Attract them all: 7 golden rules for attracting and recruiting talent

Do you secretly envy your competitors who attract the best talent and dream of being one of those attractive companies?

Good news for you: you can learn how to recruit talent, and it's within your reach (I promise). Discover our 7 golden rules for recruiting the best profiles.

1. Recognise talent when you see it

Recruiting talent is all very well, we won't deny it, but what exactly do you mean by talent? One person's talent is another person's talent.

➡️ The question to ask yourself: what are you looking for? Knowing how to identify the profile you want for your company is crucial to the success of your recruitment!

You need to know the position to be filled inside out, and not just the tasks and ideal soft skills. In much the same way as a marketing director knows his core target by creating marketing personas, it might be worthwhile for you to create your candidate persona.

You may have noticed that when you're recruiting, you rarely find people who match the job description in every way. Your talent as a recruiter is to identify the potential in candidates, and the candidate persona is used to identify these people.

Here's what might be interesting to know about your persona (and therefore your ideal candidate):

• their motivations
• their career objectives
• their values,
• desired work/life balance,
• interests, etc.

2. Attract talent like a magnet with a high-quality employer brand

According to a recent StepStone study, 95% of candidates find out about a company's reputation and employer brand before applying.

StepStone

What you need to know about talent, particularly in tech, is that it has no problem getting hired by companies: they have a choice.

➡️ The question to ask yourself: why would a talented person choose your company over another?

For equivalent positions and salaries in high-volume jobs, it's really the company that will determine the choice. Candidates must want to contribute to your company's success. So you need to work on your employer brand.

There are two components to consider in your employer brand:

1. The company's identity: its history, values, culture, emphasis on innovation, management style, etc.
2. The image projected: what public opinion perceives of your company.

Don't forget that most recruitment takes place online, so employer branding goes hand in hand with e-reputation. To do this, take care of :

• your social network accounts
• the careers section of your website
• your profiles on job boards, etc.

The idea is that the image you project should reflect the company's DNA, and that applicants should be able to see themselves in the company thanks to the tone you use, the photos you display and the way you present yourself .company thanks to the tone used, the photos posted, the values highlighted, employee testimonials, etc.

💡 Need an example? Here's the Appvizer company page on the Welcome to the Jungle website.

🛠️ Need a tool? softgarden is a talent acquisition solution designed to manage all your recruitment tasks. Create a job advert in less than 5 minutes and publish it on the right sites in just a few clicks. With the software's automation, workflows and mobile application, you can effortlessly collect and manage your applications, from search to hire .

3. Find talent where it's found

If the talent isn't coming to you, then go hunting for it! Sometimes, a recruiter has to put on the salesman's suit to approach candidates who seem to match the criteria defined.

➡️ The question to ask yourself is: where do you look for this talent?

There are several possibilities:

• On professional social networks. Recruiting on LinkedIn allows you to find profiles that match your criteria and get in direct contact with them. Talent is often already in the job? That's true, but have you heard of the "open to opportunities" feature? It allows current employees who are not actively looking to indicate that they are open to professional opportunities, which is good to know!
  
  
• In schools, if you are recruiting work-study students or trainees. You can contact their administration department directly, which will be delighted to advertise your vacancy to students, or even recommend some of their best students.
  
  
• At trade fairs and events. Although recruitment happens more online than in real life, recruitment fairs can give you the opportunity to meet motivated talent. By networking at professional events in your field, you can meet interesting people even if they're not openly looking for a job.
  
  
• On job boards, whether specialised or generalist. This is where most candidates apply, and as talent is first and foremost human, you'll be able to find it there (yes, yes!). From Linkedin to Google for Jobs, there's plenty to do!
  👍 For example, by using Beetween, you can digitalise all your recruitment processes and advertise your vacancies on over 150 partner job boards, on social networks and on your career site to save you as much time as possible.

• Think about co-option too, where an employee recommends someone in their network for a job (for a fee, or not). Collaborative recruitment can give you access to hidden talent that you may have missed out on during your hunt?

Can't find your (extremely) rare pearl in France? Why not recruit abroad? Although there are a few administrative formalities to be completed, the right person can sometimes be found hundreds or thousands of kilometres away.

4. Write an attractive job advert

The job advertisement is the first step in the recruitment process. It's the first thing a talented person will see about your company, so you need to make a good first impression to get them to take the bait!

At the very least, you need to respect the basics of a good job advert. But to attract talent, you're going to have to put a bit more effort into making it stand out from the crowd.

➡️ The question to ask yourself: how do you write a job advert that makes people want to apply?

Here's how to put some glitter ✨ in your job ad to make candidates' eyes shine:

• the writing tone should be simple, direct, natural and in keeping with your company's personality ;
• the tasks should be clearly defined, ideally using a bulleted list for better visibility;
• use as few discriminatory criteria as possible (education, number of years' experience, etc.), because talented people don't necessarily fit into boxes and may not apply despite their added value;
• make a vow of transparency about salary, so that talented people commit to the recruitment process with full knowledge of the facts;
• be honest (don't pass yourself off as a big company if you're not, don't invent imaginary fund-raising schemes, and don't dangle things in front of candidates), to keep their trust and avoid disappointing them once they're in post;
• give details of the working environment (size and organisation of the team, prospects for development, company events, etc.) to help applicants project themselves, etc.

5. Create a candidate experience they will remember (for the better)

A tedious recruitment process can put many people off, and can be one of the reasons for turning down a contract with a company. So if you want to maintain interest in your company at every stage, it's worth building a candidate experience that's at least smooth, if not exceptional.

But first, a quick reminder of what the candidate experience is: it refers to all the emotions, feelings and opinions provoked during the candidate's interactions with your company throughout the recruitment process. It can therefore be neutral, negative or positive.

➡️ The question to ask yourself: what can make the candidate experience with your company a positive one?

Since you want to make a lasting impression on your candidates, here are a few tips:

• Don't improvise, and build your ideal recruitment process, clearly defining all the stages, how long they last, which contacts are involved, etc.
• Offer a fluid and rapid experience, by making it easy to submit an application (ideally just a few clicks), with quick turnaround times between each interview, the possibility of remote interviews, etc.
• Communicate regularly, because there's nothing worse for a candidate than not knowing. Even if it's to inform them that the decision hasn't yet been made, it's a good idea to give them a heads-up. An unsuccessful candidate also deserves your respect by informing them if they are not being considered and, ideally, the reasons why other candidates have been preferred.
• Put yourself in the shoes of the person being recruited: recruiting a developer and recruiting a salesperson are two very different recruitment processes.
• Innovate in the way you recruit by using new formats such as escape games.

Finally, don't forget that digital recruitment doesn't mean cold, robotic recruitment. Even if a candidate isn't right for the current job, end the exchange on good terms and keep their profile on hand for a potential future job opening.

6. Make the interview a pleasant experience

Even for a talented person, a job interview can be a stressful time. It has to be said that some companies take a malicious pleasure in grilling poor candidates to find the slightest flaw in their CVs or the very thing they lack.

What if you took the opposite approach and created the conditions to make the interview a convivial experience? Here's why it's important:

• The talent will experience it as a positive experience, which will work in your favour;
• Without the stress, the talent will "sell" better and be able to calmly tell you all the good reasons for working with them.
• You'll also be in a better position to assess their personality to see if they'll fit in well with your company.

➡️ The question to ask yourself: how do you create the right interview conditions?

Here are a few tips:

• Avoid trick questions (aka give me 3 qualities and 3 faults).
• Build on what they tell you about their experiences.
• Be open and don't hesitate to show your enthusiasm.
• Speak naturally while remaining professional.
• Don't hesitate to raise any doubts or questions you may have in a completely transparent way.

7. Question yourself regularly

I know that doubt is good, it helps you to question yourself.

Steve Lambert

Whether you've succeeded in recruiting talent or not, you can always do better. The best way to find out if you're doing things right, or at least if you're on the right track, is to ask for feedback from the key stakeholders: the candidates.

➡️ The question to ask yourself: how can we do better?

You can do this by :

• schedule an informal interview at the end of the process to find out about possible improvements and any sticking points encountered by the candidate,
• send out a satisfaction questionnaire.

There's no doubt that this invaluable feedback from candidates will give you new insights into the way you proceed, and give you good ideas for doing better... and convincing the next talented people who cross your path.

💡 A good idea: also ask for feedback from your colleagues who have been involved in the process of recruiting a candidate.

What's next? Pamper your talent with quality onboarding

Have you succeeded in convincing some fine people to join your company? Well done, you've been good, very good.

But the battle is not yet won, because a poor onboarding can undermine all the efforts you have made to recruit talent. When you consider that a poor onboarding can cost one to three months' salary (direct and indirect costs), and is the reason given by 30% of managers for resigning.

Here are a few ways to maximise the chances of successfully onboarding a new recruit:

• assigning a mentor to whom they can ask any questions they may have about the workings and life of the company,
• provide an induction booklet to help them adapt to the working environment and get up and running quickly,
• provide regular HR follow-up to check that the integration is proceeding at a good pace,
• offer a welcome pack to engage employees and pass on your values.

What's your secret? What are your secrets for recruiting talent? Share them with us in the comments, be nice!