What is inbound recruiting [step-by-step process]

Inbound recruiting has become one of the most important ways to seek candidates with skills for driving and growing the organization. Unlike classical outbound methods like cold outreach and top job boards, inbound recruiting focuses on creating a strong employer brand to attract candidates.

According to SHRM, 86% of recruiters believe the job market is candidate-driven, and 62% of candidates feel they have the upper hand in the hiring process. This underscores the importance of adapting inbound recruitment strategies to attract and engage potential candidates.

Let’s break this article down for you on what inbound recruiting is, why it matters, and how you can apply it to get the best candidates in the door. 

Summarise this post with:

What is inbound recruiting?

Inbound recruiting involves attracting applicants to your company via branding, content, and even good company culture. Just as inbound marketing causes customers to come towards your brand, it is the same in inbound recruiting. Inbound recruiting causes candidates to come toward open jobs in your organization. 

Inbound recruiting pulls talent toward your organization through the company’s culture, mission, and values rather than reaching out for candidates like in outbound recruiting. What they see and hear about your company attracts them, and before you actually reach out to them, they already have shown interest in joining you.

Why does inbound recruiting matter for an organization?

Inbound recruiting helps organizations build lasting relationships with candidates, attract top talent, improve employer branding, and shorten time-to-hire.

1. Builds stronger connections with candidates

One of the main reasons inbound recruiting is very strong is that they connect much better with potential candidates. It is because people want to work with your company for what your company is. They are more likely excited about your roles and will be motivated to perform at their best.

2. Reduces time-to-hire

Inbound recruiting reduces time-to-hire because the candidates who would show interest in your company are already familiar with your brand and values, thus saving you the initial hiring stages since they have actually “prequalified” themselves.

3. Passive talent attraction

Passive talent, the people who aren’t looking but would be very interested in the right opportunity, is one of the biggest recruiting challenges. Inbound recruiting gets those individuals by creating a strong brand presence that grabs their interest.

Step-by-step process for inbound recruiting

A structured inbound recruiting process ensures you attract the right talent. You can create a seamless journey from brand awareness to hiring by following key steps.

Step 1: Build your employer brand

Your employer brand is the basis of inbound recruiting. According to LinkedIn, about 45% of candidates check a company’s online reputation before applying for a job with them.

Hence, employer brand is your company’s reputation as a workplace, and it will affect how potential candidates will perceive your organization.

Best practices for building a strong employer brand

• Share clearly what your company stands for in terms of values and mission. Candidates want to join organizations that share their values.
• Share employee testimonials, case studies, or stories on things current employees might experience. This is an inside look into what it’s like to work for your company.
• Whether through social media, your website, or in interviews, make sure your messaging is consistent with your brand.

Step 2: Curate engaging content for professionals

Content forms a massive aspect of inbound recruiting. If job applicants and interested people are looking on the internet for information concerning your company or a company within your industry, they would want high-value, interesting content that reflects your company as an authority in its field and a great place to work.

Some content options:

• Blog posts about company culture, the latest developments in the provided domain, or what it’s like to work in your organization.
• Make behind-the-scenes videos of the office, employee interviews, or team activities.
• You could update your followers on accomplishments made in the company, the team going out for activities, or just interesting projects happening in the firm through social media.
• Shed light on various subjects related to your industry through podcasts or webinars to attract people who are professionals in that field.

Step 3: Create a career page that converts

An interested candidate then refers to your career page for more information about positions open in your company and the culture they will be working with. 

According to Forbes, 79% of candidates do research a company before applying, and 46% do that research directly on the company’s career site. Hence, a good career page puts all the information candidates need to know.

Quality elements of a high-converting career page

• Each job you have open should have clear, detailed, and evocative job descriptions. Explain the responsibilities and benefits of the role.
• You can use photographs, videos, or employee endorsements to showcase the culture that exists in your company.
• Make applying easy for the candidate with one or two mouse clicks. Avoid the use of long, complex application forms.
• Use keywords in the construction of the career page so that it will appear when searching for jobs in the given industry.

Step 4: Nurture the talent by candidate relationship management

Once the candidates are interested and reach your table, you should not let them walk away in disappointment. Yes, even if it means no recruitment on the spot, it is a must to maintain that connection. This is where candidate relationship management comes into the picture.

Ways to nurture relationships with candidates:

• You can update them with what your company has been doing, whether there’s an open position, or what’s happening in the industry through regular newsletters.
• You can contact those potential candidates on professional digital platforms like LinkedIn to build a connection.
• Offer useful information – career advice or insight into the industry – that will keep candidates interested in your company.

Step 5: Implement a referral program

Your current employees can be your greatest advocates. An employee referral program uses the networks of your team to bring in top talent who might never have applied otherwise.

How to build a successful referral program:

• Give successful hires bonuses or extra days off in addition to other incentives, with hires from referrals.
• All employees must be informed of a referral program and how the program functions.
• Open up the process to make it simple for employees to refer candidates by streamlining it.

Best practices for inbound recruiting

To maximize success in inbound recruiting, it’s essential to focus on candidate experience, data-driven insights, and leveraging technology. These practices enhance long-term results.

1. Focus on candidate experience 

Inbound recruiting involves the candidate experience. Be responsive to them from when they encounter your brand until when they are hired or even if they are not. 

According to PwC 49% of job seekers in high-demand fields have declined job offers due to a negative experience during the hiring process.

Some ways that you can use to create a good candidate experience are: 

• Be responsive
• Personalize communication
• Request feedback

2. Use data to optimize your strategy

According to Forbes, recruitment data is considered a “goldmine” for organizations. Effective use of this data can enhance recruitment strategies and outcomes.

Track all the important metrics used to determine what tactics are working and where you’re going wrong in your inbound recruiting tactics.

Key metrics to track:

• Source of hire
• Time-to-hire
• Candidate engagement metrics

3. Leverage technology and automation

There are numerous tools available that can help you automate parts of the inbound recruiting process, saving you time and improving efficiency.

Top inbound recruiting tools:

• ATS
• CRM software
• Email marketing tools

What’s the difference between inbound and outbound recruiting?

Recruiters are often confused about how different inbound and outbound recruiting are. Both apply but represent very different objectives.

Inbound recruiting vs. outbound recruiting

Inbound recruiting	Outbound recruiting
Attracts candidates through employer branding and content	Actively reaches out to candidates through cold outreach like calls or emails
Builds long-term relationships with potential candidates	Used for immediate hiring needs or hard-to-fill roles
Candidates come to you already interested in your brand	Requires recruiters to seek out and engage talent actively
Passive: Focuses on creating a brand that pulls talent in	Active: Involves direct contact with candidates
Building a strong talent pipeline over time	Quickly filling open roles or sourcing niche talent
Lower effort in outreach, more focus on content and branding	High effort due to direct outreach
Content marketing, social media, career pages	Cold calls, emails, job boards

Conclusion

Inbound recruiting is the long-run approach to attracting and retaining the best talent. It leads to stronger relations with candidates, reduces time-to-hire, and brings in passive talent that you might not know about.

A clear employer brand, content worthy of engagement, a nice career page, and a relationship with the candidates all means finding top and enthusiastic talent ready to join your company for a great day at work.

So, are you ready to revolutionize the recruiting process and bring an inbound strategy to the front and center? First, start by making a more compelling employer brand and candidate experience. How? Read our blog on building a strong employer brand.

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