make sure you avoid fluff and get straight to the point. Clearly mention what the job entails, so only the right people submit their resumes.
Take advantage of Linkedin Sales Navigator
Linkedin Sales Navigator allows you to target specific people and send them automated messages with several different tools. It’s an excellent way to book appointments, and while it won’t close deals, it will certainly allow you to come across qualified prospects.
Use job search engines and job boards
Large job boards like CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com have searchable databases that help candidates filter postings and job descriptions from employers.
Job search engines provide even more comprehensive results by compiling board listings along with company website listings. You can achieve more focused results by posting your job descriptions to industry-specific search engines and boards that specialize in your niche business.
Strategically sort through resumes
Even after narrowing down your options, you may still have hundreds of applicants to consider. One way to weed out the chaff is to skim all the resumes for red flags like involved or long descriptions, lack of relevant experience, and grammatical and spelling errors.
It’s also advisable to look for job-specific keywords in your pile of resumes. Refer to the job description you made, and then prioritize key phrases to divide the big stack into “No,” “Yes,” and “Maybe” piles.
Read cover letters
Make sure you don’t ignore cover letters, as they provide insight into great applicants, which may otherwise go unnoticed. If you receive a cover letter where the candidate clearly knows your company, competitors, and industry, then this shows that they’ve taken out the time to do their homework and will undoubtedly make a great addition to your team.
Bottom line
After you start a business, you have to build a strong team. But finding qualified candidates is more than just writing a job description and then sorting through all the resumes. Hopefully, all the aforementioned tips will help you find the best job applicants for your company.