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Hiring long-term employees and making it a seamless process is a common goal for growing organizations.
Most small businesses and startups are focused on the product development and technical side of things. That leaves a gap in the HR process, which makes it seem more challenging when it comes to getting in front of your ideal group of candidates.
Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll be going through our top 7 strategies to attract the best technical talent.
What it means to find the best technical talent
The best technical talent refers to the most skilled workers for a job that requires expertise in technology.
However, there are other factors that can make someone an ideal candidate aside from their hard skills such as:
- Personality
- Attitude
- Motivation
- Cultural fit
- Soft skills
Those who fit into each of these categories are the group of people you want to attract for the job opportunity you have to offer.
The last thing you’d want to do is position yourself in front of the wrong crowd or hire someone purely based on the fact they’re qualified for the role. Even if they have the knowledge and expertise required, one toxic employee could jeopardize the team’s performance and morale.
Ideally, the job seekers who make an application are genuinely interested in what you’re about and resonate with the brand values.
The 7 strategies to attract the best technical talent
Now that we’ve established what the ideal talent pool looks like, we’ll go through our list of 7 strategies.
As it’s quite similar to the aspect of marketing, the needs of your candidates need to be addressed. This should be an area of focus on how you market the job vacancy and when you communicate with potential employees.
1. Endorse the remote work opportunitiy
In a survey from FlexJobs, it was found that 65% of respondents wanted to stay working remotely full-time after the climate change caused by COVID-19.
There are several benefits to flexible working conditions. For example:
- Less commute
- Work-life balance
- Increased productivity
- Higher staff retention
- Lower employee turnover
As the preference for hybrid work conditions is increasing, use this to your advantage by presenting this opportunity in your organization. That means showcasing the flexibility and location freedom aspect, which is a positive factor to take into consideration for applicants.
2. Focus on content marketing
Almost everyone is consuming content online.
It’s easy and convenient to access. Therefore, it opens up more opportunities for reaching your audience. For instance, creating content tailored to their interests and answering their biggest questions.
Different formats of content include:
- Video
- Blog posts
- Social media posts
Then, you can promote it to the relevant channels where your candidates can be found, e.g. LinkedIn.
Some of the main benefits of content marketing include:
- Raising brand awareness
- Building reputation and authority
- Improving employer branding
- Bringing traffic to your website
Most of all, it builds trust. All these factors combined add to your credibility and positioning. It’s effective for demonstrating your expertise and showing off the perks of your organization.
3. Reinforce company culture and diversity
A diverse team brings the workplace together, allows for new insights, and endorses a learning environment. It also brings new ideas and more creativity to the table.
Not only is it beneficial in the job skills and work performance aspect. But, promoting a lively company culture appeals to prospective candidates since it’s something they would want to be a part of.
By embracing all walks of life, you create a sense of inclusion and belonging. This can result in increased team morale and motivation, leading to improved productivity and performance.
When you promote diversity and culture in a way that resonates with applicants, it can make them feel as if they’re missing out on something which your organization has to offer. It’s another decisive factor taken into consideration as employees want to feel a sense of value and belonging.
4. Optimize the interview process
Interviews are vital for determining a candidate’s capability based on things such as:
- The way they speak
- Body language
- Listening skills
By looking at the subtle details, you’ll know if a candidate is capable of working as a team and has good communication skills. These are things that technology and AI can help with to an extent, but they can’t replace human decisions.
Alongside the interview, maintaining consistent communication with applicants improves the experience. It’s also more likely to keep them engaged.
Give yourself enough time to prepare and have your list of expert questions ready.
The entire recruitment process as a whole should be optimized on a regular basis by following the best practices and automating tasks where necessary. It’s similar to how you would approach recruiting when you’re hiring at scale.
5. Promote the personal growth aspect
Don’t make your job description purely based on what you’re looking for.
Link it back to your candidate’s needs by showcasing that what you have to offer is beneficial on their end. For instance, mention how they can develop their skills, grow as a person, and how it could open up more opportunities for them.
It’s not just the salary that’s going to motivate your ideal candidates.
The long-term benefits gained by being employed in your organization are another driving factor. After all, it’s more fulfilling when you’re a part of something bigger.
6. Get your employees involved
According to CareerBuilder, 88% of employers reported that employee referrals led to the highest quality of new recruits.
There are two things gained by getting your current team and employees involved in recruiting:
- Referrals
- Larger network
To get more referrals, build an employee referral program. If they have an incentive to find people they believe would be a good fit and they can make an introduction, it helps you fill the pipeline and find qualified talent faster.
7. Make use of candidate assessments
This ensures your list of candidates is a good fit based on key competencies such as:
- Cognitive ability
- Hard skills
- Soft skills
- Personality
These are things that are difficult to discern on a resume.
Whereas, candidate assessments accurately provide data based on their performance and on-the-job skills. Plus, it enables you to measure a candidate’s potential.
It’s one of the aspects of recruitment that Testlify’s proctor-based solution specializes in.
They make talent acquisition easier by ensuring all skilled candidates reach the interview stage and that all the leads you attract are qualified in multiple aspects.
If you’re looking to:
- Eliminate the probability of mis-hire
- Drastically reduce the costs of recruiting
- Fill job vacancies faster without compromising quality
Attracting the best potential candidates
Once you’ve got your potential candidate’s attention, it’s only the first step.
More importantly, you’ll need to determine how they fit in with your organization and align with your values. Implementing each of these strategies will optimize the recruitment process and help you get the right candidates at your front door.
Are there any other strategies we’ve missed that you’d like to add? Let us know by commenting below!
