3 Things Your Company Must Do To Attract High-Quality Candidates

I was recently reminiscing about my teenage years when I would order 12 CDs for a penny from Columbia House by dropping a postcard in the mail. I could hardly wait to get my hands on those new CDs, and after six to eight long weeks of waiting they were finally delivered to my front door. Flash-forward to the current day when I used the Amazon app on my phone to buy diapers. And thanks to my Amazon Prime membership, they were delivered to my front door . . . in about six hours. Simply amazing.

This experience reminded me just how rapidly and dramatically business has evolved. If your company wants to attract high-quality candidates, your recruitment process should have the same ease, certainly and timeliness as ordering from Amazon.

Here are three things your company should be doing to become the Amazon Prime of recruitment.

Be user-friendly.

In one of my workshops I share the story about my first job search. At that time, most of my leads came from the Sunday newspaper and Monster.com, which was a real pain to use on a dial-up connection. But now, more job seekers than ever are using their mobile devices to look for and apply for jobs. According to a Glassdoor survey, 89% of job seekers report they are likely to use a mobile device during their job search. So if your company can’t engage people on their mobile devices, you are missing out on talent. Does your company really need to develop a full blown app for recruitment? Nah. Not yet anyway. But you should make sure the “Careers” section of your website is mobile friendly and has the functionality and user friendliness that allows people to easily browse and apply for jobs via their mobile devices.

Share reviews.

Does this sound familiar? You’re ready to pull the trigger on that item you’ve been eyeing online for weeks until you start reading all those negative customer reviews. In the same way, job seekers’ company research goes far beyond your carefully curated website. Your 2.5 star review on Glassdoor might deter some job seekers from even applying. You can certainly ask your most enthusiastic employees to write reviews for Glassdoor or testimonials for your website. Better yet, have those employees help tell your company’s story. Skill Scout is a platform organizations can use to create employee-generated recruitment videos. If you want to attract and engage high-quality candidates, you have to create a way for them to learn about your company from the people who have the most credibility: your current employees.

Act quickly.

Ever since I joined Amazon Prime it seems like a reallly long time if it takes more than 2 days for something I order to be delivered. In some cases, the delivery speed is a determining factor in which online retailer I choose to shop with. Just as consumers have other options, so too do talented job seekers. No candidate wants to be in limbo while your company meanders through an onerous interview process. Earlier this year, Zappos introduced the 3-Day Pledge. Essentially their recruiting team has pledged to get back to job candidates within 3 business days or less: within 3 business days of a resume submission, a phone interview or an onsite interview. Your company might not be ready for a 3-day pledge, but you still need to be timely in responding to applicants, conducting your interview process and reaching a final decision. More time spent in the hiring process doesn’t equate to better hiring decisions.

#employerbranding #talentacquisition #recruiting #humanresources #managertools #communication