7 Helpful Tips for Finding Talented Job Candidates for Your Next Hire

For many hiring managers and recruiters, the hunt for quality talent to add to their workforce is time, resource and budget intensive—and they’re usually under pressure to have made the hire yesterday.

Typically, many hiring managers and recruiters are working with a shallow talent pool, and between all their other responsibilities, find themselves reacting to a new job opening rather than proactive networking with candidates before a vacancy occurs.

But whether you’ve found yourself in a reactive or proactive position today, we aim to help. Below we offer seven helpful tips that you can infuse into your recruiting and hiring strategy to help you find great candidates for current or future needs.

1. Tap your current employees and network for candidate referrals.

Your current employees and network of industry peers can be one of your most powerful resources for finding great candidates. When it comes to your employees, they understand your business and what it takes to excel. As for your industry connections, they have likely come across a talented individual through their own search or work experience who they can send your way.

In the end, by getting a trusted employee or peer to refer a candidate, you can save yourself a layer of vetting and increase your chances of hiring a home-run candidate. In addition, referred candidates can be brought in for in-person interviews more quickly, saving you even more time and resources.

Tip: Reach out to your employees and peers to see if they know of any qualified candidates who are looking for a new challenge, and make sure to provide them with a copy or direct link to the job description. This will give them the information they need to effectively tap the people who are the most qualified.

In addition, ask your employees to share links to job openings on their social media pages. This will help you spread the word about your job opportunity even further. Make it easy by providing some pre-written messages that they can easily paste and share.

2. Take advantage of free trials on job sites.

In today’s digital world, most job seekers can be found online—and they’re likely sharing their resume on job sites and job boards across the web. In fact, according to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), online sources lead to 88% of interviews and 78% of all external hires.

Tip: Do a little research on job sites such as Indeed, CareerBuilder, and take advantage of any free trial offers to peruse candidate resumes. This will allow you to get a taste of what candidates are out there and minimize costs.

3. Leverage relationships with former employees.

Former employees who performed well and left on good terms are prime candidates for current or future positions. After all, these people are familiar with your company and processes, and have real on-the-job experience—which would curb your training time.

While they did leave for a reason, you may be able to recapture that talent. According to a recent study released by the Workforce Institute and Kronos Incorporated, 46% of Millennials and 33% of Gen Xers would consider returning to a previous employer.

Tip: Maintain relationships with former employees on social media by engaging with their content and keeping an eye on their career progression. If a position opens that you think they’d be a great fit for, you’ll have built the rapport you need to confidently reach out and encourage them to talk about the opportunity.

4. Make your website attractive and informative.

Many job seekers will visit your website to gauge their interest in working for your company.  Typically, prospective candidates will visit your website to learn what type of work you do, as well as try to get a glimpse of the company culture. As a result, your website should most certainly contain a careers page that speaks directly to job seekers.

Tip: Most companies feature a career page that lists their available jobs, but you’ll want to go deeper than that. Let candidates know all about all the benefits of working at your company. Detail the work culture and provide pictures of employees and your office/location. Consider asking employees to write a short testimonial on what they love about working for your company, and share them on your careers page.

5. Utilize LinkedIn and other social networks.

Social media has become a part of our daily lives, so why not use it to hunt and vet extraordinary talent? Of course, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, so you’ll certainly want to start there. But Twitter and Facebook could be helpful, too.

Tip: Use LinkedIn as a tool to search candidates by job title or company. Then drill into the profiles of those you find to gather details about their work experience, education and accomplishments. If they seem like a good fit, try to connect or reach out via InMail, which will require an upgraded account. In addition, if you’ve already gotten some applications in, find those candidate’s LinkedIn profiles to get a deeper look into what they bring to the table. This will help you gain more insight before you set up an interview.

6. Network at job fairs and business events.

Job fairs and business events are great places to meet interested or prospective candidates face-to-face. When it comes to job fairs, engaging directly with candidates will help you get an early read on them before bringing them in for a more formal interview. As for business events or conferences, networking can help you identify potential candidates for the future and build rapport with them.

Tip: If you’re struggling to get quality applications in the door, research upcoming networking events or job fairs that you can attend. In addition, try to commit to attending these types of events regularly to increase your network and be more proactive in your recruiting efforts.

7. Partner with an experienced professional staffing agency.

Professional staffing agencies like Masterson do the searching and vetting for you, freeing up time and resources on your end—and hand delivering you candidates who have the skills, experience and personality that fit with what you’re looking for.

Tip: Do your research to find a firm that has a solid reputation in the industry. Review their website to learn about the services they offer, as well as their process for connecting you with the best candidates. Look for an agency that offers tailored solutions. After all, your company and staffing needs are unique, so you’ll want an agency that can deliver you a customized plan.

Masterson Staffing has 50 years of experience in the professional staffing world, helping light industrial and professional companies connect with and hire thousands of excellent employees. Get in touch with us today to learn how we can help you find your next great hire.