Part 1. - How to reduce "dependence" on job agencies and portals?

In the past when we had an open position, it used to be common that we just posted it to a job portal and waited to see who would apply, firmly hoping that the candidate we dreamed of would apply. If we have assessed that the position is difficult for us to fill, we would immediately assign it to an employment agency. However, recruitment has fundamentally changed in recent years. It is about actively searching for candidates, approaching passive candidates, working with candidates in our database, etc. We look for all possible ways to find the right candidates, but also how to reduce costs and be time efficient. 

Not every Recruiter wants to go this route (after all, it's safer to wait  ), but it's worth it! So what are some of the other avenues of recruitment without the use of agencies and portals? And what makes sense to invest in and why?

 

The company's career page

It improves the candidates’ experience 

When candidates open your career page, 85% of them primarily want to send a CV and reply to a position posting. If they can't find the information they need for the position, it will reduce your chances of them applying for the position. Conversely, if you have enough information but the candidate can't find the button to apply for the position, this will again reduce your chances. If the job application process is complicated, the candidate will probably lose interest halfway through the application. Or your page doesn't display properly on a mobile phone or computer. So think about what information about the position is important to the candidate and what will motivate them to respond to it. Find inspiration on the best retail websites. Responding to a position is like buying a product in an online store. The more attractive the content, the more likely the candidate is to respond to it.

 

It helps increase SEO

You definitely want as many candidates as possible to see your job posting. So, a career page must be optimized for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to rank well on Google. A well-constructed SEO page will ensure that you are better discoverable by candidates and will attract the attention of others.

 

It improves your employer brand

Your brand is what sets you apart from your competition. Don't copy what all the career sites have. Don't be boring and make recruitment videos or articles in the same style. Be original, including content. Take advantage of the opportunity to present all the unique opportunities that the company offers, including what makes your company special.

 

It reduces costs

You can use it to promote your jobs and your employer brand 24/7. You can communicate with your candidates for example through a chatbot, which will provide them with additional information and nudge them to apply for your open position. Or you can use artificial intelligence to offer candidates a position based on their CV https://dream.jobs/

 

It shortens the candidate recruitment time

Any candidate applying for a job at your company will immediately know what the company is all about. Candidates will also contact you without responding to an open position, but will send you a CV that may be useful in the future. If you have a career page, make the most of it to communicate with candidates. Link to the career page and the position wherever possible - LinkedIn, social networks, promotional materials, etc. Your goal should be to get as much awareness of your page as possible with candidates. Even if your career site should have one "page" with basic information for candidates, it is still better to refer your candidates to it than to a job portal, which is what usually happens...

Other helpful tools are ATS (candidate database), PPC and online campaigns, which we will talk about in the next article.