Josh TolanFinding the top talent you need in your organization certainly isn’t easy. If it was, there wouldn’t need to be so many great blog posts about how to find the best people. Even with high unemployment and a deep candidate pool, it’s still tough to find the right person for your open positions.
This is because the war for talent is still raging. If you’re looking for top-tier candidates to help innovate and move your company forward, you should know your competitors are looking to scoop these people up before you get the chance.
Then there’s the skills gap, making it harder to find the right people for your jobs despite the plethora of candidates out there in the candidate marketplace. The skills gap means, while there are plenty of job seekers looking for jobs, there are just not enough people with the necessary high-level skills — which might explain why employers are fighting the war for talent to secure candidates with the right stuff.
Finding the best candidates you need for your organization is tough. That’s why we’ve put together a list of blog posts offering useful tips, helpful solutions, and smart thought leadership. Listen to the wisdom from these posts, and maybe you’ll be able to quickly secure the MVP employees you need:
Most of Your Job Applicants Really Don’t Want a Job on TLNT: “Wait,” you might be asking yourself, “if these job seekers don’t actually want a job, why are they top-tier candidates?” Well the answer to that question is posed in this intelligent article by Eric Chester. You want to hire candidates who are looking for more than a job; you want to hire candidates looking for a career.
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How To Destroy Your Employer Brand In 20 Simple Steps on RecruitLoop: Building a great employer brand likely to attract the smart candidates you need is hard. But destroying your employer brand is all too easy. Check out this helpful article by Paul Slezak to make sure your hiring process isn’t making any of these 20 big branding mistakes.
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Ban Job Descriptions and Hire Better People on ERE.net: It’s not you, it’s your job descriptions. At least that’s the opinion of writer Lou Adler, who posits the best way to lose out on the top talent you need is to continue writing bad job descriptions. So is getting rid of the job description what you need to find great candidates? Read the post and find out!
Congratulate ERE and Lou on Twitter
5 Traits of a Superstar Employee on Inc.: Many of the blogs above deal with what not to do when looking for the talent you need. This post by author Langley Steinert instead explores the traits of great employees. These are the top attributes to watch out for throughout the hiring process.
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4 Reasons Leaders Hire in 3D on Forbes: 3D isn’t just something to seek out at the movies, you should also look for it in your hiring process. At least according to writer Meghan Biro, who contends employers need to get a fuller picture of candidates before finding top level employees. Do you agree?
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Why Candidate Selection is Just Like Stale Donuts on Blogging4Jobs: According to author Jessica Miller-Merrell, one of the reasons we’re missing out on great candidates is because we’re waiting too long. This post looks at how we’re making the same mistakes with candidate selection as we are when selecting our favorite doughy snacks.
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Your Job Ads Are Driving Away Talent on Harvard Business Review: Why are you missing the great candidates your company needs? Maybe it’s your job ads? Job descriptions and job ads have been a big topic in a lot of these posts about finding great candidates. But that’s because the ad is the first look your top talent gets into your company. If it leaves a bad taste in their mouths, they’re unlikely to apply. This post by Liz Ryan looks at how a bad job ad can keep you from the great candidates you crave.
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Job Applicants’ Cultural Fit Can Trump Qualifications on Bloomberg Businessweek: Qualifications are important, but is cultural fit even more essential? Author Logan Hill discovered many companies are in fact using cultural fit as the main parameter of finding good candidates who will stick around for the long haul. So should you start looking at cultural fit before qualifications? Read this article to find out!
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5 Things My Vacation Can Teach You About the Candidate Experience on ERE.net: Should your candidate experience be like a great vacation? Blog author Justin Miller seems to think so. Just like a great vacation will have you coming back for more, a great candidate experience will attract the kind of talent your company needs to grow.
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7 Key Job Skills to Look for When Hiring on Mashable: This post by Scott Steinberg looks at the attributes of the very best candidates. After all, you want to be sure you’re bringing superstars into your organization. From communication skills (which you can see in a video resume!) to flexibility, here are the seven skills to be on the lookout for.
Congratulate Mashable and Scott on Twitter
Have some blog posts we missed? Share in the comments!
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by Thomas Cunningham.
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