Top 5 Ways to Boost Your Candidate Pool

There are countless stories about highly-qualified job seekers who just can’t seem to find work. As an HR manager, it may sometimes feel like these stories are wives tales, like your candidate pool is an exception or the good candidates just haven’t found you. So how do you reach all those highly-qualified job seekers you hear so much about and boost your candidate pool? Here are five ways to help bring job seekers to you.

The Undercover Recruiter offers their own six tips for boosting your candidate pool, some of which I’ve kept, and a couple of which I’ve amended just a little.

#5. Sell your company culture.

No one does this better I don’t think than Google. We’ve even written about it here. Google doesn’t just advertise their jobs, they advertise the lifestyle which accompanies them. If you plan to spend over 40 hours a week somewhere, it’s not just important to have your listing seen, it’s important to have it show why people like working for you. I once applied for a job that asked about how awesome I was and my ping-pong skills. It was an intense job with a lot of man hours and the next interview even required a math test. But the initial post, tweeted out by an employee, helped draw me in initially.

#4. Make your employees your job sales people.

As previously mentioned, the job I applied for I found from an employee I had met at a social media networking event. The people your employees are selling to are likely quality candidates whom they have met and may have previously vetted. Use your best (free) resources, your employees, to help advertise your openings.

#3. Utilize social media.

The job in the first story I told, I found through social media. Use your own social media channels, and also connect with key job boards and social media accounts. I follow a Twitter account called NatsJobs. The account broadcasts the Washington Nationals’ score each half inning with an opening. If your target market is DC job seekers who might be interested in baseball/sports/local entertainment you may decide to spend some money to have them tweet out your listing. There are a number of examples of similar social media accounts which can connect you with your target job seekers.

#2. Creativity counts.

This one I’m stealing directly from The Undercover Recruiter, because well, they got to the heart of being creative. Look for anything, infographics, etc… which might illuminate your company’s best qualities in a unique way.

#1. Make your listing interesting.

As I mentioned earlier, letting people know about your company culture in a job posting is important, but also let job seekers know what they’ll be doing and how great it can be for them.

There are plenty of great job seekers out there that would be perfect for your company. Use some of these tips and I’m sure you’ll be rolling in top candidates in no time. It’s all about selling yourself.

Do you have any other tips for attracting top-quality job seekers? Let us know!