Tips to Find and Place In-Demand Talent
Sourcing during a skills shortage may feel like an impossible task, but with the right approach, you can improve your sourcing results for even the toughest roles. In this new weekly blog series, you’ll find relevant stats and tips for when talent is often high in demand but short on supply. First up, a primer on candidate sourcing and the talent shortage.
Candidate Sourcing: a Top Priority for You AND for Your Clients
Candidate sourcing—defined here as the proactive search for, and initial engagement of, candidates for a role—is one of the first and most vital components of talent acquisition. Without quality candidates, your candidate placement engine can’t run. And that engine is critical for meeting the hiring needs of your clients, generating business, and ultimately, remaining profitable as a firm.
It’s easy to see why 41 per cent of recruiting professionals say candidate acquisition is one of their three biggest priorities. Unfortunately, with an increased demand for candidates and fierce competition, sourcing quality candidates isn’t an easy task. But what’s the most cited sourcing obstacle? The talent shortage.
The Talent Shortage Isn’t Going Anywhere
The talent shortage isn’t a new challenge for recruiters, but it may be the biggest one. Fifty-five per cent of surveyed recruiting professionals cite it as the single-biggest challenge for 2018, and another 24 per cent cited it as a top-three challenge. It was also a top challenge over the last several years, ahead of other major concerns like pricing pressures and global economic uncertainty. If you’re in the recruitment industry, you’re probably grappling with the shortage in one way or another.
The bad news? The talent crunch might get worse before it gets better. Sixty-one per cent of recruitment pros expect hiring needs to increase in 2018. Your unique client base is a factor, but recruiting professionals in every industry expect an increase in hiring needs. An increase in demand is great for your business, but it only amplifies the need to find and place high-quality candidates.
Industry-Specific Tips to Source Candidates
Each week, we’ll explore a different vertical— Tech, Finance, Business Services, and Industrial/Manufacturing, —impacted by the talent shortage. Here’s a sample of some of the tips you’ll see each week designed to help you find and place candidates in your field.
Industrial/Manufacturing: Go Where Your Candidates Are
More than half of skilled trade workers are over 45 years old, according to a study by Economic Modeling Specialists International. Which social networks are the best for finding older candidates for blue-collar professions?
The demographics point to Facebook: 72 percent of all 50-60 year-olds use Facebook. And while LinkedIn’s largest audience skews wealthy (75K +), the largest percentage of Facebook users are working-class (less than 50K). This may be why Facebook is actively pursuing the blue-collar market for job listings.
This doesn’t mean you should ignore LinkedIn—they’re actively pursuing workers in industrial and manufacturing jobs. Instead, consider implementing both into your sourcing strategy.
Business: Relationships Now, Placements Later
Whatever industry you’re in, it’s a good practice to build relationships before you need them. But this is especially true for sales roles. More than a third of currently employed salespeople turn over each year.
The high turnover rate means salespeople who aren’t available now may be in the near future. Play the long game by cultivating relationships early. If you can provide value to your connections now, you’ll ensure you’re the one they call when they want to move on.
Finding and placing in-demand talent requires innovation, insight, and ingenuity. Stay tuned for more industry-specific tips and information to help you develop a sourcing approach that fits your firm’s needs.
Want more sourcing tips? Read Source Code: Tips to Find and Place Candidates for interesting findings on the candidate acquisition landscape and sourcing tips that work.
