How To Stop Neglecting Active Job Seekers

How To Stop Neglecting Active Job SeekersWhen it comes to hiring, its best to have a blend of active and passive candidates applying for an open position within your company. Yet, sometimes active candidates dont get the same kind of attention that passive ones do, often inadvertently. Hiring managers are spending so much time recruiting passive candidates that they forget to cater to those who are actively in search of new employment opportunities. If youre trying to balance working with active and passive candidates, here are some essential points to keep in mindActive doesnt necessarily mean undesirableIts easy to make a snap judgment about an active candidate they must be leaving because they know theyre about to be let go. They got fired. Theyre a job hopper and are itching to get out of their current company, despite arriving there only a few months ago. However, its important to remember that active candidates, classified as 25 percent of the workforce, might be searching for a new job for any number of valid reasons, such asA spouse got an employment opportunity in a new city and they need to move with them.Theyve realized they cant grow within their existing company and want a new challenge.Their vorstellung and values arent in alignment with their current employers.Theyre looking to take their career in a new direction.Their current job has them traveling frequently and theyd like to be home mora.Not all active candidates are on the hunt because theyre undesirable employees and have burned bridges at their current or past companies. Because active candidates are valuable applicants, its important to make sure youre elend inadvertently neglecting them during the hiring process. So how do you make life easier for job landseekers who are hoping to find a role within your company?Just because a jobseeker is actively looking for a new job, doesnt mean theyre a bad employee.Click To TweetKeep the hiring process easyWhether the individual desperately wants t he job or is a passive candidate and needs to be recruited, the hiring process theyre part of should be as turnkey as possible. To ensure that is the case, put yourself in the professionals shoes. If you had to go through the steps they go through to get hired at your company, would you bother? If the process seems too time-consuming, take an analytical look at how you can make some adjustments. Its no secret that attention spans are more limited these days, so cutting down on the amount of time required to submit materials for an open position is important.Candidates should be able to apply for an open job within your company online. If youre still asking for resumes via snail mail, even the most engaged candidates will probably lose interest in your available position. The online portal you use should be low maintenance too. If you make interested individuals set up a profile, then enter all of the information found on their resume and retype their cover letter, youll lose them de spite the fact that the application can be done electronically. Regardless of a persons employment status, people are more crunched for time than ever before. They dont want to waste hours trying to apply to a job at your company. Make it easy for them in order to increase the swimmingpool of desirable candidates that you get.Once you collect resumes, you should sort and store them in a database. Even if a particular candidate isnt chosen for that specific opening, the fact that they applied indicates that theyre interested in your brand. Keep their file on hand and you can contact them when future openings become available. The best new hires are those who are truly excited about what your company offers. If theyve applied once before, then they probably agree with what your business stands for and would like to be part of the team in the future too. Break away from the traditional cut and dry interviewThe interview is the perfect opportunity to find out a candidates real story. Wh y are they seeking work right now? What do they have to say about current or former employers? If youve got questions about a job seeker, now is the time to get them answered, so make sure you use the interview process to your advantage. If you look at an applicants resume and see that they typically only stay at a job for 6 months before moving on, dont let this fact linger as the elephant in the room. Be upfront and ask a question about why this has been the case. The job hopping may have stemmed from a series of events that were out of the individuals control, including layoffs, illness in the family, or other logical reasons. It doesnt always point to character flaws on the part of the employee.Make your job descriptions countWhen someone is actively looking for work, its likely that theyre using a number of different strategies to find openings. One of these techniques is doing a Google search using keywords that apply to their particular skillset. Make sure that your job posti ng shows up in the search results. If, for example, youre hiring for an account rep with experience selling pharmaceuticals, sprinkle this phrase and others that anyone looking for this kind of position might search for into your job description. You want to increase the likelihood that they stumble across your posting while scoping out what Google has to say. The rest of the description itself should give the candidate a clear picture about what youre looking for. Provide real examples of day-to-day tasks that the person would need to accomplish. What are the short and long-term goals for the position? What kinds of people would the new hire work with regularly? What sort of office environment will they encounter? What personality types have done well in this position in the past? Crafting a vivid description helps to weed out candidates who may not actually be interested in the available job. Plus, it allows those who are applying to customize their cover letters and resumes more carefully in order to illustrate why theyd be a great match.Post on multiple platformsThose who are actively seeking new employment are searching for opportunities on multiple platforms, including social media. Make it easy for them to find you as they browse. Post your openings on sites like Indeed, but also tweet about the position, post it on your companys website and Facebook page, and include a listing on LinkedIn. This increases the mglichkeit that someone whos interested in your business will be able to find you and submit their materials for consideration. Dont forget to include specific instructions about how someone should go about applying for the job, including what kinds of documents youd like them to submit.Dont rely on one job board when hiring. Post on a variety of platforms, including socialmedia.Click To TweetPump your companys site with informationHelp active candidates put their best foot forward during an interview by allowing them to do plenty of research about your business beforehand. One way to make it easy for them is by paying close attention to your companys website. Is it up to date? Does it properly describe what your business is all about? Does it contain information about relevant news pertaining to your brand? When active candidates look to study up on your business before the interview, help them find the most relevant, current content to ensure that theyre able to speak intelligently about why theyd be a good fit for your company. If your site hasnt been touched in two years, youre leaving candidates to talk about outdated projects and news, unless theyre able to find more recent information during a Google search.Ask for referralsWhen you have an opening to fill, use your employees as a resource. They probably know someone whos in the market for a new job, whether its a friend, family member, or even a former co-worker. Taking recommendations from your team helps in the job hunt process because you have the real life endorse ment of people you trust backing this candidate. They can speak to their strengths, personality type, and goals. Since they know what it takes to succeed in your company, they can reflect on whether this person would blend in well with the existing team.Employee referrals let you know a jobseeker is a good fit for the role and the company.Click To TweetWhile they might not come with the thrill of the chase allure that passive candidates possess, there are a number of reasons why an active candidate can be a valuable asset to your business. For exampleThey probably want the hiring process to move quickly, too A slow hiring process drains a companys resources and its employees energy. Just as you want to move along and find the right individual for the job as soon as possible, those who are actively seeking work want to move through the process quickly too. This way they can either begin their new position or know that its time to continue their search. Being in job hunt limbo is high ly undesirable.Their materials are up-to-date so youre able to get a better sense of whether this individual might be a good fit A person whos satisfied with their current job probably isnt thinking about updating their resume and LinkedIn profile as carefully as someone whos looking to make a move. Therefore, when you go after a passive candidate, youre not totally sure whether the materials youre reading are updated. With active job seekers, you know that they probably update their resume and profiles regularly. Therefore, what youre reading is a good reflection of the kind of person who would actually come work for you if they got the job.Active candidates are ready to get to work as soon as possible When you extend a job offer to an active candidate, you can feel fairly certain that theyll be able to start work within a few weeks. Give them time to notify their current company (if theyre still working), and then they can begin getting acclimated with your business. Passive cand idates are on a different timetable. You might have to wait several months for them to finish up a project at their current job, or until they can get another person in to replace them. Since theyre not trying to leave, they wont feel as inclined to speed up the process. This puts a strain on you as you have to go longer with an open position in your company.Passive candidates are not necessarily more talented Some hiring managers and recruiters automatically assume passive candidates are more desirable or more talented, simply because they arent actively looking for a job. In reality, active candidates can be equally as skilled and enthusiastic. Sometimes professionals with strong skill sets and great personalities get into a job situation that just isnt the right fit for them, so they look to move on. This doesnt make them any less qualified for future work.When youre seeking out new talent, its also important to pay attention to those who fall in the gray area between active and passive candidates. These individuals arent hopping on job posting sites each night and constantly revamping their resume, but theyre are actively priming the pump for a new job. Theyre talking with people in their network about possible opportunities and are making it a point to learn about potential leads. distribution policy value on these types of job seekers as well, and understand that catering to applicants with a range of current employment situations helps you to broaden the pool and ensure that youre getting the best applicants for the job. You never know who your next star employee will be, so keep an open mind as you sort through resumes and conduct interviews.