Attract New Talent to Your Team in 2021

Like all other facets of society, the business world has undergone seismic changes in the past year. However, one operational element—the recruitment and hiring of quality talent—remains unchanged. If anything, the competition to draw new applicants to open job positions is fiercer than ever.

So, what can your company do to set itself above and beyond the competition? Here are tips on attracting new talent to your team in 2021:

Write eye-catching job descriptions.

Job candidates are canny surveyors of the market for open positions. Generally speaking, they’re wise to “corporate fluff” and other filler that attempts to attract applicants with vague descriptions and promises—attempts that usually fail.

Instead, focus on clarity in your job descriptions. In forthright language, describe your company’s history, commitment to the workforce, employee benefits, but most particularly, what exactly a job applicant can expect in the new position.

Links to employee events (with photos or video of workers in the office and offsite) help fill out the applicant’s sense of your organization.

Exploit the recruitment potential of social media.

Assuming your company has an active social media presence, consider taking things to the next level in 2021. Key action steps include:

• Promote your brand on all platforms. Gauge the impact of your content through the eyes of prospective employees. Is what you’re posting likely to attract them or turn them off? Are you doing all you can to portray your business as a place where people want to work?
• Increase activity on millennial-focused platforms. That your company should have a vital presence on Facebook and Twitter should go without saying. Try also exploring Snapchat, Instagram and other sites where millennials “hang out” and increase your activities there.
• Cultivate relationships with influencers. Seek out social influencers with significant networks (followers). Share your job opportunities with their audiences by posting on their channels, tagging the influencer or using their hashtag. For example, if you are looking to fill a digital marketing role, research the top 10 digital marketing influencers. Look up their social channels and follow them. After you are connected, send an email to the administrator or influencer on each social channel and let them know you have an open role that would be perfect for many of their followers, and ask them to promote it on one of their posts. Alternatively, you could promote the job on your social channels and tag the influencer or use their hashtag to attract new and relevant audiences to your open position.

Promote a range of desirable benefits.

Employee benefits remain a powerful draw for most would-be job candidates. In addition to providing expected health benefits, a retirement savings plan, and paid time off, businesses can look at offering additional perks, such:

• Access to a fitness facility or a company-sponsored fitness challenge (with a reward of PTO or gift card)
• Regularly scheduled team-building outings that are more about fun than work (picnic, volleyball tournament, visit to bowling alley)
• Access to an Employee Assistance Program and/or other on-site health-related perks (hand sanitizer on request, guidance in doing ergonomic exercises on the job)

There are plenty of job-seekers who want to work for a smaller business. These and related perks make that open position even more desirable to them.

Step up your campus-recruitment efforts.

College campuses have always been “fertile ground” for locating a great new employee. Admittedly, during this time of COVID-19, it’s not possible to explore in-person efforts to meet with upcoming college graduates and/or invite them to intern at your company.

However, when the time comes that students are back on campus, TalentLyfte offers these potential recruiting tips:

• Invite the college newspaper to “report” on your business.
• Hold job-opportunity workshops and seminars on college campuses.
• Serve as a sponsor of college events (a helpful brand-awareness gesture).
• Ask college students to tour your workplace and meet staff.

Remember, college campuses “are full of young and dynamic talents who show immense enthusiasm in their work.”

To learn more about effective recruiting techniques, check out our free TAB Boss Webinar, “Recruiting Employees When People are Scarce.”