Finding the right hire
Recruiters can help themselves find the workers their chains need by using social media more effectively and changing their approach to hiring. Asking job candidates to spend time filling out a lengthy application on the company website is out. Connecting with potential employees via LinkedIn and Facebook is in.
That is the word from Tonita Proulx, a business partnerships specialist at Envano, a digital marketing firm in Green Bay, Wis. She helps recruiters find and connect with the helpers they need.
“The way we go about doing things has changed, but for some companies, the way they’re having people apply is the same old digital way it’s been for the last 15 years,” Proulx said. “The major shift we’re seeing that is helping recruiters is really understanding where people are and what the best way is to get a human connection with them.”
Proulx, who has a 20-year background in digital marketing, offers three suggestions to recruiters:
Jobs are plentiful and labor is scarce. That means the times have changed, and so must the mind-set of the employer.
Proulx advises her retail clients to understand the people they’re trying to recruit and do what they can to make the application process easier. People aren’t going to want to wrestle with applications on company websites, only to have those applications land in a black hole somewhere.
“A lot of these tools were put in place over the last 20 years to make it easier for businesses,” she said. “Some of the tools are now making it easier for the people.”
“I’ve talked to recruiters who are jumping in and trying to reach and engage people in the social tools,” she said. “They really don’t know how to do it the right way because their mentality is still, ‘How do I make it easier for me, not the candidate?’ It’s really a mind-set change for organizations, along with a process change, that needs to occur. It’s about the customer, also known as the person being recruited, not the recruiter.”
— Barrie Dawson
That is the word from Tonita Proulx, a business partnerships specialist at Envano, a digital marketing firm in Green Bay, Wis. She helps recruiters find and connect with the helpers they need.
“The way we go about doing things has changed, but for some companies, the way they’re having people apply is the same old digital way it’s been for the last 15 years,” Proulx said. “The major shift we’re seeing that is helping recruiters is really understanding where people are and what the best way is to get a human connection with them.”
Proulx, who has a 20-year background in digital marketing, offers three suggestions to recruiters:
- Do not just go to a career fair with the idea of making job seekers aware of your company. Have someone there who can conduct on-the-spot interviews with job candidates, and be ready to extend a job offer;
- LinkedIn offers tools to connect job seekers and potential employers. Post a mini version of your company’s website there because the profile and resume information for many candidates already are on file. The idea is to bring the job application to the candidate, not the other way around; and
- • Target the types of employees you want via Facebook. One grocer saw value in recruiting retirees to work at the store level. Instead of posting an ad directing them to fill out an application on the store’s website, the grocer posted an inquiry to find out who might be interested. Those retirees who wanted to learn more simply provided their names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers so the store recruiter could contact them and start a conversation. That helped the grocer determine who the serious candidates were and prevented both sides from having to go through the time consuming and often discouraging application process.
Jobs are plentiful and labor is scarce. That means the times have changed, and so must the mind-set of the employer.
Proulx advises her retail clients to understand the people they’re trying to recruit and do what they can to make the application process easier. People aren’t going to want to wrestle with applications on company websites, only to have those applications land in a black hole somewhere.
“A lot of these tools were put in place over the last 20 years to make it easier for businesses,” she said. “Some of the tools are now making it easier for the people.”
“I’ve talked to recruiters who are jumping in and trying to reach and engage people in the social tools,” she said. “They really don’t know how to do it the right way because their mentality is still, ‘How do I make it easier for me, not the candidate?’ It’s really a mind-set change for organizations, along with a process change, that needs to occur. It’s about the customer, also known as the person being recruited, not the recruiter.”
— Barrie Dawson