The global pandemic forced a mass transition to remote work. As businesses gradually reopen their physical locations, companies have to become more enterprising to ensure candidate pools know that they're searching for new talent. Virtual job fairs are an opportunity for managers to broaden their search. Here are more ideas on how to snag workers:
- Managers should keep resumes from rejected applicants on file. After all, any applicant who made it through the first round of interviews and testing may be qualified for the next position that opens up. Conversely, they could also give a call to former employees who might be interested in returning in a different position, becoming so-called boomerang employees.
- Now that we're all masters at setting up a virtual private network, companies should expand their search for top talent beyond their city, region or state. Many of them already post on nationwide sites and participate in regional recruitment events, but they should make sure to stress that remote workers will be considered. It's incumbent on them to communicate that they don't hold the old-fashioned idea that faraway candidates are less serious or less likely to accept a job. A good place to start is by making the interview process completely remote instead of forcing applicants to hop on a cross-country flight just so you can find out whether they have a firm handshake.
- Even for local applicants, video interviews are replacing in-person meetings. While telephone or prerecorded interviews continue to be the favored choice for the first round of interviews, video interviews have replaced the in-person second round at many companies to give a better sense of each candidate. Besides opening up the hiring process to far-flung candidates, videoconferencing platforms allow multiple hiring managers in remote locations to participate simultaneously and evaluate job candidates. With little or no wait time, hiring managers can manage their day-to-day schedules more effectively while filling more time slots for interviews.
- Companies should add information about work-life balance and their company culture to their job postings in addition to the usual information about salary ranges and job descriptions. Would-be employees rank such values highly in their decision-making processes.
Companies have adapted virtual technology to meet candidates and expand their search pools, allowing for more time to engage with candidates and to source diverse talent. By spending less time scheduling, they have more time to engage with quality candidates.
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