Getting lots of applicants, but not finding ‘The One’? Consider this…

Thousands of candidates viewed your most recent job post – and plenty applied. As you wade through the seemingly endless CVs and profiles, it’s clear you’re getting a tremendous applicant response. The problem? They aren’t the right candidates for the role.

Whether applicants lack the training, years of experience or, simply, miss the mark qualification-wise, many organisations are struggling with engaging and activating candidates who sync with specific job requirements. For many HR and recruitment leaders, it’s a surprise. In 2020, UK unemployment rates peaked at 5.2% in October–December, and countless jobseekers flooded the market. Now, though, we’re experiencing the opposite – with a record high of 1,318,000 job vacancies in December 2021 to February 2022, finding and hiring top talent is increasingly a challenge.  

If your business is seeing abundant job post traffic and applicants, but still isn’t attracting the right talent, it’s important to pause and identify your specific challenges. Often, this imbalance – getting a solid number of CVs but still not finding the right talent for the role – is easily remedied by:

1. defining your ‘must-haves’ and ensuring it’s strictly what’s needed for the job.
   
2. ensuring your benefits and perks are well-aligned with current industry norms.
   
3. promoting your job posts to the right audiences. 

By reviewing each of these potential pitfalls, your teams can identify what could be keeping the right talent from engaging with your posts and ensure you’re finding high-performing candidates every time. To get started, ask yourself: 

1. What is required vs what is desired?

Many industries and roles require significant, specific education, training and on-the-job experiences. A good example: registered nurses (RNs). RNs require a three-year degree obtained from an approved educational institution, an approved nursing degree apprenticeship, or may do a shorter degree if they have accreditation of prior learning.

Depending on a facility’s needs, roles may require several years of on-the-ground experience or work in a specific department. Midwives, for example, spend around half of their degree on supervised practice placements in community and hospital settings.

Requiring this level of training and certification already limits a candidate pool. In the case of nursing, though, layer on a critical nurse shortage and it’s clear why finding this type of candidate could be a significant challenge. But, if hiring managers add on ‘nice-to-haves’, such as optional training, additional certifications and specific scheduling requirements, it limits the potential applicant pool even more. 

Medical hiring managers, though, aren’t the only ones experiencing a lack of qualified candidates. Engineering, high-tech, education, marketing and other key industries can have significant qualifications tied to even mid- and entry-level roles.

While it’s important to outline the experience, background, certifications and the training required to successfully perform a role, too many ‘must-haves’ may keep even qualified candidates from applying. To overcome this, consider listing only the skills, education, certifications and experience that are non-negotiable. Additional preferences – an MBA, for example, or training on more intuitive software and platforms – can be listed as ‘preferred’ qualifications.

Many companies are following this approach. Tesla, Apple, Google, and Netflix don’t require four-year degrees, citing successful business leaders and entrepreneurs who lacked this common qualification. Others have indicated the core skills their organisations require are those colleges and universities typically don’t teach – coding, for example, as well as emerging technologies like AI and machine learning.

2. Can high-potential talent be trained on certain aspects of the job?

If there are ideal qualifications that aren’t required on day one, consider benefits like on-the-job training or paid upskilling and professional certifications, as needed. With 44% of employers in the UK upskilling staff to respond to recruitment difficulties, adding these benefits can drive increased attention to your posts. 

Hiring incentives are becoming increasingly common in the US in industries with harder-to-fill and more specialised industries Driving 16% Dental 14% Nursing 11% Veterinary 11% Beauty & Wellness 11%  Source: Indeed, Having Trouble Hiring? Try Offering Hiring Incentives, July 2021.

3. Are you offering what candidates are looking for right now?

It’s also important to consider the ‘new norms’ in your industry and among specific roles or talent pools. For example, while requiring restaurant staff to return to their core workplace, designers, marketers, developers and operations teams may be able to work from home or adopt flexible work schedules going forward.

Looking at roles you’re struggling to fill, consider benefits like flexibility or, even, an entirely remote schedule, if it’s appropriate. Now more than ever, flexibility is a top priority. 57% of current jobseekers say flexibility is one of the most important benefits in the workplace, and 92% of millenials say it’s a top priority consideration when job hunting. If you have an open role that doesn’t truly require the employee to be in the office – or in the office full time – mandating it will likely reduce your candidate pool. 

“57% of current jobseekers say flexibility is one of the most important benefits in the workplace.”

Flexibility, though, is just one example. Different industries and job types have different norms or pervasive priorities that hiring managers should be leaning into to best engage top candidates. Paid sabbaticals, childcare benefits, and even support caring for aging parents can entice top-tier candidates.    

4. Are there other benefits that could be appealing?

Granted, training perks aren’t the only sought-after benefits right now – but perks, in general, are key to getting top talent to consider your organisation. 

More and more, competing in today’s market often comes down to thinking outside the traditional benefits box. Sixty-eight percent of employees think perks are just as important as benefits like healthcare – and many companies are responding accordingly. Pet insurance is a perk offered by 8% of companies in the UK. Discount programmes, legal services, identity theft protection, and enhanced medical and pharmacy benefits are increasingly popular. Flexibility, again, remains one of the most sought-after perks among UK employees.

Enhanced benefits and perks to consider More and more, companies are offering creative benefits to current and incoming employees. Some enhanced benefits to consider – and promote – to attract and retain top talent include: → Gym memberships → Extended parental leave  → Pet-friendly workplaces  → Paid education and training

All of this said, it’s not enough to just have expanded or creative benefits – it’s equally important to promote them. While 98% of employers plan to add or enhance at least one benefit, just 4.1% of Indeed job posts reference these added perks. Even if you can’t boost your benefits or perks right now, be sure what you do offer is front-and-centre in every job post.

5. Are you optimising your job posts?

Taking a ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ approach with your job posts may mean the right candidates aren’t seeing your message. Using optimisation technology like Indeed’s objective-based campaigns can ensure posts align to your goals, including who’s seeing your opportunities.

Using objective-based campaigns, employers can target specific, relevant jobseekers, delivering ad placements on and off Indeed. This ensures job posts reach the right candidates with the right skills, even if those candidates don’t initially engage on Indeed. 

Revisit job posts and eliminate any skills, qualifications or certifications that aren’t 100% essential on day one – and consider on-the-job training to bridge any gaps. At the same time, review your benefits and perks to ensure you’re in step with – or, better yet, competitive with – other businesses in your industry. From there, consider introducing a short candidate pre-screen and better optimising your posts to get to the right applicants, faster. 

After checking how your company has addressed each of these key questions, you’ll likely spot areas for optimisation and enhancement – and, from there, you’ll be better positioned to engage the right talent every time.