The job market has become increasingly buoyant. The number of candidates that we at Executive Connections speak to on a daily basis who are ready to make a career move is increasing. While job seekers are competing for new career opportunities you as an employer must also compete in order to appeal to the best people for your business. To ensure you have the best chance of finding stand out employees here are our top tips for attracting the very best talent:
1. Reach out to your existing network
Your existing connections can be of great value to you. Use your industry knowledge and your current network of contacts to aid the hiring process. Speak to colleagues and industry experts about contacts they have who are potentially seeking a career move. Reach out to your own employees and, even better, incentivise them with a bonus or referral fee. Your current employees know what it takes to do a good job and have a vested interest to bring in someone who can benefit the team as a whole! Hiring through your own network is one of the most cost effective ways to hire a new employee and should be your first port of call.
2. Don’t forget to look inside the company
Sometimes the best candidate for the job is already working for you. Finding stand out employees may not be the difficult task you think. When a position opens up inform your staff and let them know that the company is open to considering current employees for the position. Review the talents and skills of those working for you and you may uncover ‘hidden talents’. You may also have observed certain strengths in the past that make a particular person a good fit for the job. The benefits of hiring from within are many – from eliminating hiring costs to reduced training time and greater employee loyalty.
3. Advertise on Job Boards
For most job seekers job boards are their first stop when they begin looking for a job. Make sure to write a really informative job description highlighting what exactly you are offering, what the role will entail and the company culture. A huge amount of web traffic goes to these sites daily so it should be top of the list when advertising a vacancy.
4. Don’t ignore social media
Social media can be extremely useful when it comes to hiring staff. Facebook and Instagram can be used to showcase what it’s like to work for your company with good images of company events or day-to-day life. You can also use hashtags such as #irishjobfairy on Twitter to increase the amount of people who see your job vacancy tweet. Without doubt, LinkedIn can be really useful in your search for a new employee. With a huge portion of the current workforce actively using LinkedIn daily it allows you to connect with people in your industry, build your network and introduce yourself before pitching your vacancy to them.
5. Use the services of a recruitment agency
While it may not be feasible for all companies to use a recruitment agency, developing a relationship with a well-established consultancy with a strong track record hiring in your sector can benefit your business in the long term. As well as offering a large database of high quality candidates you would previously not have access to, recruitment consultants possess up-to-date industry knowledge that mean they can target the very best candidates.
Do not hesitate to get in contact with us regarding any of the points raised above. We would be delighted to help source your next great hire or simply offer advice on the current hiring market. Call us today on 01-6618740 or visit our Client Centre for more employer information. This article can also be read on Independent.ie as part of our recruitment advice series.
