The coronavirus pandemic has flipped the world on its head, impacting nearly every industry across the U.S.; especially when it comes to jobs. For hiring professionals, this means your workload may have been cut in half overnight – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can be doing to prepare for the recovery.
So, whether you’re actively recruiting right now or not, read our blog, where we explain exactly what you should be doing to improve your hiring efforts during these challenging times.
When you’re busy trying to recruit, it can be all too easy to churn out the same job adverts time and time again, especially if you’re regularly hiring for similar roles. However, now is a good time to revisit your job descriptions and see how you can improve them.
Remember, job descriptions and other advertisements help candidates build an impression of the role and company you’re hiring for. All too often, they can quickly become long and difficult to digest – especially when multiple people are involved in writing them.
So, try to avoid long, chunky paragraphs. Open your job advert with a quick overview of the company and role you’re hiring for. If it’s a new role, that’s a positive point to highlight as it shows the company is growing and doing well. Then, list out the role and responsibilities using bullet points, followed by the key skills and requirements for the job.
The world of work is going to be a bit different for a while, and candidates’ expectations will also change. So, it’s worth mentioning if the job will involve remote working, or if there will be any delays to the hiring process.
The job market has been candidate-led for a long time. However, this has now shifted, and unemployment levels are sadly at a record high. This means hiring managers may have a much larger talent pool to choose from than normal.
Because of this, it’s a good opportunity to focus on building your talent pools for future hiring efforts – especially if you aren’t actively recruiting at the moment. Searching for resumes can take up a lot of time and effort, but there are tools you can use to make the process a lot more seamless, especially during this period of uncertainty.
For example, Resume-Library’s integration with SmartSearch offers a quick and seamless approach to sourcing and qualifying candidates. SmartSearch users can search our extensive database with our single-click sourcing feature finding the most relevant resumes to help build their own talent pools for future use – without having to leave the SmartSearch platform.
Now is a good time for staffing companies to check in with the organizations they usually recruit for and gain an idea of what their future hiring needs might be.
While you should already have knowledge of how their industry may be affected by the pandemic, make sure you stay on top of the latest news and insights, so you’re well-informed when you speak to them.
Try to reach them on the phone as it’s a lot more personal. Ask how they are on a personal level, and how the business is coping right now. It’s a good idea to try and understand whether they’re having to lay people off and how they think the organization will recover.
Finally, try to discover whether they think they’ll pick hiring back up in the new future. It might be worth mentioning any great candidates you have, but make sure you approach this in a sensitive manner.
Communication is key when it comes to hiring, not only with the hiring managers you’re working alongside but also, with the candidates who are actively looking for work.
Whether you’re hiring right now or not, it’s a good idea to keep in communication with candidates to not only build rapport but also to help build up that talent pool that we mentioned earlier.
Many hiring professionals have spent years perfecting their CRM software to target and convert passive candidates – so don’t let this all go to waste. Keep speaking with candidates and ensure you remain top-of-mind when it comes to their job search.
As well as clients and candidates, it’s a good time to connect with people within the staffing industry, especially if you’re experiencing a downturn in work. LinkedIn is a great platform for socializing and networking with like-minded people. Plus, it’s useful for staying on top of the latest trends in the market.
So, make sure you’re connected with key recruitment influencers, as well as current and ex-colleagues. This is especially important right now when more conversations are taking place online. You won’t want to miss out on any key pieces of information within the staffing industry.
Are You Doing Any of These?
Whether you’re hiring right now or not, there is plenty to keep busy with. So, take this time to look at your current hiring process and identify areas where you can make it more efficient. Your job adverts are a great starting point to consider.
Alongside this, spend the time building talent pools for the future and speak to candidates, your clients, and industry folk to help build your candidate database and ensure you’re seen as a resource for your best candidates. These are very challenging times, but how you survive and thrive during them is key. If you’d like help building a better recruiting process, schedule a free demo of SmartSearch.