Hiring the right employees can be quite a complicated process. Great employees are scarce and you´re probably competing with loads of other employers for the best talent. Therefore, here are 6 tips to make your company more attractive to candidates and to increase your chances of hiring great employees:
- Develop a strong employer brand
If you want to hire great employees, you need to be the great employer people want to work for. You want to be the type of company that high-quality candidates want to join. Therefore, your employer brand is very important, it is how your company is perceived by people outside of your company. Just like you wouldn´t hire somebody just based on a curriculum or an email, they are not joining a company just based on a job description. If the perception about your employer brand is positive, it will be easier to hire great candidates. If your employer brand has a negative association, it will be much more difficult to hire the best talent. Therefore, before you post your vacancies, focus on your employer brand.
- Write better job descriptions
Instead of writing the general, very dry job descriptions, dedicate sufficient time to writing better job descriptions that attract the best talent. Many companies write job descriptions just focused on tasks, responsibilities, and requirements they need to comply with, but this can actually scare good candidates off. Instead of just focusing on what you need, emphasize as well on what you offer the candidate if they join your company, what is in it for them.
- Go social
In today´s digital environment, you need to keep up with the latest tech trends. Candidates want to work for companies that are up to date and you need to make sure you are present on all social media not just to inform and engage with potential candidates but also to be able to do candidate research. This can give you a better picture of the candidate. Also, very important, make sure your recruitment process is mobile friendly. Many candidates will enter via mobile and the process doesn´t allow for it, they might back out because it´s too much effort.
- Prioritize personal fit over experience
Don´t make the mistake of just focusing on experience and finding the skills we need. Personal fit and potential to grow into the position are just as important, if not more important. Hiring a candidate that on paper might have the perfect background but that doesn´t fit in on a personal level, will most likely be a mishire. Hence, a candidate that has a great personality and the potential to develop the right skills, might actually be a much better hire.
- Focus on behavioral interviews
We have already touched upon this topic before on the blog but make sure to always use behavioral interview question techniques to get the most insights about the candidate. By asking for examples of how the candidate behaved in certain situations in the past, you can draw some conclusions about their ways of working and whether they are the profile that you are looking for or not. Hence, instead of focusing on the standard interview questions, go for behavioral questioning.
- Utilize employee referrals
Use your existing network and take their referrals seriously. Good people know good people so if one of your employees recommends someone to be considered for a certain role, it might be wise to take this seriously. Also, candidates who are referred by your existing employees often know more about your company and will probably stay longer. Therefore, an employee referral program might be a good idea for your company!
What other tips do you have for hiring great employees?
