Given the changing job market and shifts in the overall business world, it seems it may be about time that companies began changing up the way in which they recruit employees as well. Executive search firms say that the new goal companies should be striving for in their recruiting process is to try to pleasantly surprise their candidates. This surprise can be any number of small gestures which have a positive effect on the applicant, being something the interviewer says, does, or offers that the candidate will remember well afterwards. Simply adding a touch of the unexpected to the recruitment process can create a positive and lasting impression on a candidate, allowing that company to stand out as unique and memorable against the milieu of other employers, thus allowing them to draw in the prime applicants. However, while such a strategy may be able to sweeten the appeal of an opportunity, it cannot hide or compensate for any inadequacies in the position being offered; this is another matter in and of itself.
Before this method can be added to a company’s hiring strategy that company must first have a solid recruitment program in place on which to build. As was mentioned before, while these executive search tactics can be used to help sweeten an opportunity, it alone cannot sell the position all by itself. In order to effectively implement this type of strategy into one’s recruitment methods, here are six keys to help improve the recruitment process and offer candidates a pleasant surprise.
Far too often in today’s world, we forget the real value that making eye contact with one another can have. The simple act of making a conscious effort to make and maintain eye contact with a candidate can send a firm, friendly message which is a rarity in today’s culture.- Without meaning to, all too often candidates are treated rather impolitely by those employers who do not return phone calls and behave as though the individual is just one more number in a tiresome list of applicants. It take very little effort on the part of the employer to correct this behavior – returning calls, keeping appointments, and treating the candidate as though they matter and the employer is excited to be meeting with them – and given this little effort, the results can be dramatic.
- Take the time to anticipate any needs the candidate may have. This is as simple as offering them a drink and giving them time to go to the bathroom. Banal those these things may seem, they will still make an impression on the candidate.
- Once the list of candidates has begun to diminish, employers should consider gifting those remaining individuals with a “swag bag” or gift basket of small promotional items and company trinkets. This serves to cement the company in the candidate’s mind and foster a generous impression.
- While discussing the company and the position can only go so far in giving the candidate a mental picture of the workplace and activities, arranging a shadow session in which the individual follows and observes another employee at work can be a great deal more useful.
- When it comes time to make an offer, be as thorough as possible in doing so. Not only make a verbal offer but provide a detailed information package as well which outlines all the finer points of employee benefits, compensation, etc., ultimately helping to guide the candidate’s final decision.
