Voices

Four ways to expand your hiring reach

[IMGCAP(1)]Finding qualified talent today is tough, especially if you are in a service-based business. Most prospective hires today are passive candidates, which means they are open to a job change, but aren’t actively looking for a particular position.

Unfortunately, many firms today still rely on recruiters or job postings, and are struggling to fill these roles because they don’t have enough candidates.

Posting a job doesn’t equal traffic. Unless you drive people to that job posting, they won’t be aware of it and they certainly won’t have the chance to apply. So how do you get more eyes on your job openings? Here are four tips to increase you their reach.

1.    Promote it on social media
Whether it’s for personal or professional use, people (business professionals included) spend a lot of time on social media today. Yet very few firms we speak with are proactively promoting their open job positions online. Firms should be doing this, through individual LinkedIn profiles, the LinkedIn company page, Facebook individual and business pages, and Twitter.

Once isn’t enough, either. Make sure you have regular messages through these channels, spaced out at regular intervals and different times of the day. Consider weekends and evenings rather than during the business day, so you are likely to get higher engagement.

2.    Use social advertising
Social advertising, unlike the more traditional print advertising, is cost-effective and highly targeted. Both LinkedIn and Facebook provide options for advertising based on geographic area and specific key words. You could spend half the cost of print advertising with significantly higher ROI.

3.    Optimize with key words
Almost everyone I know today spends the majority of their online job search finding and researching open positions. Optimizing your website’s jobs or career landing page can help increase visibility.

4.    Ask your network to share
Logical, I know, but often not done. A simple email, through your work account or LinkedIn network can be an easy way to spread the word about open positions. You never know who might know your next employee.

Sarah Johnson is the chief growth strategist with Inovautus Consulting, a firm that works with CPA, law and professional service firms to help them grow more effectively, and author of “Practical Ideas for Growth,” a blog dedicated to growing professional firms. Her counsel and strategies have helped move firms to the next level in their marketing and sales efforts. Connect with Sarah at 773-208-7170, sjohnson@inovautus.com, or www.linkedin.com/in/sjjohnson.

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