Is your business having trouble filling job positions?
If so, you're not alone. According to a recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business, 42% of business owners have job opportunities they cannot fill. Additionally, 91% of those hiring or trying to hire have few or no qualified applicants for positions they are trying to fill.
Why are job positions so difficult to fill? Read on to learn about the struggle of filling positions.
1. Candidates Are Pursuing Multiple Opportunities
If you think your candidate is only interviewing with your company, think again.
More often than not, job candidates are actively pursuing multiple job opportunities. From a candidate's perspective, this makes perfect sense, as you don't want to put all of your eggs in one basket.
So, as much as candidates need to impress you, you also need to impress them. Creating a great interview experience is one of the best ways to impress potential job candidates, as 65% of employees say that a bad interview experience will cause them to lose interest in a job.
Making sure candidates understand the responsibilities of the role is one of the best ways to ensure a great interview experience. It's also equally critical to keep employees in the loop after a job interview.
2. Attracting the Right Talent
Attracting the right talent is another issue that many managers face when it comes to filling positions. Often, hiring managers make the mistake of choosing the best person they can find at the time, rather than the best person for the job.
To make sure you're attracting the right talent, be clear about the requirements and expectations in the job ad. The job ad should include a concise overview of the role. It's also a good idea to include a form with knockout questions that will address your key concerns.
Knockout questions can be related to salary expectations, employment type, availability, willingness to travel, and more.
3. Keeping Qualified Candidates Engaged
Sometimes, finding the right talent isn't the problem. Rather, hiring managers struggle with keeping qualified talent engaged throughout the hiring process.
It's best to assume that every candidate you interview is fielding multiple job offers. To keep candidates engaged, ask them what motivates them and what makes them happy when working.
Then, you can personalize your emails/communication to emphasize what you can offer them instead of what they can offer you. For example, if a candidate says they enjoy flexible work environments, you can point out that you allow remote work or that you let employees flex hours during the week. It can also help to use executive search firms to find the right candidates.
4. Creating an Efficient Recruitment Process
Many times, it takes months to find the right candidate for the job. When candidates are searching for new jobs, they often don't want to wait months to be hired.
This can make it difficult to fill positions, and it's the reason why you should make the recruitment process as efficient as possible by using the best talent acquisition software. Also, give candidates a realistic timeline in terms of when they can expect to interview for and start their new role.
Filling Positions: Time to Find the Right Candidate
Now that you've read this guide on filling positions, it's time to get out there and start searching for the right candidates. By understanding the struggles of recruiting, you should have an easier time filling job positions.
Check back in with us for more recruiting and hiring tips.