Let’s face it. You can’t even begin to think about reviewing resumes, interviewing candidates and hiring an employee without having people apply to your jobs. It’s the number one struggle we hear from hiring managers all over the world. Everything within an efficient hiring process goes hand-in-hand, however the first, and arguably the most important, step is finding quality applicants.
5 Easy Ways to Find Applicants
Post to the right job boards
It’s common knowledge to post to job boards when looking for candidates. However, what most hiring managers tend to over look is which specific job boards to post on for certain jobs. Here are some examples of position-specific job boards you should be posting to.
- Salesgravy.com – great for finding sales people
- Care.com – find care takers, special needs takers, pet care, etc.
- Workinretail.com – find all types of employees in the retail business
Develop a strong, detailed job description
According to an article in About, “develop a job description that delineates the key responsibilities and outputs of the position. Then, define the behavioral characteristics of the person you feel is your ideal candidate. Finally, list your five – ten key responsibilities and characteristics you will use to screen resumes, perform phone screens and eventually, establish the questions for the candidates you interview.”
Network
Use your family, friends, professional connections and social media platforms to expose your open jobs. You cannot push this information out to public enough. Spread the word across your own company as well. Each and every employee has a network of their own. You and your employees are instantly connected to hundreds of potential applicants.
Take advantage of your website
First of all, let’s hope you have a website. If you’re hiring, I’m assuming you do. This is the first place job seekers look at when determining if they should apply to an open position or not. Have a confusing, all-over-the-place website? Your first step is to revamp it. If you’re past that speed bump and have an updated, relevant website, take advantage of your career page. Make the open positions as easy to follow and comprehend as possible. This will make job hunters instantly click “Apply.”
Implement an employee referral program
Let’s be honest. We all need a helping hand from time to time. We get by with a little help from our friends. I mean, even The Beatles said it and The Beatles are never wrong. Ever. This goes hand-in-hand with networking. Build out an employee referral program. This will incentivize your team to want candidates just as much as much as you do.
Like I said, finding candidates is the number one hiring headache we hear from most managers. Follow these five easy steps and you’ll be well on your way to an inbox full of candidate flow in no time.
