Are you looking to fill a position or two this quarter? You aren't alone. For many small- to medium-size business owners, the struggle to find high-quality prospects is very real. As a business coach for over 25 years, I've helped thousands of business owners find talent for their businesses and have had the pleasure of learning from some of the best recruiters in the business. So I want to share three reasons why you may be having trouble finding a new hire and what you can do differently moving forward.
1. Your Job Listing Is Getting Lost
One of the things that many business owners don't think about when posting on a job board is the amount of traffic and competition within their particular field. For example, there might be over 2,000 job listings for remote customer service representatives. And in my experience, most job applicants aren't going to make it past the first two or three pages before moving on.
I've found that the trick to getting the most candidates is to refresh your ads every single week. Every day that your ad sits there, it just keeps getting buried and pushed lower and lower on the page, where many people aren't going to see it, which is why you tend to get a flood of responses the first day or two after publishing and then it generally dwindles down to a trickle after that.
Every week, go in there and take down your listing, and then put it back up with a different title. This small action can make a big difference in the number of candidates who apply.
2. You Aren't Asking For Referrals Enough
Referrals are always great, and when it comes to finding and hiring good talent, they can make the difference between an OK hire and a stellar one. But it's important to know when and where to ask for them within your own network.
The first thing that I recommend is setting up a referral program with your current employees. And then make sure that they know of job opportunities within the company — I've noticed that this is often overlooked by a lot of business owners. Put up a flyer in the break room, send out a company-wide email and keep your website updated with current job openings.
Another great way to get referrals (albeit one that's often overlooked) is to ask candidates who've already gone through your interview process. Let's say you interviewed a candidate named Lisa who was really strong, but she ended up opting out due to another job offer. It is perfectly acceptable to ask her whether she knows of anyone else of her caliber who might be looking for a job.
3. You're Sharing The Sizzle, Not The Steak
The third reason that you may be struggling to find help could be your job listing itself. Many business owners fill their job listings with their must-haves and want lists, but they rarely sell the prospective candidate on why they should want to work for their particular company. So instead of selling the meat of the position, focus on selling your company and getting candidates excited about applying. Include things like vacation policies, flexible schedules, promotion opportunities and family leave policies. Keep your listing upbeat and positive. The goal is for candidates to feel excited about working for you, so look at your listing from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about your company, and sell it to them. This can go a long way toward helping you get more candidates.
Finding good talent is hard work, but if you tap into your current network of prospects and referrals and keep your job listings fresh and exciting, you'll likely have a much better chance of landing that perfect candidate.
