Are you trying to hire, but continue to get either unqualified or irrelevant resumes?

It’s so frustrating, and it’s easy to find yourself asking “why?!”   While there are many reasons and variables that may be impacting your candidate search, here are 4 of the most common recruiting mistakes I’ve seen employers make and how to fix them.

1. Your job postings and advertisements aren’t engaging.

Job ad quality is so important! Nobody wants to read through a bullet point list of generic and vanilla job duties.  Quality candidates are likely reading dozens if not hundreds of similar job descriptions each day, so stand out from the crowd with a nontraditional or creative approach to a standard posting.

Here are a two examples of how you can ensure your job postings are eye catching and interesting.

• • Write your description from the perspective of “A Day in the life ….”

• • Start the job posting with a joke that’s relevant to the role. For example, one of my favorites, Q: “Why did the accountant cross the road?” A: “So he could utilize his allowable travel expenses!”

Not only will a little creativity help you stand out to prospects, but it also offers a chance to further communicate your employer brand.

2. The days of the “post and pray” method are over.

Relationship building is a core element of a strong recruiting strategy. Gone are the days of throwing up a job description and getting dozens of qualified applicants. These days, it is crucial for all organizations to have a strong candidate pipeline.

A strong candidate pipeline starts with open-mindedness. If you come across a resume that isn’t a fit for a specific, current opening, but you like what you see, talk to the candidate anyway! Start building the relationship and keep that candidate in your pipeline. The recruiting world is fluid and constantly changing, so you never know when you’ll need someone with that particular skillset.

3. Say goodbye to pre-interview assessments.

As a professional recruiter, pre-interview assessments are one of my biggest no-no’s! To understand why, just put yourself in the candidates’ shoes. They just spent their precious time completing your online application.  Getting a system generated email asking them to spend more of their time on an assessment before they even know specifics about the job or company feels like a waste of their time.  Assessments can be a vital part of the interview process, but please, save these for your final candidates!

4. Recruiting is expensive, and sometimes, it pays to hire a professional.

For small HR teams or organizations without an established and intentional recruitment strategy, outsourcing may be the answer to your problems. Outsourced recruiters and recruitment consultants can save significant time and money on job advertisements, sourcing, and initial conversations with job seekers.  Many HR teams are already stretched thin and do not have the time it takes to handle these responsibilities with the attention they may require. While it may seem costly up front, a lot of the time a qualified recruiting consult will end up saving your organization money. More importantly, recruiting is what a recruiter does day in and day out.  Recruiters are talking to candidates constantly and have a huge database of qualified resumes.   This will speed up your hire process significantly.  Unlike hiring internally, most third-party recruiters come with a guarantee period too, so if the candidate you hire does not work out, you get a replacement without an additional charge.

I hope these tips help you get optimal visibility and sourcing power for your ideal candidates! If you need any assistance with your search, I’m here to help! Learn more about Wegner CPAs Recruiting Services and sign up for our general newsletter to get more recruiting tips and tricks like How to Leverage Upskilling and Managing Internal Equity delivered right to your inbox.

Happy hiring!