5 Tips for recruiting better candidates

There is nothing more frustrating for a recruiter or employer than spending hours sieving through candidates that aren’t quite what you’re looking for.

Although on the flip side, when you do find that perfect candidate with all the skills you could dream of, you’ll be glad you took our tips into account.

To help you recruit better candidates we’ve compiled a list of five tops to fine-tune your search…

1. Be accurate in your job listings

If you don’t make your job description concise, how do you expect candidates to understand what’s required? This is a step that often gets overlooked, especially when you’re eager to fill a vacancy and get those applications flooding in. A great job listing should be clear and honest about what the job role entails, as well as describing the successful candidate. Take the time to fine tune job responsibilities to really knuckle down what you’re looking for.

2. Don’t over complicate the application process

If it takes an applicant hours to fill out their information and submit a CV, there’s a good chance it’ll go unfinished. They may start to think your over-complicated process comes across as a trick, putting them off entirely when they may have the perfect skills for the role. Instead of demanding every small piece of information over pages and pages online, present a stronger description initially to engage the right type of candidate and keep them interested throughout the process.

3. Manage candidates well

When you’re looking to fill a specific vacancy, you may come across candidates that would be far better suited to another role. For candidates like this, be sure to maintain contact and you could be their first choice when they’re looking for another career change. If possible, send your best candidates current openings and announcements to keep them engaged in your company’s opportunities.

4. Do your research

What do you really know about your ‘ideal candidate’? Take the time to find out everything you can about the types of people that make up your best current employees. You’ll start to see patterns and similarities between them, which helps for writing your job description, screening applications and in developing effective interview questions.

5. Take advantage of social media

Everything is on social media these days, which is why it’s important to utilise your online following to spread the word. Share your vacancies across Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, to gain the attention of your followers. You never know, a simple share of a post could bag you your perfect candidate.