After researching endless solutions to common independent recruitment problems, recruiters may find themselves more frustrated, and unable to see why their system is just not working anymore. Too much to process with a lack of resources can slowly, yet surely, cause damage to your recruitment brand. Here are three suggestions to improve your brand and recruitment process:
- Do you have a consistent brand? This is the first question to examine as you begin to look at your recruitment firm. When you Google yourself and your firm name, is there a clear brand and message across all pages? For example, Smithsonian Recruitment Services should not read Smithsonian Recruiting Services or Smithsonian Recruiters on any webpage, that is not your brand, and could potentially be infringing on another recruitment firm’s trademark that may not have a good reputation. Consistency and simplicity are the keys to developing a web presences that candidates need to navigate. Candidates do not need it to be an endeavor to locate information about your firm, or jump through endless hoops providing information to reach you.
- Are you ignoring your candidates? I had a very successful marketing director tell me that his first experience with an independent recruiter left him upset after the recruiter failed to make any contact or provide any feedback to him after his interview with the client. When he decided to seek a new opportunity, now a very well established professional, he again was sourced by this recruiter and immediately decided not to work with him due to his negative experience. As an independent recruiter, your process is likely not working if you don’t respond to applicants. Even if they do not receive an offer, they deserve to know. Candidates now are much more likely to post experiences to social media, and tarnish your brand.
- Are your tools working for you? As an independent recruiter, most times you cannot possibly handle taking on any more, even when you are not satisfied with your success. You can only use more applicants and a higher retention rate. A good applicant tracking system can greatly reduce the time spent reviewing the value in a resume, and they can automate posting to job boards and candidate emails. In his recruiter blog, Raj Sheth highlights these key features your ATS should have:
- Resume management: collects resumes and cover letters in any format en mass from emails and upload them to the system in bulk.
- Applicant tracking: Not only should you be able to track an applicant’s progress, you should have the ability to auto-archive them if they simply didn’t fit the position, or search within their candidate profile for more information.
- Career site management: an ATS should be able to publish to your career site as well as to social media and search engines to optimize your company’s visibility.
- Collaborative recruitment: Easily share candidate profiles with other members of your team for a cooperative hiring process.
Remember; always think first and foremost, “how might this affect my brand?” If you use this mentality when handling candidates, posting on webpages, and creating a recruitment process, you are able to see yourself as others may view the brand, which will lead to stronger candidates and a lower turnover.