Recruiting for a position is a hard task. Even before this pandemic hit the world, recruiters and HR professionals have been victims of the present skills gap, especially for the hard-to-fill positions. Every recruiter’s priority is to fill a position with the best talents they can find. However, there are numerous recruiting challenges involved that recruiters need to face. Especially for hard-to-fill tech or other roles. If you’re going through the same issue, here’s an article to ease your pain on how to hire for hard-to-fill positions.
Every position in an organization is difficult to recruit for. However, with the tight labor market, some jobs in some industries are actually hard-to-fill simply keep recruiters up at night. So much so, that many of these jobs go unfilled for a long time! It is quite evident in Payscale’s report. In this report, 59% of respondents said that they are having positions available that had been open for at least six months, or even more.
The pandemic has beaten up numerous industries over the past year. However, some industries have had positions in great demand and hard to recruit for. As the pace of businesses picked up, this demand has increased more and recruiters are having a tough time. To add up, the forced digitization of the workforce makes certain roles even harder to fill. Just because it’s tough, doesn’t mean it’s impossible! Here are some tips on how to hire for hard-to-fill positions.
Restrategize Your Job Descriptions And Job Ads
The modern job search process is similar to that of any other marketplace. The job seeker looks for a simple and seamless search curated by high branding and a great experience. So, you need to make a great first impression to attract great candidates. That’s why getting a top-notch job description and advert should be the very first step towards attracting top talents.
A well-written and realistic job description is extremely crucial to help you attract the top talents in the market. Make sure your job description is attractive yet simple. It should easily convey your organization’s culture and make your candidates work for you. Also, you need to make sure your job ads have great visibility and target the right people. To do this, consider using recruitment technologies that can automatically advertise your jobs and give you awesome traffic.
Work On Employer Brand
Today’s recruitment market is all about the candidates. Candidates no longer have paychecks as their only priority while hunting for jobs. Just like a consumer trusts a huge brand name in a marketplace, great talent will also want to work for a company with a great employer brand. They seek an organization that caters to their interests, ethics, and values.
That’s why it is extremely important for recruiters to build a strong employer brand. Especially when the roles are hard-to-fill, the candidates should be thoroughly conveyed about what it’s like to work for your organization. The best way to do this is through social media and content marketing. This can give your candidates a clear idea of your company’s culture and values.
Consider Internal Hiring
Another most hard-to-fill jobs are the newly emerging job roles within an industry. A job role may be around for just a year or maybe emerged due to certain circumstances. Hiring for such roles is extremely complicated because no one has ever done it before. So, the best solution for such a situation is to look within and consider internal hiring.
Your current staff will have the best understanding of the industry and how your organization works. They have industry-specific knowledge and experience. They also have an understanding of your company’s culture. These all are plus points when you need to hire someone for a newly emerged position. So, the best idea here would be to train and upskill your current workforce according to your needs. Set up skill-specific training and learning programs for your current employees.
Build An Employee Referral Program
Employee referrals are hands down one of the best and most efficient sourcing methods when it comes to hard-to-fill jobs. Thriving companies with a strong HR team always rely on employee referrals to get in touch with the top talents in the market. They understand that tapping into their internal talent network will save resources and yield positive results.
Your current employees are your biggest marketers. Employee referrals will not only help you hire for hard-to-fill roles, but it will help you hire faster. Also, they can help you enhance your employee retention since they offer you the best cultural fit. So, build effective employee referral programs and reward your current employees for participating. Trust and credibility are the foundations of employee referrals and that’s why they are a great way to hire for hard-to-fill positions.
