Why You Are Having Trouble Recruiting and What to Do About It

As a recruiter in Austin, I read article after article about the talent shortage here, especially in technology, engineering, online marketing and the life sciences 

(biotech and medical devices) industries. If you're a hiring manager and have had to recruit a team here or in other in-demand parts of the country, chances are that you are very aware of this as well, and have found it difficult to attract talent.  The question is, why?  While I don't disagree that there is a talent shortage in certain expertise areas, you can be successful in building a highly talented team with the right approach - but you may need to make some changes.

Problem 1: You are looking in the wrong place

Posting your job can be part of an effective recruiting strategy, but 9 times out of 10, your candidate isn’t going to come from a job post. You’ll typically be bombarded with resumes, but the overwhelming majority of candidates won’t be qualified -- and those who are will likely not be the top-performing candidates that you need. Why is this? Top performers – or “A-players” – the top 10% of candidates are typically passive candidates – and aren’t looking for a new role. They have to be approached, and they have to be presented with a compelling opportunity in order to be attracted – they have to be recruited.  Much of your pool of qualified candidates won’t even see the job posting.

Problem 2: Your Job isn’t Compelling

Or to be more specific, your story isn’t compelling. To reiterate the point above, top candidates need to be recruited – and an exciting story is essential to 

generating interest from prospective candidates. How do you do this? First, think through the answers to these questions:

• What is attractive about this job, and why would a top-performing candidate be interested in this opportunity over their current role? Is it company or organization growth? Is it a brand new role? Will they be building a new team from scratch?  
• What are you expecting this person to accomplish in the next six months? 12 months? Three years?

The answers to these questions should be the fuel that you use to create your story, or the “pitch” that would be presented when trying to recruit prospective candidates. It should also be the content that you use to develop your position description. Top candidates want to make an impact, and to be able to overcome a challenge.

One other key consideration here: if you’re having trouble recruiting and attracting A-player candidates, it may be that you need to re-scope the position – or even more importantly, you may need to address more significant organizational issues such as a poor culture and/or reputation. A-players talk with other A-player candidates in their network – and one of the most detrimental impacts to long term recruiting can be a bad experience from a new hire. 

Problem 3: You Lack the Recruiting Reach

In order to attract the A-player candidate, you have to be able to identify them and then recruit them. How do you identify them? Hundreds of ways.

 Social networks like LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook. As a recruitment firm, we have access to premium resources as well that provide us the reach that we need – but if you have the time and motivation, you’ll be surprised at the recruiting resources that you can access for no cost.

Have you been unsuccessful recruiting for your organization? Contact us and we’ll be happy to evaluate your recruiting process and see if there’s something that you’re missing.