You always hear how recruiters can’t find the right candidates, or candidates at all for that matter. They blame it on a plethora of causes from poor candidate quality to a changing workforce. But that is the problem: you can’t blame it on the candidates. With a changing candidate pool, recruiters have to adapt to trending techniques. The game of recruiting has changed, and you need to catch up with the increase in candidate mobility and the idea that you shouldn’t sell to the candidate… let them sell to you.

1. Your URL does say a lot about you.

Your career page URL might make sense to you, but if you’re not seeing the candidates you want – or candidates at all – something isn’t right. Even social sites like LinkedIn and Twitter give users the ability to change the URL to a vanity URL. Only 33% of recruiters have a vanity URL, and that doesn’t bode too well for the career page they sponsor.

2. Social activity, shmocial activity…

You can’t run from social media, and you certainly can’t hide. Millennials are an inevitable addition to the workforce. They are no strangers to smartphones and other tech devices because they grew up in the technology era. So, it stands to reason that 50% of the generation surfs the internet from their smart device more often than they use their computer for internet usage. They spend a (not so) surprising 14.5 hours per week texting, talking, and accessing social media from their phones. So what has your recruitment team done to increase social activity? If the answer is anything less than at least posting regularly, you’re not socially recruiting right.

3. Even if you recruit socially, you’re doing it wrong.

Due to the growth in the Millennial workforce, it’s increasingly important to not just have social media accounts, but to actually use them to the fullest. You can’t simply announce your job openings; it is actually necessary to market them to a specific group of people just as you would a product.

“Stating ‘We’re hiring for job X, with Y responsibilities and salary Z’ on a social networking site is like marching into a coffee shop full of random strangers with a sandwich board bearing the same message.” - Social Talent.

What seems like a simple equation only results in an accurate solution if it is placed in the right situation. Don’t worry; you’re not alone in poor social recruiting habits. Even Fortune 500 companies missed the social opportunity; although 85% of them permit sharing job openings through email, only a few offer the same capabilities socially.

4. Sell, sell, sell… It’s the candidate’s job, not yours.

It has long been expected that recruiters have to decide on their own that they want a particular candidate. In what way does the candidate have participation in the recruitment process then? After all, they are looking for new job opportunities… Recruiters who are persuaded by candidates listen 4 times more than they talk. They gather more candidate information with this method of interviewing, and therefore, make better assessments of potential new hires.

Lou Adler says, “It’s not the job of the recruiter to persuade candidates – no matter how sought after – to consider a position or accept an offer. It’s their job to get candidates to sell them on why they’re the perfect person for the job.”

5. It’s all in the database.

A choice in the right Applicant Tracking System can make a big difference in your recruitment methods. They allow you as a recruiter to pull past and present resumes in an effort to find the best candidate for the right position fitting not only function but culture too Especially for corporate recruiting, it would simply be impossible to recruit at your best without a specialized platform to help with matters. Only 26% of companies use an ATS; what is the other 74% that’s missing? Saving time, money, and energy while finding the perfect candidates for jobs they may not have considered until they discovered they were the right fit, all thanks to the ATS.

The strategies for recruiting have changed because the game is different than it used to be 5, 10, even 15 years ago. The workforce is becoming more connected through social media, creating professional connections on LinkedIn, and even becoming more passive as job seekers are actually currently employed. With the right ATS your company can provide candidates with a seamless hiring process.

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photo credit: Fiona McAllister Photography via photopin cc