“The Year of the Informed Candidate.” That is what Glassdoor called it. So, what does that mean for you as an employer? First, we will understand what informed candidates look like and why they are superior. Then, we will tell you how to ensure your recruitment strategies attract these informed candidates.
What Is An Informed Candidate?
According to Glassdoor, the informed candidate is a person who is well-researched and engaged with your company, which means he or she will have a higher chance of turning out to be the right fit and – once hired – get onboard faster and exhibit greater productivity. The key attributes include being prepared for interviews and asking pertinent questions, demonstrating the right experience, being knowledgeable about the role, being knowledgeable about the organization’s culture and values and being prepared, so they have the right expectations about compensation and benefits. In other words, informed candidates are quality candidates.
Why Is An Informed Candidate Better?
There are two main reasons informed candidates are superior to others. The first is that informed candidates make better employees. The second (a bonus for you) is that they make the job of hiring easier.
In a survey of hiring decisionmakers conducted by Glassdoor, respondents indicated the top benefits of hiring informed candidates were they contributed to higher employee retention (42%), were more productive employees (42%) and were more engaged employees (41%).
The survey also showed that the benefits of interviewing informed candidates were an improved candidate experience (38%), reduced time to hire (34%), improved hiring manager satisfaction (34%), reduced number of interviews per candidates (32%) and reduced costs for sourcing and recruiting (30%).
How To Attract Informed Candidates
Here are some ideas that will fill your inbox with those high-quality, informed candidates you are after.
1. Strong employer branding:
The No. 1 way to attract informed candidates is to allow information about your company and open role to be easily accessed. This goes back to good employer branding. Your company culture should be apparent through your employer branding materials and be available on multiple platforms, including review sites, websites, job boards and social media. You will be able to identify informed candidates during the interview because they will ask smart questions based on the information they have already learned about your company through their research.
2. Build a content calendar:
Hiring managers prefer informed, passive candidates to active, not informed candidates and unemployed, informed candidates. To find the right candidate, it is essential to create a content calendar that regularly shares industry information. Professionals seeking information about their line of work may land on your blog. This will introduce them to your company, and you may be able to convert them into a candidate for an upcoming requisition.
3. Keep employees engaged:
Employee-sourced content is more trusted by job-seekers than company-created content. Therefore, employee engagement is essential. You want to encourage your employees to interact with other professionals and possible candidates through social media. Their genuine opinions will matter to informed candidates. These candidates will seek it out through branded hashtags and personal social media accounts. Informed candidates will pay attention to retention, so keeping current employees satisfied will contribute to attracting high-quality new hires.
4. Encourage referrals:
According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), more than 30 percent of all hires in 2016 came from employee referrals. These candidates tend to be informed because they start off having insider knowledge from the employees who referred them. They know about the company, the department, the role and have a pretty good idea of what they are getting into. Incentive programs for referrals will motivate employees to dig through their contact list.
5. Publish employee benefits and perks:
Know your audience and what they value. Do not be afraid to make your employee benefits and perks available for candidates to learn about at the website. As a recruitment professional or hiring manager, talk about them during the screening or interview. If you make a benefits and perks package that’s desirable for the employees you are trying to attract (and market it), they will come.
6. The more information, the better:
To attract informed candidates, you must encourage self-selection. Do this by having as much information that is relevant to candidates’ decision available at your website, in the job posting and during the screening. That means including salary ranges in the job description and detailing the expectations during the interview. You will be able to spot informed candidates because their employment application (e.g., cover letter, resume, portfolio) will be precisely tailored to the role.
With a little effort in tailoring your search to attract informed candidates, you will cut down on the time you spend wading through unqualified resumes. The hire you make will definitely be a better one for it!
