UK 
United States
With employment at its highest since records began, UK businesses will have to pull out all the stops to attract talent this Autumn, particularly if they’re looking to recruit for niche roles.
The competition for skilled candidates is competitive and it’s more important than ever to make your recruitment advertising campaigns as effective as possible.
So, how can you give your recruitment advertising the competitive edge? Read our three top tips to increase your chances of beating your competitors and attracting the talent you need:
1. Make your USPs clear
Your unique selling points are what sets you apart from your competitors. These are things that you wouldn’t hesitate to mention in your sales pitch to a potential new customer, so why not focus on them when selling yourself as an employer?
What’s special about your team, values and company culture? Don’t feel that you have to have incredible offices, with a ball pool and a slide – these are things that might sound cool but what really matters to most candidates are other benefits, such as flexible working, training and development and progression opportunities.
Make sure that you communicate your USPs at each stage of the recruitment process; you should mention them in your job advert, when you telephone screen candidates and at face-to-face interview stage.
2. Get your vacancy seen by the right people
Once you’ve written a brilliant job advert that talks about your stand out features as an employer, you need to make sure that the right people are able to see it.
Paint a picture in your head of your ideal candidate; where are they likely to look for a new job? What job boards will they be searching on? What online publications will they be reading?
Think outside the box and get into the mindset of your audience. For example, a developer and an accountant are likely to approach their job search differently so make sure to take a unique approach to each campaign.
3. Treat your candidates well
Improving the candidate journey is a huge priority for many employers and providing a stand-out candidate experience is a great way of setting your company apart from the rest.
Start with your application process and ensure that it’s as simple as possible (a confusing application form can create a negative impression of you as an employer).
Make sure that the candidate experience is positive right the way through the recruitment process; this includes keeping candidates updated on the progress of their application, providing clear and detailed interview instructions and directions and not leaving them hanging for weeks on end after an interview has taken place.
Find out more about how to master your candidate attraction strategy by downloading our popular guide, The 2016 Guide to Online Recruitment Advertising.
