Tips for getting your candidate flow going again
In Colorado and in some other parts of the country (primarily those with 3 or 4 seasons) we see a tremendous erosion of candidate activity during the summer months. There are a number of reasons for this phenomenon: Vacations and summer family visits; kids are out of school and that disrupts the home schedule; after work sports activities (softball, soccer, etc); workload shifts due to coworker vacation coverage; it’s just too nice to spend time in front the computer looking for a new job on the weekends! This information doesn’t help you if you have critical or
strategic roles to fill in your company.
You could wait around for fall when momentum picks up again (and it will). Or you could try some of these tips for getting some quality candidates flowing your way during the ‘dog days of summer.’
- Spice up your job posting – I know I sound like a broken record here. But most of you still post boring ad copy. Spice it up a bit. If you don’t believe me – do your own test. Post a sterile HR ad with an email to respond to and then post an interesting ad with a separate email for the response. Track your numbers – and then I believe you’ll change the way you write ad copy.
- Get into recruiting mode at summer parties – Every organization in the state has a summer party. Professional groups, sports groups, civic and non-profit groups – the opportunity to recruit in a social setting is incredible! Fill your pockets with business cards and put on your recruiting hat. Are you looking for customer facing engineers or sales executives? Observe them in action – and then introduce yourself to the good ones!
- Advertise in locations that don’t have seasons – This is a great time of the year to reach out to folks in Texas, anywhere in the Southeast, and the Northwest. Our weather in Colorado is SOOOO much more desirable than those locations right now. You’ll attract people who have been thinking about making a move – you are just showing them a sign that it’s time.
- Search your database – Remember, one of the reasons you have an ATS is so that you can build a pipeline of future hires. Summer is a great time to revisit candidates you liked 6 or 12 months ago, but for some reason you couldn’t make it work. Try again! After all, they have even more experience now.
- Remember referrals – While you are reaching out to former candidates in your database, don’t stop when they say no – ask them for referrals to friends or colleagues. Smart people hang out with other smart people.
Making hires in the summer is more difficult in Colorado for a number of reasons – but it’s not impossible. In fact, changing your strategy and trying new ideas now, may have a lasting effect on your practices in the future. To your hiring success!
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