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Adapting to new needs is crucial to developing a hiring strategy that aligns with modern job seekers and attracts top talent.
With the job market shifting to an employee-focused environment, it’s imperative that companies, recruiters, and HR personnel revamp their hiring strategies to accommodate new trends in the market.
If you’re ready to learn how you can improve your hiring strategy in 2023, we’ve got a treat in store for you.
Stick around to discover three simple steps you need to employ to begin hiring with modern job seekers in mind.
Understand the new employee-driven job market
Get a clear understanding of the new employee-driven job market.
Start by researching factors such as flexibility, autonomy, and meaningful work, which have become some of the top values post-2020 job seekers have kept an eye out for.
Next, analyze job seeker data in your specific industry.
Consider questions such as:
- What are job hunters in our field looking for?
- What do they need?
- What do they want?
- What are their non-negotiables?
- What are their minimum salary expectations?
- What are their ideal salary expectations?
- What benefits do they require?
- What special benefits do they value most? I.e., Family planning benefits
- What perks do they value most? For instance, gym membership reimbursement
Next, go straight to the source by conducting informational interviews. In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, an informational interview means setting up a time to ask an employee specific questions about their role.
For instance, if you wanted to go to school to become a criminal defense lawyer, you might decide to conduct informational interviews with current criminal defense lawyers to learn more about what they do on a daily basis, how they got their jobs, and to ask if they have any advice for aspiring lawyers.
In this case, you’ll be hosting interviews with new employees in the same field as the roles you’re hiring for or similar. This will give you an up, close and personal look into the minds of career-seeking professionals in your industry so you can craft a hiring strategy in tune with their unique needs.
When conducting information interviews, ask new hires questions like:
- How did you find the career you just got hired for?
- What made this role attractive to you?
- What were the top perks and benefits that stood out?
- What were your salary expectations? Is your new role in range?
- What’s your outlook on your career trajectory?
- What career development opportunities does your new job offer?
- What does flexibility mean to you? How much of it does your new role offer? Is that in range with your expectations? Why or why not?
- Did you note flexibility as a top factor when job searching? Why or why not?
- What kind of autonomy do you have at work? Would you say it lines up with your needs? Why or why not?
- Did you note autonomy as a top factor when job searching? Why or why not?
- What does meaningful work mean to you? Do you have meaning and purpose in your new role?
- Did you note meaning and purpose as top factors when job searching? Why or why not?
- What would you change about the interviewing and hiring process at your new job? Why is that important to you?
- What do you want companies looking to fill similar roles to know about job seekers in your industry?
Pro-Tip: Consider performing a win-loss analysis to determine why you may have previously secured (“won or lost”) top talent. This analysis can help you uncover what’s working with your current hiring strategy and what needs to be reevaluated.
Organize your findings in a report and create systems to support your new hiring strategy
Now that you have rich insights at your fingertips, follow the next sub-steps to organize your findings and support your new strategy.
1. Create a report so all HR reps are on the same page
Organize your findings in a professional, easy-to-read report to get all your HR reps and hiring staff on the same page.
Be sure to include the data you pulled regarding the new employee-driven job market, the deep dive industry job seeker research you conducted, and the results from your informational interviews and win-loss analysis.
When preparing for remote interviews, remember to utilize the valuable insights gathered from your extensive research. Implement the remote interview tips you discovered to effectively assess candidates and make informed hiring decisions.
Add a final takeaway or conclusion to the report, to sum up each data group concisely.
2. Commit to tailoring your hiring strategy to adapt to new needs
With pristine job seeker data in hand, make it a priority to adjust your hiring strategy to adapt to new needs.
How does your current strategy measure up against the data in your report? What are job seekers looking for that you’re not currently offering in your roles or hiring process? Can you match their salary and benefits expectations? Can you build in the flexibility and autonomy they’re searching for?
Meet with your team and stakeholders to comb through the report together. Create a go-to plan to incorporate as much of the insights as possible into your new hiring approach.
For instance, you might have learned that job seekers in your field value the ability to meet with a mental health professional online to seek depression and anxiety treatment. You might also have learned that they value the ability to secure pet insurance for dogs or the option to bring their pets to work.
Be honest and realistic about what you can feasibly accommodate and what’s simply a no-go. While you may not be able to accommodate every request, strive for a win-win solution as much as possible.
You might also disclose that while you don’t currently offer a few things they’re looking for, you’re working on providing them later down the road.
3. Create systems to support your new hiring strategy and train your HR staff
Next, implement systems to support your new hiring strategy and train your HR staff on how they work.
Consider using workflow software to create a process for every step in your new hiring approach and automate repetitive tasks. Process automation is essential to freeing up time so your reps can focus on building relationships with candidates and finding the best fit for your organization.
And as the job market becomes increasingly competitive, it's important to leverage technology to gain an edge in the hiring process. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.
For instance, cloud analytics can provide insights into candidate data, allowing you to make more informed decisions about who to bring on board. And an application tracking system helps your reps locate applicants easily, monitor where they’re at in the hiring stage, and streamline the onboarding process.
Finally, consider using a team scheduling app to organize the schedules of anyone involved in the hiring process internally. That way, you can help ensure your reps are readily available to conduct outreach, take care of interviews, and facilitate onboarding.
Personalize job postings to adapt to new needs
And finally, personalize your job postings to adapt to new job seeker needs.
Here are a few ways to do this:
Highlight mentorship opportunities in the perks section
Show aspiring professionals that you care about their career development by including mentorship opportunities in the perks section of your job postings.
For instance, if you’re posting a new role for a marketing specialist, consider offering the opportunity to meet with mentors that are expert marketers, attend advanced training seminars, and secure additional marketing analytics and AI certifications.
Add special attention to the perks and benefits they care most about in the perks and benefits sections
Include personalized perks and benefits in the perks and benefits sections. Help them stand out by using bold text or adding asterisk marks next to them.
If you’re using video to market your new roles, consider asking happy staff if they wouldn’t mind being filmed to share how much they enjoy the benefits you offer.
Include flexibility and autonomy options in the job description section
Adapt to post-2020 job hunters by including the flexibility and autonomy options you’ll be offering new hires in the job description section.
This might include:
- Opportunities to work in a hybrid or remote work environment
- The freedom to design their own schedules
- The option to select their own projects at work
Create a “what makes us different” section and place a core focus on meaningful work and career growth opportunities
Add a “what makes us different” section at the top of your job posting. Share rich aspects of your company culture that don’t exist anywhere else.
Place an extra core focus on meaningful work and career growth opportunities. What do you offer that will help employees find meaning and purpose at work that other companies don’t? How will you help support their career goals and future plans?
Wrap up
Revamping your hiring strategy to adapt to modern job seekers is crucial to attracting top talent and promoting higher employee retention rates.
By following the three steps we highlighted today, you can better align with industry professionals and begin the process of welcoming them into your company.
And if you need help with the mentorship process, don’t forget to look into the Together Platform. Together Software is a mentorship platform that works to empower your organization to drive performance through meaningful mentor-mentee relationships. Sign up for a demo or try it for free, today.
