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Stuart Gentle Publisher at Onrec

How to build a great recruitment offer to attract top talent

Attracting the top talent can be difficult. There’s a huge amount of job postings made every day and even larger amounts of resumes. With such a big pool of candidates, how do you attract the top talent with the right experience, training and drive for your company? Here’s how to build a great recruitment offer to attract the top talent.

Understand your needs and what you’re looking for

Before you even begin creating your recruitment offer you must know exactly what you are looking for. What skills, traits and values are a must? What special things should you be looking for?

Identify your target personalities and abilities as well as the desired values a successful candidate must portray. These values and traits should match the culture of your company which will not only help you choose the right talent but retain them as well. Having a clearly defined culture that people can see and feel will help attract the right people.

You must know everything involved with the role. This will not only help you write a standout job description, but it will also help you choose the right candidate for the positions

Be clear about the required qualifications

This might seem obvious but it’s crucial that you are crystal clear about both the professional and personal qualities, qualifications and expectations that you are looking for. Top talent enjoy challenges and strive to make achievements. To do so, they must know what’s required of them.

Offer meaningful benefits

By now, top talent know what great benefits look like and they expect to receive them. If they are going to work at a company they want to feel like they are appreciated and can be themselves in the workplace.

What perks you offer will generally depend on the company culture but things like flexible schedules, gym memberships and other types of employee perks are well received by employees. Make sure it’s clear that your company offers nice benefits in your recruitment offer.

Include salary ranges

Less than 10% of job postings include salary ranges. In a competitive labour market this can really damage your recruiting process. To acquire the top talent you should include salary ranges as well as your benefits and perks like personal days, telecommuting and any training opportunities.

Start an Employee referral program

Employee referral programs are one of, if not the top source of hire. An employee referral program creates a quicker hirer process, costs less and has a higher retention rate when compared to other hire sources. Your existing talent will likely have relationships with other talented people.

Additional benefits of an employee referral program are that both the referred hire and the referee will stay longer at the company than other employees.

Manage talent relationships

Recruiting isn’t always as straight forward as finding and hiring a candidate. The internet has allowed both employers and employees to find possible opportunities during any point of the process. You might find a perfect candidate in a time when they’re not looking for a new position. However, nurturing these relationships and following up with them at the right time can be a great way to acquire top talent.

Make a positive candidate experience

While the successful candidate must match what you are looking for, the candidate is also looking to see if your company is right for them. Therefore, you must provide a positive candidate experience throughout your entire recruitment process.

Think about how your company is portrayed online, both on and off your site. How easy is it for them to apply and how quickly do you get in touch with candidates? You want to make sure they feel comfortable and welcome when they come onsite. LinkedIn’s 2015 Talent Trends report found that 83 percent of talent say a negative interview experience can change their mind about a role or company they once liked, while 87 percent of talent say a positive interview experience can change their mind about a role or company they once doubted.

Building a great recruitment offer doesn’t need to be complicated. To attract the top talent, you need to be clear with your expectations, offer top incentives and nurture your talent relationships. With a bit of planning and patience you will soon have the super star team you have dreamed of.

Rachel is a mother of 2 beautiful boys. She loves to hike and write about travelling, education and business. She is a Senior Content Manager at Bizset.com - an online resource of relevant business information.