Traditional Hiring Is Dead 💀

How to source today's top talent

The power balance between employers and candidates has moved into the hands of the candidate for the first time in history. 

With thousands of jobs being posted every single day, it is becoming harder to attract top talent and stay on top of your hiring game. As people focus on finding jobs in companies they admire and aspire to work for, where they can have a working environment that suits their lifestyle, the outdated traditional job platforms are failing to deliver quality candidates.

Many of these platforms still use AI softwares to screen candidates, completely failing to adapt to today’s highly skill-based environment, where looking at (or in this case text validating) someone’s employment history on a CV just doesn’t cut it anymore. 

Teamtailor, a leading recruitment and employer branding ATS (Applicant Tracking System), highlights ‘keeping it short’ as one of the top tips when posting a great job advert. Listing the requirements of the job is totally ok, but making candidates sift through huge paragraphs of *what* the job entails, is a fruitless exercise. Instead, focus on highlighting the perks of the role you’re hiring for and showcase why your company is different from countless others. Leading with the company first and not job first, is proven to attract better talent with a higher retention rate. After all, they know what they’re getting into from the start!

It is becoming almost inevitable for recruitment to have to adapt to this volatile hiring market by focusing more on marketing and employer branding, in order to attract top talent.

How do I adapt?

All these changes lead to one very important focus. Employer branding. Attracting quality talent, by creating a company culture, which values their employees and the need for flexibility that goes beyond “early Friday finishes”. 

Be Social

We have seen companies utilising social media, turning their talent search into more of an end-to-end marketing campaign about the company itself. Platforms such as instagram, TikTok and Twitter are becoming an increasingly popular method for attracting candidates. Especially as people would much prefer to work for brands they know and love.

Be Open-minded

Try focusing on skills-based interviews; some companies are even scrapping CV’s altogether in order to keep up with the changes in hiring processes. It’s not always about someone’s professional experience, there are many individuals out there who are far more skilled at something they work on in their spare time rather than in the office.

Be Proactive

Approaching passive candidates can help you find someone who is highly skilled in their role and if they work for a company with a similar culture, it’s likely they’ll fit straight into yours. Just because someone isn’t unemployed, doesn’t mean they’re not open to new opportunities, and if you’re a company who’s got more to offer than their current employer, then you’re in with a pretty good chance of enticing them over!

Be Transparent

People want to see more than just a job description before applying, so remember, transparency is key! Candidates want to understand what your company is all about and an answer to the question, “why should I apply here?”. This is your opportunity to showcase everything you’ve got, so make it good - you’re competing with a lot of other employers!

Be Flexible

Over 340k users are searching Flexa’s website for their next flexible role as we help companies stand out in the competitive employer market. We’re witnessing companies now (unintentionally) creating ‘hiring benches’, flipping the traditional hiring process on its head. Candidates save companies they really want to work for, and apply when a position is available.

Be open in your search for new talent, avoid posting jobs with a cookie cutter/ ‘one size fits all’ attitude. Sometimes, the most surprising candidates might be the most successful.