COVID, recessions, and talent shortages, oh my! The past few years haven’t been easy for small businesses, and with the rise of WFH, many have found it especially hard to hire.
Remote work has helped companies reduce their operational costs and better manage resources – but in a world of video calls and emails, it can be hard to connect with the kind of talent you need.
Not to worry! We’re here to help. Here are our top 5 tips to recruit in a remote world.
1. Evaluate candidates effectively
As in-person interviews dwindle and managers are forced to hire without face-to-face time, it’s time to reach for a new toolkit. Instead of relying on gut instinct for hiring decisions, we recommend that recruiters turn to candidate scorecards.
What are scorecards, you might ask? Exactly what they sound like: simple evaluation sheets that help you compare specific skills, desirable personality traits, and qualifications such as education or experience.
Then, you can use an ATS (applicant tracking system) like Recruitee to store your scorecard findings, measure your candidate experience and collect data for future use. If you want to take it a step further, tech like Hundred5 or HireVue can help pre-screen candidates and ensure they have the right skillset.
2. Team up with influencers
What do you do without job fairs, open houses, or local talent networks? Create your own online community!
How do you do that? With employee influencers! Since no one knows your company better than your current team, their knowledge and stories are invaluable when sourcing candidates and bringing in new talent.
That’s why it’s key to encourage your team to be active online. Whether it’s sharing relatable behind-the-scenes content on Instagram, adding a personal message to a shared job posting, or raving about a fun teambuilder on LinkedIn, their posts will provide an authentic view of your company culture.
This is key when you don’t have face-to-face meetings or office vibes to sell your company experience. For a more in-depth take on how to build up your army of internal influencers, check out our blog post here.
3. Make your message pop
If the rise of TikTok has taught us anything, it’s that short and attention-grabbing content rules. Got long job postings and boring follow-up emails? Ask yourself… When was the last time you updated your candidate communications strategy?
We all know that bland postings and ads don’t entice qualified talent, because we’ve all been that talent before. So put yourself in your ideal candidate’s shoes when you’re reaching out to them!
Effective messaging and copywriting is even more crucial for startups because you can’t rely on brand reputation to carry you through. Chances are most applicants have never heard of you before; remember, this is your first impression!
Make it count with a personal touch that brings your company culture to life! Start with these three key magnetic job posting components to write content that resonates.
4. Expand your network
LinkedIn is great, but it’s not built for remote work like some other platforms are. In addition to utilizing LinkedIn, you can expand your job posting’s reach on sites like FlexJobs, We work remotely, RemoteOK, and more.
Additionally, you can always build a talent network of your own. It can live on whatever social platform you’re most comfortable with – and when it’s time to hire, you always have a list of qualified contacts ready and waiting.
Simply invite candidates to join through your websites and careers pages – or by contacting not-right-now but impressive applicants – then host a private email thread, Slack channel, Discord, VR hangout, or Facebook Group with job openings and informative company content.
5. Ask for help
You want to hire more people like your best people, right? Then go back to the source! When hiring remotely, it’s a great idea to ask existing employees for referrals… and even better if you go beyond a simple referral bonus.
However, if you’ve exhausted your personal team’s networks, we’re happy to share ours. If you work with Pivot + Edge, we’ll become your fractional hiring team, guiding you through the hiring process from employer branding to onboarding.
Smart, simple, and scalable. Sound good? Then let’s talk.
