5 ways to generate more job leads

Recruiters should always be on the hunt for new job leads to fill. Even if you’re busy working on plenty of leads, it’s smart to be on the lookout for better leads, so you can dump the ones that 25 other recruiters are working on, or a client’s job order with requirements so lofty that you have no chance of filling it. New business leads are key to maximizing fill ratios and placement revenue. It’s not enough to occasionally target clients to ask if they are hiring… to generate job leads, you must speak to a lot of clients and candidates, and ask the right questions (in the right way).

Here are 5 ways to generate more job leads:

1.    Create job ads that “pop”. In addition to making it visually appealing and Search Engine Optimized, it’s important to think like a candidate — where do they look? What do they want to see? Use Google AdWords or Google Trends to understand and re-research your sector’s keywords.

2.    Use social media wisely – Make sure your profile is up to date and appealing. On LinkedIn, use the “Jobs you may be interested in” widget to do lead generation for you. This takes keywords from your profile and matches them to jobs on the LinkedIn jobs database. Also, it doesn’t hurt to reach out to your peers using discussion boards or groups on LinkedIn and asking for their tips/help.

3.    Automate it – Don’t spend all day surfing the web… set up alerts. Subscribe to the RSS feed from a specific company’s job page so you can hear of new jobs as soon as they are listed. Use Mention or Google Alerts to keep abreast of news on target companies and existing clients. Use Feedly on your phone/tablet to follow the blogs, RSS feeds, magazines, and other sources in your industry.

4.    Update your records – it’s so important to keep up-to-date information on not only your candidates, but your clients. On a regular basis, you should be reaching out to the candidates you’ve worked with to see if the information you have on them is still accurate (have their qualifications changed, job title, etc). Their references or current employer might be the right contact to find out positions open now or in the future — at the end of the conversation, ask the employer what is the best way to build a business relationship with them and your organization. In addition, proactively calling or visiting with your clients regularly will keep your name fresh in their mind when they need help with a job order.

5.    Ask contacts the right questions – candidates can be great lead generators. When interviewing a candidate, ask what their motivation for leaving their current company is (lack of advancement at a company could mean more candidates to source); ask what jobs they’ve interviewed for recently that they’re no longer pursuing (this might uncover that an organization is looking to fill several roles for a big project). It is vital that you focus first on helping the candidate – they’ll likely return the favor and tell you what you want to know.

Lead generation can be daunting, but it’s important to find out who’s hiring, firing, expanding, downsizing, etc. Make it a point to make job lead generation a bullet on your to-do list every day.

What tips do you have for job lead generation?