Hiring Manager: 4 Surprising Keys To Finding Exceptional Talent

If your company still thinks that posting a job and sifting through resumes is the best way of finding top employees, you’re probably missing out on some great candidates. Even if you get 100 applicants, the best fit for the job isn’t necessarily among them. Finding the best talent takes more aggressive job marketing. Here are four keys to doing this.

1. Attract Young Workers

Your best candidates may be younger workers eager to start their careers. They’re more likely to be enthusiastic, anxious to impress, and ready to learn and grow. This generation grew up on the internet and social media; these are the platforms for connecting with them. Post short videos about your company and your job opening instead of bland text, and invite video resumes in return. You’ll be able to spot traits a standard resume doesn’t provide, while they’ll get a sense of your business environment.

2. Widen Your Candidate Pool

In today’s digital age, you don’t necessarily need local talent. The internet and telecommunications may allow certain employees to do their work from home, hundreds of miles away, or even across the globe. It also saves you on utilities and office space. Don’t overlook being more inviting to immigrants, as they are often very well-schooled and tend to work harder as they make a new life and career. They may also offer fresh insights and skills that native local workers won’t have.

3. Provide Perks

Many applicants today aren’t interested in making top dollar so much as finding an employer that rewards them in indirect ways. Perks like health insurance, fitness facilities, job training, day care, extra personal days, and flexible schedules are very attractive to candidates. So are fun, friendly, supportive company cultures. If you present your company as a great place to work, you’ll draw a wider pool of applicants and can set higher standards.

4. Network with Employees

The best applicants may not even be looking for a job. When you have a position open, ask whether your own employees can recommend a terrific candidate. Someone they know from school or professionally may have struck them as exceptional. You might find that a quicker and cheaper way to find top talent is to offer a bonus to your employees if their recommendations are hired. Let them do some of the recruiting work.

Attracting the best candidates is not any easy task, but if you follow these tips you are likely to find top talent that a generic job posting would not produce. If you have a great company and an attractive offer, the recruitment process is much easier.