The market has flipped again, and as recruiters we have quickly responded to this and have learnt some lessons incredibly quickly.
Firstly, this is a perfect time for your brand to shine. It is a scary time for job hunters, ensuring that you take the time to be compassionate, respond to every application and be empathetic. Get this right and your brand will be remembered for handling recruitment in the right way.
Recruitment will take longer. Job applications are up by around 600% in our business, so hundreds rather than a handful. We are finding about 5% relevance through our application channels and still sourcing potential applications through LinkedIn and Search.
However, for everyone who takes the time to apply, we ensure they get a reply and the option to join our mailing lists to attend our events to help with job seeking.
In this market – every offer of help is gratefully received – and silence speaks volume.
People need feedback – be it positive or negative. To fail to do this in any market is fundamentally harsh, but in one filled with uncertainty and panic, I would argue it is cruel. If they are not moving forward in the process, be honest, tell them why, let them learn from it if they have done a faux pax in their interview or application. Don’t be afraid of giving bad news. As I am sure your mother would say – treat people as you would want to be treated.
Be realistic – there are more people on the market looking for a new role – but still – magical unicorns do not exist. You still need to be realistic about what skills you can hire and what you can train – and as always, I would advocate to hire on ambition and aptitude and the rest will follow.
Look after your staff – As well as looking to bring in great new talent, ensure you are protecting what you have. Certainly, if you have furloughed workers, have areas of the business fearing redundancy or a ripple of uncertainty amongst your staff. There are some great roles out there, and people are being approached – avoid complacency with your own team.
This is a time to show the business off as a place where people aspire to work, and how you handle your Recruitment PR is vital. Ensure when you plan your recruitment campaign you ensure you have the time to manage the response, the systems to reply, and something in place to support and help.
To discuss moving recruitment forward please contact Jane Pettit on jane.pettit@signetresources.co.uk
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