Back in June I wrote an article about the UK opening back up after the pandemic and how companies were getting ready to start hiring exceptional talent once again. There was a real buzz in the air with a number of job roles to be filled. Fast forward a few months and the momentum continues, companies are still looking to fill a number of roles and they are having to stand out from a very crowded and competitive market.

Koyu Wenty a senior recruiter for Southwest Airlines createc a post on Linkedin summing up the current market which went viral with over 42,000 reactions and nearly 2,000 comments:

*> “Hiring Managers:

In case you didn't know, you no longer have the luxury of "thinking" about whether you want to offer a candidate a job or not. I have been in Recruiting for 10+ years and I have seen more interview no-shows, candidate ghosting and declined offers than any other other time in my Recruiting career. Don't wait to make that offer. Don't push back start dates. Say yes to remote work (if you're able to). Respond to that thank you email. Give a candidate your contact info for follow up. Add candidates on LinkedIn! There is no such thing as an Employer's Market. It's a Candidate's Market right now, and it's not changing. Make your decision quick because another Company is quicker.

Sincerely, every Recruiter right now”*

The question is, is it really a candidate market right now or does the recruitment process just need to be modernised? With that in mind, I’ve put together our top 5 tips to help you modernise your recruitment process and secure the candidates you want to hire.

5 Top Tips to stop you from missing out on the best candidates

1. Have your ducks in a row

Make sure that all the contracts are ready, offer letters are drafted and you have an established process for checking references. If you have everything prepared then you can make your offer before someone else does. It’s best to avoid any delays in the onboarding process as it’s a really busy time for recruiting.

2. Build a quick rapport with the candidate you want

Building a rapport with the candidate you want to hire is so important, if you have paid particular interest in the candidate and made it clear that you want to hire them, they will understand if the interview process is going to take a little longer or if you need to get contracts signed off. If you have no rapport with the candidate it’s unlikely that they will wait around and they’ll be taking the role from the company they have built a connection with.

3. Shorten your interview process

Gone are the days where you can ask a candidate to take part in multiple interviews spanning across weeks and months. When candidates are job hunting they want to find the right role but they also aren’t able to wait around for weeks on end to speak to 10 different people within the business so that the company can decide if they actually want to offer them a role. Within that time, another company will have snatched that candidate up and you will have missed out. If you have a long, drawn out process then you need to quicken it up, if you want a candidate to speak to multiple people within the business then you need that to happen in the space of a few days / a week.

4. Show passion for your company and why you want them on your team

In an interview, it’s not just about the candidate showing you why you should hire them, it’s just as important for you to show the candidate why they would want to work in your company / on your team. Showing a passion for your company and explaining to them why it’s an exciting time to join and what the company culture is like, will encourage them to take the job if you offer it to them.

5. Offer workplace flexibility / benefits scheme

Flexible working hours is the number one benefit that employees are looking for at the moment. Research by HR News shows that 60% of employees would not consider a job that offers them less flexibility than they already have. So if you haven’t thought about any flexible working options, it’s time to start thinking about it as candidates will be asking you about your benefits scheme and flexible working options.