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4 Data-Backed Traits of Top Talent That Recruiters Must Know

Bottom view of businessman with suitcase in handRecruiters: don't get blindsided. The way to attract and secure talent has to mirror the current market conditions; and, the competition for top talent is at full throttle. Candidates today have the upper hand. As such, it's imperative for recruiters to be on their A-game in order to win over top talent. Learn how modern job seekers are finding work, and how you can interject your name into the dialogue. 

It’s a candidate-driven labor market, and recruiters are just hiring in it.  According to MRINetwork’s most recent Recruiter Sentiment Study90% of recruiters say today’s labor market is candidate-driven.

Candidates, especially those in difficult-to-fill industries, are receiving multiple job offers with competitive salaries and benefits. To better understand how to recruit in today’s competitive labor market, here are four data-backed traits of the modern job seeker. 

 

Candidates Use Multiple Job Sources  

Today’s job seekers go far beyond the job boards during their job search. And  According to CareerBuilder’s Candidate Behavior Study, job seekers use a whopping 16 different sources when searching for a job. 

Unlike previous generations, modern job seekers have an abundance of information at their fingertips, so they can do their due diligence before ever deciding to apply.   

 

How to break through the noise:

To secure a spot on candidates’ radar, your organization needs to have a strong presence on multiple online channels; from job boards to Google to career sites to social media. Most importantly, you need to promote your employer brand on those channels. Make your organization stand out as the employer of choice through unique job posts, an engaging career page, and active social profiles.

Additionally, use an applicant tracking system (ATS) with robust reporting to find out where your applicants are coming from. Then, leverage the data to be where your best candidates are already looking.   

 

80% of Global Workforce is Passive

Chances are that your first-choice candidate is already employed. That’s because today’s labor market is largely dominated by passive talent -- talent that is happily employed and not looking for work, but may be open to new opportunities. According to Olive & Co, most studies agree that roughly 20 percent of the current workforce consists of active job seekers, which means a whopping 80 percent of people are passive job seekers.

 

How to break through the noise:

When it comes to passive talent, take matters into your own hands. Actively seek out passive talent, by inviting them to networking or professional development events hosted by your organization. These events can attract various professionals within your industry, as well as give passive talent an opportunity to interact with your company and see your culture firsthand.  


Tech Savvy Recruiting

Consider this: according to HubSpot45% of people watch more than an hour of video content per day.  Fortunately for hiring professionals, there’s a surefire way to appeal to video-consuming job seekers.

Not to mention, a recent job seeker study by interviewing technology researcher Software Advice, found nearly half of the 400 respondents with prior video interview experience prefer them to other long-distance interview formats, such as phone interviews.

 

How to break through the noise:

To cater to job seekers’ interest and comfort level with video technology, consider implementing video interviews into the hiring process. Video interviews appeal to the modern job seeker’s interest in video content, as well as paint the organization as an innovative place to work.

 

It’s a Millennial-Dominated Market  

66% of Millennials expect to leave their organization by 2020

Millennials make up a large part of today’s employment market. In fact, Millennials will be the largest generation in the U.S. workforce this year. Unfortunately, companies are mostly placing a neutral focus on specifically attracting millennials because they don’t completely understand how to engage this generation. Estimates show that Millennial turnover due to poor engagement costs the US economy $30.5 billion a year. 

 

How to break through the noise:

When it comes to attracting Millennial workers, focus on what sets Millennials apart from other job seekers. What are they looking for in an employer? What matters most to them in a job? Focus on people and purpose. Millennials are known for wanting to be a part of something bigger than profit making; they want to make a notable difference.

To appeal to the sense of purpose Millennial workers seek, let job seekers know early in the hiring process (e.g. in job postings) what the organization’s mission and vision is and how that particular position contributes to the overall goals of the company and community.

 

What are some other ways to appeal to the modern job seeker? Let us know in the comments!

Recruitment

This blog was written by Andre Lavoie, the CEO of ClearCompany, the first talent alignment platform that bridges the gap between talent management and business strategy by contextualizing employees’ work around a company’s vision and goals. You can connect with him and the ClearCompany team on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

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