Attracting the Ideal Job Applicants A Guide For SMEs
The war for talents in an increasingly saturated job market has gone a notch higher with HR and recruitment professionals employing various hiring strategies to stay ahead of the curve. One of the strategies that is making in-roads is the establishing of a pre-qualified pool of potential employees and actively engaging them before an actual vacant position crops up. This, in turn, ensures that recruiters are better placed to fill new positions in the shortest time and beating the competition in the process.
In this article, we explore the various ways SMEs can use to build their own pool of ideal candidates cost-effectively. We also look at some tips and best practices when crafting job advertisements and descriptions to attract the most desirable applicants.
Leveraging on existing contacts
Professionals in the recruitment field are always growing their contact lists by encouraging existing contacts to refer their friends and associates who might be interested in advancing their careers. By being in regular contact and always keeping its growing candidate pool informed of new positions via email, social media channels and career platforms such as LinkedIn, SMEs and HR professionals will be much more likely to find the ideal candidates for new vacancies in the shortest time possible. The bigger the contact list, the higher the probability of landing the ideal employees.
Company reputation and perception
Companies should always be cognizant of public perceptions of the organisation's appeal, or lack thereof, as an employer. A positive brand perception among job seekers leads to the right candidates seeking for consideration even when actual vacancies are not immediately available. Drivers of attraction of the ideal employees should be a key influencing factor in how an organisation should shape its identity in the job market. While there are common drivers of influence across the board, companies should be mindful of the differences in mindset between candidate levels so as to better fine-tune its messaging for its primary talent segments.
For illustration, the following chart shows the differences between fresh candidates and middle managers when it comes to assessing a prospective employer. As we can see from the data below, drawn from JobStreet's comprehensive study of more than 7,000 Singapore candidates across 20 industries accessible at the Laws of Attraction (LOA) portal, fresh graduates and new entrants are particularly interested, among other issues such as diversity and employee reviews, in how the company values occupational safety and workers' health, while candidates in middle management pay most attention to the company's profitability.
Interact with this dataset here
Recruiting through the company website
Does the website come across as selling the company’s mission and vision effectively to the potential employee? If not, it is imperative that the organization’s website is professionally crafted to convey the company's values and missions and what it stands for. Besides a well-designed careers section listing all open positions, interested candidates should also be able to easily deposit their resumes through the portal for future considerations.
In as much as the recruiting firm is on the lookout for potential employees, they should also come up with suitable and attractive job advertisements aimed at capturing their desired talents. The following are some factors and issues to consider when crafting an effective job advertisement.
Title, role and the department - The job description should accurately state the actual name of the position, and how it meshes with the overall objectives of the company and in which department the role is under. It should also go further in explaining who the candidate will be working with.
Employee benefits - This section describes what the potential employee is entitled to get once they are on board. This should be attractive and commensurate with the quality and experience levels of the candidates the company is seeking, which may be in the form of salary, bonus, stock options and commission among others.
Using the same comparison between fresh graduates and middle managers for illustration, the two charts below show us that when it comes to salary and compensation considerations, both segments hold similar views with the monthly base salary being the primary driver of attraction. However, as can be seen from the second chart, the younger cohort are more concerned with job benefits such as additional leaves, whereas the more senior cohort are more interested in the medical benefits available for them and their families.
Interact with this dataset here
Interact with this dataset here
Job description, duties and responsibilities - This section highlights the roles that are expected from the applicant. It is imperative that a prospective employee goes through the duties and responsibilities carefully as it will form the backbone of their activities in the company.
Crafting an attractive job description should be limited to around two thousand characters. Portraying the company’s culture should be the most important aspect of the description as it serves as a measure of whether the employee will thrive or mesh within the company. Prospective employers should come to the realisation that the tone in which they carry the message across can potentially be damaging in that it may put off prospective employees if it comes across as too serious or strict. A more relaxed tone needs to be adopted in order to achieve the desired result.
Employee value proposition - For a job advertisement to be effective in attracting the best talents, companies must clearly present the employee value proposition. Basically, it means what’s in it for the prospective employee. How the employer craft this piece of the job description is what will make all the difference. Every entity is unique in its own way involving its people, processes and systems. Therefore, it means that different organisations will have different ways in which they will satisfy their employees. The value proposition should also provide on the job training whereby employees can get updated on latest industry trends and promotions pegged on individual performance.
Data used in article are drawn from Data Lab - the interactive exploration tool at JobStreet's Laws of Attraction portal - based on a comprehensive study of more than 7,000 candidates across 20 industries in Singapore.
Related articles