9 hiring hacks and strategies to attract top talent

Nearly one in four adults is actively trying to find a new job, but hiring managers still struggle to find qualified candidates. Over half of hiring managers feel that there’s a limited talent pool, both for entry-level employees and qualified experienced professionals. If you’re on the hunt for top talent, it’s important to streamline the search and use creative recruitment strategies to find the best applicant for your position. These hiring hacks can help.

Tailor your employee personas

Take some time to create personas for your ideal employees. Finding the right fit goes beyond an individual’s skill set and dips into their interests, habits, and personality. Learn where they shop, eat, and play. The ideal employee has several valuable touch points in the outside world. They’re within the target audience for your products or services and are perfectly poised to act as brand representatives even when they’re off the clock.

Every employee is an unofficial brand ambassador. Your company can expand its circle of connections and reach new audiences through highly engaged employees, so it’s worth the extra time and effort to find individuals who will fit well with your company culture. Create detailed personas for your top candidates and use these fictional profiles to inform all your subsequent hiring hacks.

Meet job seekers where they are

Learn how your ideal job candidate spend their day. You might go to an obvious channel such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or TikTok. Know if they read fashion blogs or consume news media. Invest in paid advertising on the platforms that cater to your targeted personas. Don’t wait for the perfect candidate to come to you. The ideal hire might already have employment, so you need recruitment marketing strong enough to pull them away and entice them to try something new. That starts with meeting them where they’re already spending their time to spark interest in what you have to offer.

Speak to the job seeker’s personal search

Craft your recruitment marketing to speak deeply to the ideal hire where they’re at in their life. Keep in mind that this individual may already have a job, but your position is better. Perhaps they’re a committed parent looking for more flexible scheduling. Craft a campaign that highlights your work-from-home opportunities and feature images of breadwinners who make it all work from their home offices. If your ideal candidate is a new graduate looking to get their foot in the door of a big company, emphasize your entry-level positions, robust mentoring program, and commitment to in-house promotions.

Get to know the needs of top professionals in your industry. Health care workers desperately want more flexibility and control in their job scheduling. If you have an interactive platform that lets your nurses set their own shifts, you’ll garner ample attention by promoting this feature. Over half of developers consider leaving their jobs for a lack of learning opportunities, so spotlighting your groundbreaking technologies and robust training programs can draw serious interest. Find out what your demographic is craving and serve it up with a beautiful presentation.

“Referrals typically have some insider knowledge of the company, so they know what they’re getting into and are more inclined to commit.”

Infuse your job posts with personality and branding

Drab job postings get lost in the crush of similar opportunities. Infuse your posts with engaging language, eye-catching graphics, and ample branding. Job seekers want to know at a glance what your business is about. 

If you’re a young startup running out of a creative setting, keep your posts as conversational as the office environment. A company with a more traditional setting and expectations can convey this with elegant branding and a formal tone. Never settle for a bland company bio that could describe your competitors as easily as yourself. Keep it unique so readers are clear about what sets you apart.

Optimize your job descriptions with in-house feedback

To get an accurate description of the job, turn in-house to your current employees. Find out exactly what the department manager expects from a worker on a daily basis. Ask employees who’ve moved up from a certain position what they wish they’d known about the job when they first took it. 

You may be surprised to find that the role has historically encompassed a suite of responsibilities that aren’t typical for that position. If you plan to maintain those expectations, make them clear in your posting so your hiring hacks will reveal top talent that’s up to the job.

Implement an employee referral program

Employee referrals tend to stay with a company longer than other hires. These individuals come in with at least one existing connection who can serve as an instant work buddy or mentor. Referrals typically have some insider knowledge of the company, so they know what they’re getting into and are more inclined to commit. Provide incentives to your current employees for great referrals and always circulate your job postings internally so your staff is up to date on your hiring needs.

Encourage creative submissions

Make the hiring process interesting on both sides of the equation by encouraging unique submissions from your applicants. If you’re hiring a developer, offer a simple programming challenge so you can review their unique creations. Request a 10 to 15-second recording of an engaging introduction to help you find customer service agents who will make a great impression. Ask for a limerick from a writer or a picture of the applicant’s spirit animal when you’re hiring at the zoo. The best applicants will rise to the challenge and make a great impression before their first interview.

Simplify screening with artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) can ease much of the strain on your hiring team by handling the first pass on applications and pulling the best candidates to the top of the pile. AI also reduces the risk of unconscious bias and levels the playing field for a diverse pool of candidates. You can use AI to scan for the right keywords and validate employee experience. 

If you’re working with AI screening software, make sure to provide feedback throughout the process and periodically check the system’s results. Machine learning enables AI to get better at the job with time, so a system that seems clunky at first can become more elegant and refined with intentional development.

Host a hiring event

A live hiring event is a great way to expedite the hiring process and get on the ground with your candidates. CareerBuilder can help you host stellar events with a microsite, targeted sourcing emails, and paid media campaigns to promote your event. Our service also includes dedicated project management support both before and during the event. 

With a welcoming venue, engaging activities, and free food and drink, you can draw in a deep pool of interested applicants. Target some of your top employees as brand representatives to engage in networking on-site. Include a brief presentation and Q&A session to cover the basics of what you’re looking for, then provide plenty of time for everyone to mix and mingle. You can even offer on-the-spot interviews for interested applicants to make massive strides in your hiring process over the course of the day.

These hiring hacks can help you streamline the process of finding the right employee so you can move on quickly to onboarding and enjoying your new hire.

More tips and hiring hacks for finding top talent:

Make direct contact with prospective hires using eye-catching emails that pop from the inbox.

Know what to expect and build a diverse toolkit of smart solutions for common challenges in the hiring process.

Identify the candidates that you want with expert targeting tactics so your recruitment marketing always hits the mark.