The Job Seeker of Today (and tomorrow)
Much has changed in the last 10 – 15 years in recruitment, the job boards coming a long took a while to get established but now it is the first place job seekers go when they are looking for work and that has pretty much spelled the end for recruitment advertising in newspapers (local and national). There will always be a place for some recruitment advertising in print, although mainly in niche trade press rather than local newspapers or national newspapers.
If you want evidence of this then just go and buy a copy of a local or national newspaper and check out the recruitment section. 10 years ago there were 10 – 15 pages of jobs and now they struggle to fill just a couple.
So what does that mean for resourcing managers and those of us that want to find staff quickly?
Job boards and online recruitment means that there is a quick efficient and cost effective way of reaching out to the staff that you want for your business. However it has become much easier for job seekers to find jobs and quickly apply with the touch of a button.
That’s exactly what job seekers want… simple and easy. We all want simple and easy. You want it too. If I showed you a way to achieve your lifetime goal in half the time with half the effort you would most likely bite my hand off. (Would you appreciate it as much once you got it? That’s a different question, and not one for now.)
Fast, Instant, Simple and Easy is how the world is moving, with instant news available through mobile apps, Facebook, Twitter etc. These days every single one of us is a potential “journo” sharing news from wherever we are and whatever it is that we are seeing.
You don’t need a newspaper or TV to see what is going on anymore. You just need your mobile phone or tablet, as everything is instant… and so it is the same with job seeking. You can simply go online, find some jobs, upload your CV and apply for multiple jobs at any one time, assuming there is enough of the kind of work that you want out there, which there is!
Research we have recently done indicates that the typical job seeker applies for 4 jobs per session. That’s a lot of competition for your job. It also means that you need to make sure you have a damn good headline to get seen above the crowd!
Off the back of this research we developed and launched our Step Ladder app to take this whole thing to the next level. We have completely removed the need for an immediate CV.
Candidates can simply link their account via FB or Linked IN and then they can engage with employers with the swipe of a finger (and vice versa for employers). As soon as there is a match the contact details are released to both parties and the engagement can start. It’s a bit like TINDER but for recruitment… and we all know how successful tinder had become.
Simple, Easy, Quick and Efficient.
So what does this “INSTANT” and “SPEED” culture mean for the recruiter either in house, at agency, or as an owner manager within a SME?
Well basically what it means is that you have got to be fast. Fastest finger first is the name of the game.
Once upon a time you may have had the luxury of time. You could wait for your CV’s / Applications to accumulate, set aside some time once or twice a week to review them and select the best ones to contact by telephone call or email. Once the conversation was underway the process of engaging with the talent that you want for your business would run smoothly and efficiently.
You can’t afford to do that any more though. You can’t afford to wait because the job seekers that are engaging with your jobs are also engaging with the competitors in your area that are also desperate for their skills, knowledge and personalities. If the competition for that talent has decided they are going to be super proactive and get in touch ASAP (often immediately), and they have also taken the time to get their “pitch” sorted as to WHY the job seeker might want to come and work for their organisation (Pitch the purpose. Pitch the CULTURE, pitch the WHY!) well they can then take the job seeker out of the game… out of your game!
Tried and tested head hunting skills come in to play here where you need to work really hard to gain a candidates commitment and full attention, taking the job seeker out of the market… “showing a lack of focus or commitment may hold you back, a prospective employer that thinks you are looking everywhere may well be turned off. Best to commit entirely to one thing at a time, focus on that and then if it doesn’t work out, although I am sure it will, then we can go back to the drawing board.”
It’s not manipulation, it’s persuasion, and it’s the truth. If you were an employer presented with one candidate who you knew had a few job opportunities on the go (i.e. they are ACTIVE) versus a candidate who has bee head hunted from a place they are currently successful, then you know which one you would choose don’t you?!
Our fixed fee recruitment services (https://adambutlerltd.co.uk/fixed-fee-recruitment/)
include an “Advert Only” option. This can work really well to connect our clients to job seekers, however we see it time and again where the client is too slow to respond to applications, and when they do get round to it the jobs seekers are not responsive, either because they are no longer interested, they may have forgotten that they applied… or most likely they have been snapped up and taken out of the market by someone else!
(NOTE: “Advert Only” is a great service, with advert writing, multiple job board distribution, free ATS access, and full account management; but if you don’t respond to people that apply quickly enough then you stand to lose out!)
In todays market it is all about your ability to react quickly, INSTANTLY, being proactive, getting to the talent first before anyone else does, and critically it is all about pitching yourself in as positive a light (authentically) as you possibly can to make sure the jobs seeker has desire for your opportunity and that they are prepared to take action and commit to you as quickly as possible. Show off your well developed CULTURE, give them evidence to believe it. Case studies from existing employees are a great way of doing it. Videos are even better.
Here at Adam Butler Consultancy we can definitely help, not only can we get your job out on all the major job boards and our Step Ladder app, but one of our dedicated account managers can make sure we understand your role, the skills and experience that you are looking for, but also understand your MESSAGE that will create the desire in the candidates to make sure they consider your job above all.
Have you really got the time yourself to do all this? Well maybe you are a large business with a big internal resourcing team, but even then you may find that sometimes you need some help. If you are a smaller business doing it yourself owner managed then admittedly you will be the best equipped to deliver your message, but have you really got the time to do this over and over every day. Appointing a partner to carry out this initial critically important work can ensure that you get to the best talent most quickly every time, and never lose in the war for talent again.
If you’d like a chat about any of this or how we can design a process for you and your business then please just drop us a line.
We can help you work out the best target market, the message, the advertising and sourcing strategy, and a solution that gets you to the candidates quickly and easily every time.
Go here for iOS app https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/step-ladder-job-search-for/id1057159237
Go here for Google Play app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stepladder.job.stepladder