How to Find Quality Candidates When Unemployment Is Low

It is a simple law of supply and demand: when there are more candidates, you have a better pool of qualified applicants. In a low unemployment market, you have fewer job seekers and they may not have the skills you need. When there is a low supply of unemployed workers, how do you find high-qualified candidates?

Beggars Can Be Choosers

In a low unemployment market, companies have options if they are willing to look harder for good candidates. It isn’t enough to post an ad online and wait for the phone to ring. Instead, companies have to be proactive in their candidate search. You need to communicate with candidates online, recruit people who may not be actively seeking employment, or work with staffing agencies.

Social Media

Companies communicate with customers and prospects on social media sites. The goal of these campaigns is to establish a rapport with people in the market, create transparency, and show consumers the human side of your business. Social media sites are also a great way to search for and create a rapport with potential employees. Searching for profiles of qualified candidates online will help you create a short list of job seekers who have the skills and personality traits that are a good match for your organization. A social media profile has information that tells recruiters what type of person they are and what kind of employee they would make. You can communicate with candidates who you feel fit the culture of the company and notify them of potential openings in a relevant field. When using social media for recruiting, you will want to add LinkedIn to your list of sites for candidate searches. LinkedIn is a professional site where many members are actively seeking employment or are willing to leave their present organization for a better position. Members include their resumes, volunteer information, and references for review by potential employers. In addition, other members verify skills listed on a job seeker’s page so you will know if the candidate possesses the skills they list on their resume.

Headhunting versus Recruiting

When searching for candidates in a low unemployment market, you may want to think more like a headhunter and less like a recruiter. A headhunter is someone who is more aggressive in their candidate search since they work on a commission basis. They are more willing to do what it takes to fill a job order, including poaching a qualified candidate from a competitor, while a recruiter’s role is less aggressive and looks for those actively seeking employment. When thinking like a headhunter, you try to find ways to entice someone who has a secure position to take a similar position at a different organization. This means you need to have something the candidate wants that they may not currently have. Incentives can include a better salary or bonus structure or improved options for advancement. Creating incentives require companies to have a thorough understanding of their competitors as well as knowledge of the employees they are trying to poach. You may have to create different incentive packages for different candidates or be willing to negotiate terms.

At MiSource, we work with our clients to connect them to best-fit talent in the labor market. If your company is currently having a difficult time filling open positions, please contact us today to find out how we can help.