How to Successfully Recruit Talent Today

Finding talent and filling job positions is extremely challenging in today’s work environment. Roles that used to bring in hundreds of qualified applicants, are now barely getting attention from candidates.

Because of this, many of us in human resource roles have never had to proactively source candidates. However, it’s an absolute necessity for human resources leaders to strategically position their companies to attract talent, while proactively recruiting candidates today.

I lead the People & Culture department at PlanOmatic, and have successfully hired 16 new candidates already this year. I’ve learned a lot of lessons while recruiting candidates recently, and offer the following four tips to help human resources professionals proactively and successfully attract talent in today’s competitive work environment.

Be transparent: if you aren’t including job details and salary, other recruiters are, and those are the offers those candidates will explore.

1. Bolster Your Online Presence

Make sure you have an online presence that will impress before reaching out to prospective candidates.

Your LinkedIn profile, for example, should be up to date with a professional photo and your current role. If you want to stand out from other recruiters on LinkedIn, having a profile with a strong brand presence and love for your company is appealing. If your company can provide branded banners, professional and consistent copy about your company, professional headshots, and content for you to “like” or repost, this will be appealing to candidates.

2. Expand Your Candidate Search on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great place to find candidates. But typing in a simple title or keyword search isn’t enough. Expand your talent search by trying the following techniques:

• Expand your title search. Research lists of similar titles to what you are looking for. Are there titles or roles that do a slightly different job but have a compatible skill set? What are similar companies calling this role? This can help with your candidate search.
• Look for companies with a similar culture and search for candidates who currently work or previously worked there. I look at “Best Places to Work” lists, find companies with similar sizes and start there.
• Get to know your industry. Hiring people with industry experience is a huge plus. Keeping a running list of companies who work with your clients or “play in the same sandbox” is a great way to refine your search.

3. Be Transparent When Contacting Candidates

When contacting potential candidates, provide clarity and transparency into the role and an easy way to schedule a phone conversation. Other techniques include:

• Create a short and concise email that states the job title and a few summary sentences of what the role entails.
• Include a call to action in the email. I put my Calendly link in the message, so they can schedule a call with me immediately.
• Attach or link to a detailed job description with salary included. If you aren’t including job details and salary, other recruiters are, and those are the offers those candidates will explore.

4. Leverage Your Connections

Referrals and/or face-to-face connections are the best way to find candidates. Some great places to find candidates include:

• Past or current acquaintances that you follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
• Personal interactions with individuals that provide excellent service in the real world.
• Lists of individuals who have been laid off – companies or organizations will often provide these as a public link for human resource managers to help out their laid off staff.
• Alumni associations – tap into your alumni association to identify great talent.

Leverage your connections: personal interactions with individuals that provide excellent service in the real world.

Candidates today want more than just a job. They want to find a company that has a work environment that supports the employee experience, and it’s up to human resources professionals to convey company advantages and corporate culture during the recruiting process to attract top talent.

Stephanie Smith is the Senior Manager of People & Culture at PlanOmatic, a quality provider of photos, floor plans, and 3D to the single-family rental industry with speed and at scale, nationwide.