Hiring can be the best 😁 or the worst 😝 and a major step is to get the word out about your open job so that your future employees can find you. Promoting your new job using these 6 low and no cost strategies helps you: ✅ Find employees who are the right fit 🤓 ✅ Reward your current staff for sending you great candidates ❤️ ✅ Connect with your community 🌎 This increases that chances that you'll find the right fit. . . that awesome someone who will be with you for the long haul.
🔥 Reconnect with former employees and contractors
The people who used to work for you in the past can be a great resource for filling your current open job. One way they can help is if they themselves are interested in the work. It might be that someone worked for you in a more junior level position years ago, and now has the skills and expertise to help you with a more complicated job. Another way they can help is with their network. I guarantee you, your former employees and contractors know people who are looking for work. They probably even know people who are looking for the kind of job you're offering. You never know, but it's always worth a shot.
🔥 Send an announcement out to your network
When you have an open job, think about who you have in your network and who they might know or be able to connect you to. Be selective about who in your network you call on for different kinds of positions (you don't want to bombard everyone with everything that comes up), but don't hesitate to reach out if you think they would be a good resource. You can always use this as an opportunity to reconnect with people you've lost touch with and to update each other on what you've been up to. Lunch date anyone?
🔥 Reward your current staff or contractors
Some of the best staff that I have found have been referrals from people who are currently working for me. There are lots of ways to set up referral incentives, but the way that worked best for me was offering both the person referring and the new employee an amount of money once the new employee had been working for 3 months. The actual amount is usually determined by the industry you're working in, but can range from $100 - $1000 per employee. I know that $100 is not nothing, but I consider this one low cost even thought it's a chunk of change because it is money that is going back to your staff and helps you to reinforce that relationship. For me, building trust in the relationship with people who work with me is invaluable.
🔥 Blast the job on social media
Personally, I'm not huge on social media but I know a lot of businesses that are, and when you have substantial following and engagement, there really is nothing better than letting your followers know about the jobs you have available through social media. I recommend a few different types of posts over a few weeks. Highlight the features of the job that make it something your ideal employee would want to apply for (don't just post the job description!)
🔥 Post the job for free on Indeed
Indeed: the clearinghouse for all jobs. If you're not already posting on Indeed for free, check out this step-by-step video that I made and will help you get through all the $$ traps.
🔥 Feature the job in your newsletter
Last but not least, if you send out a newsletter, this is a wonderful place to announce your open jobs. You can just add a little section inviting people who are interested to apply, and inviting others to share the open jobs with anyone they think would be interested.
I hope these strategies help you get a bunch of qualified applicants for your job! If you've been trying to recruit and are just not getting the kinds of applicants you want, book a strategy session with me. I'd love to help you adjust your recruitment process so that you DO get the right fit.
Candice Elliott works with leaders to co-create organizations where people thrive. She helps establish regenerative work ecosystems by aligning workflow and communication with the values of sustainability, equity and belonging. This model empowers leaders to choose both people and profit, and their teams to feel safety and a sense of meaning.
Her educational background is in HR, Philosophy and Anthropology. She has a Masters in HR from Penn State, the SPHR certification and training in trauma-healing work practices. She loves to give back to her community, and during the pandemic she has supported small businesses and non-profits with 100s of hours of donated consulting support to meet the challenges of the changing world of work.
And, if you're ready to increase your impact and help your bottom line by keeping your people with you for the long run, check out the 4 leadership practices in my Do Work Differently Guide that treat people as humans, not just bots.
