Good news: you’ve found the perfect person for the job. But the bad news is that your competitors want them too. When someone has multiple offers, how do you make sure they choose you?
The market has become more competitive over the past year, with the number of roles outweighing the number of qualified candidates. Businesses are fighting over the top professionals, who are free to take their pick of the available options.
In this kind of market, candidates interview you. If you want to set yourself apart from the competition, you’ll need to know these four strategies.
1. Offer a competitive pay package
Splitting hairs over pay and benefits can lead to long negotiations that waste time and cost you top talent. Get an attractive package in place before you advertise if you want to speed up hiring and attract the best people.
Candidates often have a good idea of the salary and benefits they’d like at the start of the hiring process. If you discuss the package you offer during the interview process, you’ll get a better idea of candidates’ expectations and if there’s anything you could add to make the position more attractive to them. It will have a negative impact if you have set expectations at the start of the process and then offer lower benefits or salary at the end. This will likely push candidates to go to your competition. Consistent messaging is key.
2. Sell the role
Remember, you have to sell yourself (or at least your role) at interview too. Start up a dialogue with candidates, ask them questions that help you understand the career path they’ve chosen, and give them clear examples of how your role can help them achieve their ambitions.
Remember job satisfaction also has an important part to play in the attractiveness of a role. Give candidates a sense of the company culture. Talk about how you encourage your employees to take ownership of their work and give them opportunities to lead or pitch for exciting new projects.
3. Shorten your hiring process
Winning the most in-demand candidates isn’t just about what you have to offer – it’s also about how fast you can deliver it. 54% of HR directors in the UK say they’ve lost out on a qualified candidate because their hiring process was too long.
The best way to reduce time to hire is to work with a professional recruitment partner like the experts at JAM. You’ll save time reviewing CVs and gain access to an extensive network of top talent and hiring expertise, which you can use to secure your ideal candidate.
4. Listen to expert advice
When it comes to securing the best candidates, recruitment consultants know what they’re talking about. Whether you work with a recruitment agency directly or just look up industry reports, you’ll benefit from paying close attention to what the experts have to say.
While you may feel like erring on the side of caution when negotiating or interviewing, recruitment experts have a deeper level of insight on how to win the best candidates. Taking advice or researching information from them will help you set yourself apart from the competition and make your role the most attractive offer.