In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the U.S. is experiencing an intensely tight labor market and job openings are at an all-time high. Data released in early June 2022 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found there were 11.4 million job openings (63 percent more than pre-COVID), which is near twice the number of unemployed job seekers.
And it’s even harder for small businesses. According to NFIB’s jobs report in February 2022, 22 percent of small business owners reported that labor quality was the top business problem, with the percentage who cited labor costs remaining near a recent 48-year record high.
But the competition for quality talent is affecting companies of all sizes due to the loss of so many workers dealing with childcare concerns. The National Women’s Law Center estimates there are 1.1 million fewer women in the labor workforce in February 2022, compared to 2020.
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Still, as difficult as it may be to find them, the talent is out there. One highly recommended strategy for finding candidates online is using a job board, like ZipRecruiter, to post a new position. And with each new job posting, potential employers can view the stats of job seekers within the database and invite them to apply to their specific role. This “Invite to Apply” feature generates 2.5 times as many candidates per job. And so with the right resources, it can be much easier to find the best talent.
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Consider, when potential employees are searching for new positions today, there are also key attributes or benefits that they are looking for a company to offer. You never know what might sell the job!
How to Attract Employees to Your Company
Today’s potential candidates are considering all options. They have plenty of jobs to choose from and they aren’t settling for less. Here are a few top attractions for employees today:
- Remote work options: A lot of employees today have shifted preference for a work-from-home arrangement and are going so far as to only apply to companies offering remote work.
- Make sure to share insights into your work culture: Have you built a community of genuinely nice people? Are there regular happy hours or an organized book club where employees can converse socially? Candidates want to know these details and the work culture may be what makes a new hire a long-time employee.
- Affinity groups: Led by employee members, affinity groups, like DE&I or Veterans groups, offer safe spaces for networking within the company, as well as mentorship resources and training.
- Work-life balance: Greater work-life balance and better personal wellbeing are very important to today’s workforce with 61 percent citing it as a top concern in a survey by Gallup. Despite the industry, employees everywhere are experiencing burnout and a greater awareness of the value of job flexibility.
Once you have the right tools in place to drive recruitment and amplify your company’s presence, it’s your job to focus on creating an enticing job post. Here are some key strategies for finding the best employees:
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Do Your Research
To stay competitive in today’s race for quality talent, it is important to know what the market is offering. More companies have turned to remote work: Is this something that has become standard for the role you are looking to fill? If so, job seekers will expect it.
It may seem obvious, but with inflation at a high, salary is a key concern and high wages will attract workers. Given the unprecedented job market, a vast majority are trading up. Even those who did not resign previously are open to leaving jobs for better ones in an environment that hold more attractive and accessible opportunities.
A recent study from Fidelity found that 85 percent of Americans (where 87 percent were of professional ages ranging from 25 to 35), who countered on salary, other compensation, or benefits during negotiations got at least some of what they asked for.
For the best chance at finding your dream employee, it is also imperative to make sure the salary and benefits packages being offered are meeting, or hopefully exceeding, industry standards.
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Post In the Right Places
The best way to find candidates quickly is to post the job description in as many places as possible. Utilizing a job board to do this allows you to work smarter not harder. ZipRecruiter, rated the number one job search app on iOS and Android for the past five years, shares posts across over 100 other job sites. The job board also offers customizable templates that make it easy to create job descriptions and screening questions.
Ultimately, using a job board will help you streamline the hiring process and improve your recruiting strategy. Job seekers are able to use job boards to apply to open listings with online profiles that house resumes, references, and other helpful resources. For an employer, the job board’s technology will enable a resume search to help sort and highlight quality employees.
Once your post has been created, you can share the link across company channels as well. Social media is a great place to start, as it will target those already interested in the company.
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Be Honest and Clear About Expectations
Make sure you are providing a detailed summary of the open position, including expectations in the role and experience needed. Bonus points for including salary range and benefits. Job applicants are making a huge decision when finding a new job and they will appreciate you being upfront about what the job entails and what the company is looking for.
Will your new employee be expected to travel? Are you looking for candidates to meet specific technology requirements? This is the time to share that information. When it comes to job posts, the more details you offer, the better chance you have of hooking a potential candidate. Being clear will also save yourself and the job applicant time in the hiring process. No need to begin interviews only to find out your company’s structure doesn’t meet the candidate’s lifestyle requirements.
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Address Concerns Brought Out in the Great Recession
According to a recent survey from Deloitte, 38 percent of millennials feel stressed all or most of the time and 24 percent feel employers aren’t doing enough to address burnout. Stress and burnout led to many resignations during the pandemic and job seekers are not looking to return to a toxic work environment.
While some people need help with childcare, others have moved away from big cities and are looking only for positions that allow them to work from home. At the same time, many employees want to engage with co-workers more, so it is important to highlight work culture as a perk. Work culture can be a major driver for job applicants, so make it clear how your company offers this – videos and images are a plus.
A great way to cut through the noise for potential candidates who are quickly skimming through job postings or using the search tool is to use keywords. These keywords will optimize your job postings and come up higher in the job seeker’s results. Incorporating the keywords in a job title will yield especially good search results. Some trending keywords now are: work from home, distributed, work from anywhere, remote, virtual, hybrid and childcare.
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Create an Employee Referral Program
Great people know great people! Once you have a post written to sell the job and have it uploaded to a strategic job board, it’s a great idea to get your current employees involved in the process through a referral program.
According to a survey from Glassdoor, while 51 percent of job seekers say the preferred method of finding relevant job opportunities is an online job site, like ZipRecruiter, 45 percent cited hearing about the job from a friend.
Employee referral programs can be set up with cash bonuses and rewards to incentivize current employees to recommend other great hires. Your employees already know the ins and outs of the company culture and will be able to recommend others they feel will be a good fit. Suggest that current staffers post a link to their social media accounts – changes are they are connected to other members of the industry.