How to win over your best candidates in a talent short market

It’s no secret that there is an abundance of opportunities on the market at the moment, with jobs ads on SEEK at a 23 year record high. 

We’re finding that strong candidates will have 2 or 3 solid opportunities on the go, so some businesses are bound to miss out on their strongest candidates to competitors. There is also the added adverse effect of no overseas marketing and advertising talent arriving in Australia, making shorter term freelance roles harder to fill with on shore candidates preferring stability in the form of permanent employment.

An increasing number of clients are turning to recruiters for help and guidance with their hiring process, particularly in niche fields where experienced candidates are few and far between at the best of times. We’ve put together a few pointers for hiring managers to win over their best candidates in a talent short market, and a few of these could be the difference in them accepting a job offer from you or choosing a competitor.

Move quickly

Whilst there isn’t the abundance of candidates there once was, there are still some fantastic marketers looking for their next opportunity.  However, the likelihood is that with the increased job ads out there these candidates could be exploring more than one opportunity. This makes it imperative to move quickly if you want to secure the best talent.

Whilst we know the interview process involves many different moving consuming parts – having a clearly defined recruitment plan and allocating time after interviewing to discuss next steps with the hiring team will mean your candidate stays engaged throughout the process. This alone can demonstrate your organisations efficiency, and the show of faith in your preferred candidate by moving swiftly is a fantastic selling point to position you ahead of your competition for top talent.

Communicate well

Following on from the first recommendation of moving quickly, ensuring your candidate is well informed all the way through the recruitment process and allowing open communication channels will solidify your place at the forefront of the candidates mind regardless of the other opportunities they might have on the cards. If you’re communicating every step of the way and showing a genuine interest in your candidates, you’re in with a much better chance of landing your best candidates over a company that has kept them in the dark.

Even if the candidate is unsuccessful, chances are they will have good things to say about the organisation if they have been kept in the loop throughout. With the ease of leaving reviews on websites like Glassdoor, you never know how unclear communications and a negative interview process might hurt your company further down the line in ways you can’t afford – there are countless examples of this in action.

Vocalise the benefits – and at the very least offer some flexibility

There are countless articles out there about the importance of benefits and the ones that have the most influence on candidates. With the world working from home for a large portion of 2020 and into 2021 – it’s becoming almost a given that candidates are going to be more attracted to opportunities with an element of flexibility.

If you aren’t a company which can facilitate this, it’s going to be difficult to win over your best candidates in a market like this, with candidates opting for flexible working over pay rises.

But, that isn’t the end of the world. Coupling up some other significant, useful benefits that you offer e.g. childcare and medical insurance, can still be powerful as long as they’re vocalised in the job ad. If all you’re offering is a stocked mini bar and an office with a view, chances are you’ll lose your best candidates to a company which is willing to offer something more beneficial to them.

Employee Advocacy

The power of employee advocacy shouldn’t be underestimated when trying to bring in top talent. Hubspot reported that every 6 company posts an employee shares on Linkedin, the business page will see an increase on average of six job views, three company page views, one company page follower, and the employee will receive six profile views and two new connections. 

It’s also true that more people (54%) trust a regular employees word over the CEO or a piece in the news. With most candidates doing some in-depth research on the company before interviewing, the best businesses are using employee advocacy to their advantage.

So, if your employees aren’t advocates for your brand, there is a significant chance you will miss out on attracting and ultimately winning over top talent to competitors who have this strategy in full swing.

Meaningful work

In a broad context, everybody has a desire to do meaningful work. Whether that’s working on big projects that make a difference in people’s lives, or being trusted with responsibilities that have a direct impact on business success. In a more specific context, there are plenty of studies that show being involved in meaningful work and possessing positive mental health have a direct link.

Even if your business isn’t changing lives in the literal sense, the offer of responsibility and the potential to develop skills is something that must be offered to make sure you have a chance of winning over the best candidates in a talent short market.

Ultimately, these are areas many businesses have some work to do, and these changes take some time to implement. However, making some of these improvements will go a long way to improve your businesses standing as an employer/recruiter and eventually give you a leg up on the competition for the best candidates.

If you need help sourcing marketing, advertising or digital talent due to the current market conditions, we’d love to hear from you.