I have been a professional Recruiter since the early 2000s and running my own Recruitment Consulting business since 2010. Oh, how the job has changed over this period!
We have had new technologies to embrace, new systems & processes, a global pandemic, and ups and downs in the labour market to see our way through. Despite how vastly different it is to hire employees now from when I first started in the industry, there is something that has not changed.
Recruiters and Talent Acquisition Professionals have very limited tools at their disposal for their talent sourcing purposes then and now. Job boards dominate as the main go-to for attracting qualified applicants to your open job orders whether you are in the staffing industry or in an internal hiring role. There are many to choose from and some are quite sophisticated as technology goes. Yet, we still take our lengthy and listy job descriptions and post them on the job boards and wait for our perfect candidates to apply. Applications are down. It remains highly competitive out there and we have been in a candidate-led market for some time now.
These realities require businesses to think creatively and think differently about talent attraction. It used to be the candidate selling themselves for the job and now it is the reverse. I see many companies doing a brilliant job with recruitment marketing, social media campaigns, referral programs, compensation evaluations, competitive benefits packages and workplace wellness considerations. All to stand out against their competition.
Yet, we still have pervasive labour shortages plaguing many SMEs and large corporations and there is a lot of frustration felt by internal recruiters who have a tough job right now.
In October 2023, I attended an excellent webinar put on by BDC called Challenge of the Decade – How to Navigate Canada’s Labour Shortages https://www.bdc.ca/en/about/analysis-research/labour-shortage
It was very well attended and informative. The takeaways were clear; to overcome obstacles of labour shortages, they advise companies to leverage technology & automation, develop comprehensive employee strategies and expand their hiring pools. They encourage a new way of thinking that focuses on Innovative Approaches and a Determined Mindset to help embrace this moment and chart a course to success in hiring.
This struck me. So often, I speak with Talent Acquisition teams and Internal Recruiters who are super stressed out. They have tons of pressure on them to fill job requisitions and do this fast. Like I said before, these folks have a tough job.
They have been through the wringer – I can commiserate. They need to position their employer at the top of the pile and must also meet the demands of the candidates who are not afraid to ask for what they want. Add in all the fun of having candidates no show on interviews, and having gone through heavy negotiations that don’t always go their way. They have limited tools and resources that greatly affect their ability to source candidates.
The job boards are effective for Active Job Seekers only. This is a small % of our overall workforce who have eyes on these job listings.
In my opinion, a great Talent Acquisition Professional /Recruiter must stay open-minded and curious; Be the Crusader for any new ideas, avenues, tools and ways of thinking to stay on top of their game and win talent for their organization. They should be open and ready to bring ideas and information back to the decision-makers if there is some innovation out there to help them hire more effectively.
As I develop Jobilla here in Canada- I am in touch with many of these folks and relish the opportunity to speak to those Recruiters who are willing to hear about a new solution; a new way of thinking about recruiting and ultimately a new tool to help them tap into that larger percentage of our workforce who are talented and passive – not really job searching but, if the right opportunity were to fall in their lap, they may be persuaded to give it some consideration. All of this without the use of Job Boards or Staffing Agencies.
What if there was a way to turn a passive candidate into an applicant in under 2 weeks? This would be someone who would have zero knowledge of your company or that you are hiring because they are not visiting the job boards that were designed for Active job seekers only. What if there was a way to get your opportunity noticed by a whole new wide audience of potentials?
Stay curious! There is some incredible innovation in tools available to Recruiters and I am proud to deliver information to any Talent Acquisition person who wants to learn more. You never know, you may already be on my call list! I hope you are willing to give me a listen and don’t let me go to voicemail!
If you are one of the curious Recruiters out there and I have piqued your interest, here is how to connect to learn more: https://calendly.com/jobillacanadademo/45min?month=2023-12
Help awaits.
