5 ways to be a more strategic recruiter in 2022

As we start the new year, the labor market challenges continue. CareerBuilder CEO Susan Arthur predicts, “A cumulative mix of increased supply chain demand, a rise in resignations and companies continuing to recover from the pandemic will result in thousands of open jobs and an explosive growth in online job postings.” There's never been a more important time to check your recruitment strategy.

Why should you build a recruitment strategy?

A job-by-job approach to recruitment is overwhelming and repetitive. Focusing on a holistic recruitment strategy can have a big impact on your company’s success. Whether you’re starting from scratch or want to make improvements, now is a great time to implement a few best practices.

Take stock of your current recruitment strategy by considering a few key questions:

Are your job postings compelling?

You’re sending an invitation, not placing an order. Why should candidates be excited to apply for your open job? If your job posting is little more than a list of requirements and necessary skills, many candidates will just see a list of reasons not to apply. The easier it is to read your job posting, the better — word choice matters. Jargon is likely to intimidate less-experienced job seekers and may even confuse more senior candidates. Job seekers aren’t searching for terms like “rock star” or “ninja.” Posts with titles like these are less likely to show up in organic search results.

Checkout these 8 tips to creating more engaging job postings.

Is your career site engaging?

Aim for clarity. Make it easy for candidates to understand the information on your career site and apply to open positions. Job seekers use their phones to search for jobs. If your career site isn’t optimized for mobile devices, you’re not reaching a significant portion of potential applicants.

Active job seekers will fill out applications, but that may be too much of a commitment for passive job seekers. Reach candidates beyond basic job postings. Invite them to join your talent network for updates on future openings. Ask yourself: What’s it like to apply to a job at my company.

How can you express your personality at every touch point?

Candidates shouldn’t have to wait for an in-person interview to get an idea of why they should want to work at your company. Developing a positive employment brand can help differentiate your company from competitors, attract quality candidates and build your talent pipeline.

Are you using social media strategically?

Social media can be a powerful tool for attracting top talent, regardless of company size or industry.

Basic ways you can leverage social media in recruiting include:

• Engaging with potential candidates

• Building and promoting your employer brand

• Sharing job openings

Many job seekers will turn to social media to learn more about a company – and their reputation – before applying. Ask yourself: What do candidates find about my company when they search social media?

Are you optimizing your recruitment strategy based on data?

There are a lot of decisions to be made when developing a recruitment strategy, and having the right data can help with almost all of them:

• Choosing the right messaging, time and channels to reach candidates

• Identifying your candidates’ values

• Tracking market trends and assessing how difficult recruiting in certain areas will be

• Allocating resources to more productive talent sources

Here are a few tips to get started on building an effective recruitment strategy:

Take a strategic approach to college recruitment.

Before you head out to the nearest campus to set up your booth, ask yourself:

• What current and future roles am I recruiting for?

• Which fields of study best match those roles?

• Is this school the best option for those fields of study?

Continually build your talent pipeline.

The hard work you put into recruitment shouldn’t go to waste. With a talent pipeline in place, the effort you invest in recruiting continues to pay off, even after a position is filled. Future-you will thank you. No more going back to square one and waiting for candidates to come to you. Instead, you’ll always have an existing database of relevant applicants at your fingertips.

Create a framework to support an efficient process.

When creating your recruitment strategy, establish guidelines to make sure your team can hit the ground running. Some questions to address include:

• Can the position be filled internally?

• Are there any likely candidates in your talent pipeline?

• Which talent pools does the data suggest targeting for this role?

With the right talent acquisition system, you can even automate portions of your process, allowing recruiters to focus on candidate engagement.