By Kathleen Parr – Marketing Intern

There is an ocean of opportunities when it comes to employment but it’s more difficult for recruiters to land the quality candidates they are looking for. Recruitment teams need to be looking at new, innovative ways of capturing the attention of, and landing, the next big fish.

The recruiting industry is evolving, in order to differ from the competition there needs to be continuous improvement on developing new ways to reach and engage the talent your company is looking for. Finding the right hire is a multi-faceted task that requires recruiters to drop the traditional techniques that are becoming obsolete. Innovation comes from the need to solve a key problem that industries come across. Applying innovation to recruiting is about fine tuning and making changes to how we find people, engage them and entice them to make a change in employer or career.

In making companies more appealing, recruiters, are not restricted to just promoting a great position with good salary and great benefits. Applying simple innovations, recruiters can also promote a great working environment, training or education opportunities for employees, and other aspects of the business brand and culture.

New innovations rely less on function and more on strategy. Some of these are old techniques and are now being implemented through different mediums to some pretty imaginative, new ways in which recruiters are finding top talent. A few of the more popular, innovative methods shown to reach potential top candidates and talent are:

1. Creative challenges in identifying hidden candidates – A huge challenge for recruiters is seeking candidates with niche skills. Traditional recruiting strategies just don’t work as effectively as they used to for finding qualified candidates. Some cost effective approaches recruiters are implementing are hidden job descriptions and messages where your ideal candidates will see them. These have included billboards, websites, or even under hoods of cars, like Volkswagen did when the company was looking for mechanics. It means recruiters will have to venture out into that ocean of talent and reach out to them in more unique and personal ways. When recruiters hire people, one thing to keep in mind is that skills can be taught but attitudes can’t.This approach gives recruiters first-hand experience with how a possible candidate behaves as an employee and interacts with customers.




2. Video technology -Video provides a personal touch and allows a relationship to begin on a face to face level instead of a voice on a phone or a name in a pile of resumes. In addition to video interviews, video job descriptions and postings, videos are now being used for employer branding as well. These are all great tools for appealing to job seekers in a visually appealing way. Video content, in general, is a rising trend across all industries.




3. Mobile – By now recruiters should be implementing a mobile platform to their talent seeking efforts. More than 70% of passive and active candidates are using their mobile devices as part of their job search. Mobility is built for communication that goes far beyond your career page. Due to mobility being hand held, the response rate is high and allows more flexibility in ways to reach those skilled prospects.  Promoting your employer brand, being able to easily view job descriptions and watch videos can all be available to candidates through mobile devices. Another trend in mobile recruiting is push relevant job openings to selective job seekers.




4. Social Media & Professional Networks- These online channels have altered the way recruiters find the skills and talent they are looking for. Professional social networks, such as LinkedIn, currently are the fastest growing source of quality hires. Social media sites provide a great way to interact with both active and passive job candidates and has opened up a much larger pool of talent for recruiters to draw from. Studies show that candidates who are recruited through social media will stay longer in the positions they get hired for than candidates that are approached using other methods. Social media and professional networks are a better resume than anyone could write. All useful information is available for recruiters and employers to find out what type of candidate one actually is before any initial contact.So we see the advantages of using social media to help find new hires but they also are an efficient way to promote your employer brand and culture,  exchange ideas, create communities, and discussions.




5. Big Data – Recruiters and hiring managers are using specialized software to analyze thousands of applications and resumes. These tools help in filteringall the information by skills and qualifications. Data analytics are based on real time and predictive metrics that will assist in discovering which candidates are better to approach. For recruiters this is a great way to communicate, analyze and understand important information. Predictive metrics will make decision making and recruitment activities more efficient.




6. Odd …but successful techniques – I have read these unique paths recruiters are taking being called “all out” or “guerilla” recruiting. In recent attempts to reach candidates, recruiters are beginning to apply unconventional ways to find those ideal candidates. This way of approaching talent has recruiters stepping a little out of their norms by using complex puzzles, brain teasers, tests and even contests to appeal to specific applicants interests. These methods are proving to effectively filter out unsuitable applicants and reel in those that are exactly what the company is looking for.

Innovation in recruiting is nothing new and companies will continue to find new and unique ways to provide value and enrich the lives of recruiters. The key is to really look at new technologies and trends that are being talked about in the marketplace and figure out if they are innovations that will last to provide value for your recruitment marketing organization over the long haul.