In order to find the very best employees for your company, you’ll need to have an effective recruitment strategy. If your recruitment strategy includes posting a job ad and hoping that the right candidate will apply, then it definitely needs to be upgraded!

All recruiters and HR specialists are aware that the recruitment market has never been so competitive, especially when it comes to the IT industry. Any company that wants to distinguish itself and gain a competitive advantage needs to develop a recruitment strategy based on the latest trends and practices.

By using the right techniques, you can attract high-quality candidates who will be a great fit for your organization. In this article, we bring you top 5 recruitment strategies that will change the way you hire in 2022.

Top 5 Recruitment Strategies to Attract Top Talent

1. Employee Referrals

Many companies have already implemented employee referral programs with great success. And it’s no wonder – according to studies, more than 45% of referred candidates stay with the company for at least 4 years than candidates who come from other sources.

Furthermore, referred candidates tend to be of better quality and a better match for the job than those who come from other sources.

Even though employee referral programs are old news, doing them right is what’s still tricky.

What you should try is to find a balance between incentivization and quality, for example by offering rewards only after the referred candidate spends the month in the company. You want your team to actively refer people from their network, but not their low-quality connections who are not likely to stay.

2. Use Gamification to Attract Applicants

Gamification is a relatively new concept that’s being used more and more in recruitment. The basic idea is to make the recruitment process more like a game, in order to engage candidates and make them want to complete it.

Gamification in recruitment refers to the intentional attempt to reproduce job-like experiences and scenarios in the form of a gaming environment in order to encourage and engage users. Those who perform well are more likely to be interviewed and recruited.

One way to do this is by using progress bars that show candidates how far they’ve advanced in the process. You can also give candidates points for completing different tasks, such as taking a quiz or submitting their CV.

If you’re considering using this strategy, there are crucial questions you should ask yourself, including:

• What type of game will this be?
• What does success look like for recruitment?
• How will we align it with the job skills and knowledge needed?
• How will we measure results?

The goal is to make the recruitment process fun and engaging, so that candidates are more likely to complete it. This way, you’ll end up with a pool of high-quality candidates who are actually interested in the job.

3. Record a Recruitment Video

In today’s digitized world, it’s not enough to just post a job ad online and wait for applications to come in. You need to be proactive and go where your target candidates are.

One way to do this is by recording a recruitment video. Why video? Well, because videos drive more engagement.

When making a recruitment video, make sure to focus on the company culture and values, as well as on the specific job opening. This way, you’ll attract candidates who are a good fit for your organization and are likely to stay long-term.

Don’t have any ideas? Well, you can simply record your office to introduce your company and its employees. You can also record your employees and ask them to tell interesting stories, so the candidates can get a better picture of what your company culture looks like.

4. Organize Assessment Center Events

Assessment center events are becoming more popular, as they’re a great way to assess candidates’ skills and abilities in a real-world scenario.

During an assessment center event, candidates are put through a series of tasks and exercises that simulate the work they would be doing if they were hired. This way, you can see how they perform under pressure and how they react to different situations.

More importantly, there are many ways to make assessment centers fun. For example, you can include team-building exercises, so that candidates can get to know each other and bond.

Assessment center events are great for attracting top talent, as they allows you to see candidates in action and assess their suitability for the job. Furthermore, they give candidates a chance to experience activities they may encounter in your company without the commitment of making a formal application.

5. Revamp Your Interviews

Interviews are one of the most crucial stages of the entire recruitment process.

Your interviews should be designed to assess a candidate’s fit for the job, as well as their ability to do it. To do this, you need to ditch the traditional interview format, which is often based on hypothetical questions that don’t really assess anything.

Here are three quick tips that will help improve your interview process:

• Move to remote interviews where possible to save time and boost candidate experience. 
• Use best-practice to conduct your interviews as fairly as possible, including removing interviewer bias and boosting diversity. 
• Show your candidates you want them to succeed by sharing interview tips and commonly asked questions as part of your interview invitation!

These were the top 5 strategies to attract top talent. But, what happens if they don’t make any significant changes? This wouldn’t be unusual if your company is on the lookout for IT talent.

The IT industry is very competitive and attracting and finding top IT professionals is more challenging than ever before. But, make sure to check out our tips for finding top IT talent during labor shortage to make this task easier.

And, if none of that works… Well, that’s where we step in!

How Can Popcorn Recruiters Help You? 🍿