As a hiring manager, it’s extremely important to familiarize yourself with the candidate market for your respective industry. One common mistake that recruiters and hiring managers make is assuming that all markets are the same and therefore one singular recruitment strategy will fit all. Too often, employers hear the term “candidate led market” without necessarily understanding the full implications of what this is.

Many industries have a shortage of candidates, which makes it much harder to recruit for them. In order to retain a high level of candidates, it’s important to change your strategy to be more suited to the candidate. Companies experiencing candidate shortages have to sell themselves equally as much as a candidate would.

What is a Candidate Led Market?

In high competition industries, high quality candidates hold a lot of the power. It’s typical for experienced candidates to receive multiple offers from industries, so it’s important to ensure that you are offering the candidate better perks, hours, or any bonus additions that will make the role more attractive.

Your recruitment strategy for a candidate let market needs to be more receptive to the candidate. Some candidates often receive multiple job offers, or their current employers try to offer them more salary in order to get them to stay, so you must make it more attractive for the candidate you have in mind to want to transition to your company instead. With the job market evolving significantly in recent years as more and more companies choosing customer-centric business models. Desirable candidates are limited in number, so the best candidates are likely to be promoted within the market.

The Importance of Selling Your Brand to a Candidate

An interview is a two-way process and, when you’re interviewing a high-quality candidate, you want this to be an opportunity for both the candidate and the business to find out if you will be suitable together. In a candidate led market, candidates can be more selective. You need to market the job as well as the company to the candidate.

To make your brand as attractive as possible to the interviewee, it is vital that you know exactly what they are looking for in their job hunt and how you can meet those expectations. Of course, it is important to keep competency-based questions as the focus for all interviewees, but in the section where you talk about your organization try to tailor this to each individual and their requirements. It’s also a good idea to find out if the candidate is interviewing elsewhere and, if so, where this and when. This will give you an idea of the timescale you have to try and get them on board, but it also gives you a better impression of what they are looking for.

How to Retain an Excellent Candidate

Employers often waste time and money going through unsuccessful and unproductive hiring periods. Improving this process altogether means stepping away from traditional interview formats which so many companies have grown accustomed to. Making the interview process as attractive as possible to good talent and creating a lasting first impression early on will help with employee retention further down the road.

Take time to understand what motivates individuals to apply to your business. If your candidates are excited to learn more about what it is your company does, then they are likely to picture themselves working here for a long period of time. But remember not every business is perfect for each candidate. Keep an eye out for any obvious things which may put potential candidates off. To retain the best talent during the interview it’s best to have a fluid strategy that can evolve as the need arises.

Broaden Your Search

If you are looking for top quality and experienced candidates but are struggling to find the ideal person, then why not extend the application to those living in another country? Some countries are far more developed and advanced in certain job sectors so it is always worth exploring the market in different countries. If you do end up interviewing or even hiring a candidate from a different country, then try to make the transition as easy as possible for them. Suggesting local areas for them to explore, letting them know the right visa and spouse visa requirements for them and their family and even planning a welcome day will make them feel relaxed and it makes you and your business look even better.

Change Your Strategy to Retain Better Quality Candidates

Changing your strategy in order to retain quality candidates is easy and shouldn’t be something you shy away from. In a candidate led market it’s critical to keep changing your strategy until you find one that works for your company. When you hire and interview candidates the right way it will show.