Every business wants to fill positions with the best talent around. However, this can be challenging, especially for highly technical roles. One of the main reasons is that they require specific skills that not everyone can acquire, meaning qualified candidates are hard to come by. Because of this, the position may be left vacant for months at a time.

With the COVID-19 pandemic pushing people to shift to a work-from-home arrangement, you’d think that because the talent pool has widened you’d have more applicants. The sad truth is that more companies are competing to attract remote candidates. Even if you do have more people sending in their resumes, there’s no guarantee that they’re qualified.

Unfortunately, an extended hiring process is going to be both arduous and costly.

To avoid spending more money on recruitment than you should, you must figure out better ways to attract quality applicants and increase their acceptance rate. We share the following strategies to point you in the right direction.

Have a strong alignment with the manager

A smooth hiring process starts with getting the job description right. For this, you’ll need to collaborate with the person who will serve as the direct supervisor of the new hire. Don’t forget to:

• Identify which traits are mandatory versus which are preferable.
  
  
• Clarify what requirements are truly essential as some might only limit access to exceptional applicants who can excel in the role if given the chance.

Make the most of social media

Create accounts for your business on major platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You might want to post recruitment videos and training blogs on YouTube too.

Through these channels, you can show candidates what it’s like to work with or for you. You can include testimonies from your current employees as to what they love about their jobs.

Make sure to keep your profiles updated by posting regularly. Monitor which mediums have the most traction so you can maximise them.

See what your competitors are doing

Find out what roles your competitors are hiring for and how they are performing their recruitment. You can learn a thing or two about sourcing talents and stay updated on the latest industry trends at the same time.

Have a look at their compensation package and benefits as well. Compare these with your own to determine if the salary you’re offering is competitive enough to entice people to apply.

Consider age-blind recruitment

Rather than target candidates from a certain age range, focus on other aspects such as actual skills or personal characteristics. Consider, however, that:

• Older professionals who are well into their careers have years of experience in your industry.
  
  
• Fresh graduates may not provide insights like the veterans but they are often enthusiastic about being nurtured.

Both types of applicants can prove to be suitable for technical positions. Provide opportunities for career growth to entice either of them such as by offering training and the like.

Encourage employees to make referrals

One of the most reliable sources for top candidates are your own employees. Referrals are often of a higher calibre and more likely to stay in your company for longer.

Thus, encourage your workers to promote vacant spots on their social networks. Implement an employee referral program where they can receive bonuses for helping to fill in those hard-to-fill roles. Explain the referral process well and make it easy for them to use.

Support diversity and inclusion

When creating content for hire, try to include people from as many cultural groups as possible. Also, engage in career networks that target women and minorities when sourcing applicants.

In doing these, you will become more appealing to a wider talent pool. Ensure that there is no bias during the screenings or interviews to give all candidates a fair chance.

Work with a staffing agency

Don’t have the time or resources to spend on recruiting for hard-to-fill positions yourself? The good news is that there are firms who specialise in staffing. They can craft and post listings according to the job descriptions you’ve created.

They can also perform the initial screening according to your standards, inclusive of the first interview if you so desire.

Typically, a candidate is endorsed only after they meet the requirements agreed upon. Remote Workmate is an example of an offshore staffing agency who can assist with hiring.

Conclusion

Why do businesses have a difficult time filling certain positions in their organisations? It may be that they were using the same approach when they were filling their other roles. You’ll need to go the extra mile when you’re looking for qualified candidates to hire for technical jobs and the like.

We hope that the tips above can provide you with some guidance on how. Anyway, you can always arrange for our help with offshore staffing in the Philippines.