Recruiting is back on, so where are the candidates?

We take a look at ways recruiters can get potential candidates out of their comfort zone and into a great new role  

A new year and fewer Australian COVID cases have meant that all the recruiting and hiring that didn’t happen last year is going full steam ahead in 2021. 

But because the chaos and instability of last year are still at the front of many employees’ minds, many organisations and recruiters are running into trouble actually finding people that want to start a new job.

As a recruiter, you can’t force people to apply for jobs, but there are things you can do to reassure job seekers about the benefits of making the move. 

We caught up with Lois Freeke from NGO Recruitment to get the low-down.  

Understand your client  

Take the time to sit down with candidates to find out where their head is at, and what might be driving them to think about changing jobs (or not changing jobs). If the candidate is showing that they are unmotivated, stressed, or lack a work-life balance in their current job but they are fearful of moving around, it’s your task to show them how good it could be somewhere else. 

“It’s our responsibility to be able to educate the candidate as to what this role and opportunity affords them, both in the scope of the role and in the long term,” Freeke said. 

“If it is the right time for them, we’ve got to be able to demonstrate to them what some of the benefits can be if they do change their job.”  

Not all changes are bad 

With all the changes that the world’s been through in the past 12 months, the last thing most people want is another big life shift, like getting a new job at a place where everything is completely different. 

But as Freeke points out, candidates might not be looking at how the many changes that happened in the world of work might actually be a good thing. 

“We know for example that in the NFP sector, a lot of organisations have had to downsize. And that might mean that the candidate will get more visibility in the organisation or they might be able to take on more responsibility,” she said. 

Do your research 

In the same way, you should spend time getting to know the candidate and their needs, spend time researching the culture of the organisation and what it is the organisation wants out of the new hire to really fill out the job ad in a meaningful way.

“Finding out a lot more about the company culture, the cultural fit, the long-term career opportunities it will afford candidates is really important,” Freeke said. 

“I think we need to be really focusing on what are the attraction points for candidates who don’t want to move.”