Whether driven by the need to explore and diversify a company’s approach to recruitment or find ways to cut costs, employers may consider a variety of staffing techniques to find good candidates. This article offers suggestions on how companies may tap into the hidden job market.

Social Media

In today’s job market, an increasingly popular way for companies to connect with potential candidates is to make themselves visible on social media. Engaging people in discussions, groups and polls are excellent vehicles for connecting with both passive and active job seekers. Websites such as LinkedIn provide a massive pool of talent that employers can easily tap into.

Blogs

Company or corporate blogs assist firms increase their brand awareness. Blogs also create an effective way for companies to communicate with potential employees who form part of their online community. With minimal or no added cost, many companies have used this avenue to find top-notch candidates.

Referrals / Bonus

This method is a time-tested classic, where employees refer someone they know personally or whom they’ve worked with previously. Employees may have hundreds of contacts within their professional and personal networks; therefore, keeping current employees up to date on open positions is an important aspect of the recruiting strategy. Creating a bonus program as a reward system serves as a motivator for employees to put forth referrals for any open positions within the organization.

Association Meetings

Joining professional associations and attending events such as Chapter meetings and trade shows gives employers a chance to keep up-to-date on current trends and to also meet face-to-face with industry professionals.

Sponsoring Events

Sponsoring events, dinners or open houses increases brand awareness and makes companies more visible in the market. Many of today’s most influential organizations have experienced the benefits of sponsorship and routinely participate at a number of different events each year.

faces
Job Descriptions and Business Cards

Many companies post job descriptions on their website, giving visitors the opportunity to view current openings. And having up-to-date job descriptions available at sponsored events is definitely a plus. Another key component to networking with passive job-seeking candidates at events is to have business cards ready to hand out and encourage the discussion of job openings.

Articles about the Company

As a means to increase awareness about the company to a wider candidate pool, employers should seek out business publications to do write-ups on them. The focus could be the company’s corporate culture, management style and work environment.

Preferred Employer

Organizations may also gain exposure to passive job seekers by qualifying for and getting listed on a preferred employer list, such as Canada’s Top 100 Employees. This would be a distinct advantage and make the organization look more appealing to job seekers.

Recruiters

Recruiters are constantly tapping into passive candidates who are not actively searching for a position. As recruiters build their databases over a period of time, they become familiar with good candidates that are not necessarily accessible to organizations.

Alumni Reunion

An alumni reunion is an ideal way of bringing former employees together to network with current management and staff.

Conclusion

Most job seekers know that 80-90% of new opportunities are found through the hidden job market and they also realize they need to network continuously. If employers use this information to their advantage, they can tap into a wide pool of passive candidates.

 

By Marc Belaiche, CPA, CA & Joseph Thomas

Leave a Reply