How to hire in markets where candidates are in high demand

You’ve heard it a thousand times. And it’s true. Your people are the most important asset of your business. So when the time comes to hire, it makes sense to pick the candidates who are the best possible fit for your vacant roles.  

Not always easy.

In sectors where demand for specific skills exceeds the supply of candidates, finding the right person for the job is a challenge. Job-seekers can play employers against each other, cherry-picking the best offer.

The good news? A few tweaks to your recruitment process will put your business in the best position to snap up in-demand candidates, before your competitors do.

Here are five tips.

1.  Make sure you are ready

Once you have a top candidate interested in your vacancy, you need to act sharpish to secure them. Complicated, protracted recruitment campaigns won’t work as you will lose your candidate to a competitor if you are too slow.

Be engaging at every step, you are also being interviewed – it is a two way process!

Make sure all necessary your team have allocated time for interviews and debrief meetings (and if they  have upcoming holidays booked, have another member of the team available to cover the interview process).  Set deadlines for everything, starting with the date for the final interview and working back to submission of the job vacancy and job description. The aim is to make the entire recruitment process as smooth, simple and streamlined as possible.

2.  Differentiate your business

You know how it is with mind-numbing cover letters and CVs that make your eyelids heavy. They don’t stand out. It can be the same with job adverts. Instead of generic templates, don’t be afraid to inject some personality into proceedings.  Job adverts with salary visible receive over 6 times more applications that those advertised without.  So it is important that you share the salary band for the role you are recruiting for.    While your advert is the most visible part of your recruitment process remember that to stand out in this market you need to have compelling and competitive package and benefits for the role.  Candidates don’t just look at salary, they will look at the flexibility you offer, your approach to employee wellbeing along with every other aspect of how you treat colleagues.  From Glassdoor reviews to holiday entitlement every element plays a part in the decision making process of prospective candidates.

3.  Open your search

Not enough candidates? Perhaps your search is a little too specific. Please don’t be quick to dismiss applicants without industry experience if they have the skills you need. Okay, you might have to spend more time training them up. But there are distinct advantages to hiring outside your industry. Diverse teams are more creative problem-solvers and an employee that’s new to your sector will be able to offer fresh insight, new viewpoints and help to find new gaps in the market. More pragmatic, less dogmatic.

4.  Make decisions early

We know. In an ideal world it would be great to compare and contrast a pool of strong candidates; to deliberate over the quirks and qualities of each applicant until you are certain you have found the best person for your business. Unfortunately you don’t have that luxury when businesses are competing to secure applicants with in-demand skill sets. You have to make decisions quickly or risk losing a good candidate to another business. Make sure your candidates know you are seriously interested in hiring them – don’t leave them without any news or they will lose interest.

5.  Be Bold, don’t be afraid of your competitors!

What’s the going salary for the role you are recruiting for? How do you sell your business to a potential candidate who is weighing up three different job offers?  It’s worth keeping an eye on how other businesses in your industry are marketing their job vacancies - as well as the salaries they are offering for roles that match the job you are recruiting for. What perks and benefits do they provide? How do they communicate the company culture? Your candidates will be hungry for information. Don’t be afraid of giving it to them.  Ensure you are able to clearly articulate why you are the best choice.

Start Hiring

There will always be some positions that are easier to recruit for than others. That’s the nature of the job market. But when you are searching for someone with a niche set of skills, landing the best candidate starts by honing your recruitment process, differentiating your opportunity and injecting a little charisma into your job adverts or partnering with a specialist agency who do all the above on a daily basis!

If you need some assistance or advice on this, please give us a call on 01392 413577 or drop our Managing Director, Jo Caine an email: Joanne@cathedralappointments.co.uk