07 July 2022
5 reasons employers struggle to attract the best candidates
In today’s fast-paced labour market, many firms from a broad spectrum of industries, are asking themselves why they are struggling to recruit the cream of the crop compared to their competitors.
Whether you work in IT, Engineering or Service industries. Why is it that certain firms always seem to pip you for that top graduate? You pay the same, have nice facilities and have high staff satisfaction. So, what’s up? Well, there are numerous ways that employers tend to shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to recruitment that are easily avoidable. Here’s what to watch out for.
Slow feedback
Some technology and engineering firms, despite being at the forefront of their industry, from a recruitment perspective are very much living in the past. Spending weeks to feedback on candidate CVs and book interviews.
The best candidates are going to get snapped up quickly, they’re not going to wait around for you to offer them an interview if they’ve already got a comparable offer elsewhere.
Hunter’s, Matt Williams says “Whatever role you’re recruiting for you should aim to feedback on CVs within 24 hours and get interview booked in within a 72-hour window. The early bird almost always gets the worm when it comes to securing the best talent.”
Not selling the business
You might know you’re a fantastic employer, but that might not be clear from your job advert. Jack Lavis, from Hunter’s Engineering & Manufacturing team Cardiff says “Many businesses today have a habit of underselling themselves, talk about all the merits of your company and the things you’re proud of!”
Topics such as business achievements, staff satisfaction statistics as well as future goals are all valuable subject matters to include in recruitment collateral. It could be the thing which twists the arm of your ideal employee.
During the interview as well, schedule some time before you get down to the nitty-gritty to show each applicant around the premise and show off your facilities and other things.
Reputation
Thanks to websites like GlassDoor employers are under more scrutiny than ever before, and maintaining a good reputation online is really important. A string of poor reviews from previous applicants could cost a huge number of future applications.
Robyn Paul from Hunter’s Technology team says “Your reputation precedes you. Every candidate you interview is a future Glassdoor review. Every candidate leaves with an impression of your company. It is imperative to consider your reputation and the image you want to portray when you are going through this process. Ensure you leave everyone with a good impression. This in turn will boost the reputation of your company.”
Benefits packages
In recent years benefits and perks have become one of the hottest topics in recruitment, with many surveys suggesting that many employees would take a job for less money if it had other benefits.
Gym memberships, remote working options and enhanced holiday packages are incredibly popular, so list all of your benefits on the job listing. Adam Burroughs from Hunter’s Service team adds “Whatever you do, don’t list things you’re legally required to offer as if it’s an enhanced benefit. It makes you seem rather miserly, and candidates will take that as a sign that they should look somewhere else.”
Not putting down your salary range
Finally, one of the biggest contributing factors which stop the best candidates from applying for a job is if the employer has failed to list the salary range offered. If all your competitors are putting it down and you’re not is unlikely you will get many applications, people don’t want to waste their time filling out applications for jobs that may not meet their salary expectations.
Chris Gumm, Engineering & Manufacturing, South East states “if you are advertising a job at a specific salary, offer that salary! Don’t come in and undervalue people’s expectations by offering lower than advertised,”
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