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Copy linkRecruitment: six places to find talent in 2024
If you are reading this blog, I imagine it is because you've been having challenges with recruiting.
Those struggling, remember you are not alone.
Across the UK, there are currently a huge number of open vacancies, with the estimated number still sitting around 102,000 above pre-pandemic levels.
There has also been an increased number of young people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), totalling a staggering 900,000 people.
So, if despite your best efforts, you're still unable to locate good talent, read on.
In this blog, we have summarised a few points from our recent recruitment masterclass, collating the best places to look for candidates in 2024.
Getting in front of the right people
When it comes to recruitment, the types of candidates can be broken down into three categories.
You have active job seekers who are searching (5-15%), semi-active job seekers who dip their toes in to see what's out there (10-25%) and passive candidates are people who aren't actively looking (60-80%).
Now, while the obvious approach will be to go for the first two categories, passive candidates can be the perfect group to approach when done correctly.
By advertising your roles across a wide array of channels, such as traditional job boards and social media, you can effectively reach all these groups.
When we work with customers, a key piece of advice is to seek candidates far and wide, covering the following locations.
Job boards
Yes, job boards are the obvious option when looking for candidates - everybody knows them.
However, are you maximising how you use job boards?
The true power of job board advertising is about being able to choose the job boards that reflect your area, sector and specific roles and not just using the same blanket approach all the time.
Firstly, think job boards which are specific to your area and even advertising through your local press networks.
The next step up will be national job boards that cover the entire country, like Indeed, TotalJobs, Reed and CV Library, which are popular with the majority of candidates and offer a wide pool of potential applicants.
Lastly, you have niche and specialist job boards, which are specific to an industry.
For example, you will have specialist job boards focused purely on sectors like engineering, retail, hospitality, etc.
Then you'll have more role-specific job boards, focusing on roles, such as people management, IT, marketing, etc.
A holistic approach offering exposure across all these platforms helps ensure a well-rounded recruitment strategy.
Social media
LinkedIn has always been used to promote jobs and find candidates, as it has the necessary functionality and the largest professional network.
You can still utilise other networks, such as Facebook and Instagram; however, achieving the right level of visibility often requires additional budget.
For example, using Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising to promote vacancies on Facebook and Instagram has been a strategy we've found works quite well across social media.
You've also got the brand-focused approach on networks such as X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok; you can use these networks to create a buzz about your business and lift your brand, whether that's content promoting a graduate program and apprenticeship schemes or showcasing why you're a great place to work.
Despite not always offering a direct way to secure candidates, social media is an invaluable part of your recruitment tool kit, often being the first touchpoint with a candidate.
Proactive searching
This area tends to require some more heavy lifting from your HR team or when working with a recruitment partner.
Here you search the database of your Applicant Tracking System (ATS)/recruitment software or of the job board CV databases (the databases which sit behind sites like Indeed and CV Library in addition to the LinkedIn Recruiter database).
Try to cover all these database searches because you never know where that perfect candidate may have added their CV and registered for updates.
Proactive searching becomes especially important if you want to try to beat the agencies and manage recruitment in-house.
Partnerships
An area to look at which sits outside of traditional recruitment is partnerships.
A lot of our clients work with accreditation partnerships like the Disability Confident Schemes and Armed Forces Covenant - there a various pledges that can add some powerful accreditations to your brand.
Implementing partnerships can be the difference in making you stand out as an employer and attracting the perfect candidate.
Charity and brand partnerships are also worth looking at, as well as potentially partnering with influencers to further elevate your brand and raise awareness.
Lastly, a classic option we encourage you to look at is job fairs, where you can find eager, available and local candidates.
Sponsorships
Getting your business out to people goes a long way in finding candidates and supporting your recruitment efforts.
Similar to partnerships, opting for sponsorships can offer great exposure for your business.
For those with budget, think radio and event sponsorships, perhaps local, which will get your brand in front of more people and intrigue the masses.
Online sponsorships have also become quite popular - banner advertising on local websites or even job boards can be another way to cut through the noise.
Referrals
Your people can often be your biggest advocates.
Implementing an employee referral scheme, where staff are rewarded for bringing on people they know, can be very powerful.
It not only speeds up the hiring process but also typically leads to higher-quality candidates who fit the company culture, ultimately reducing turnover and fostering a more engaged workforce.
Also, by implementing conditions, such as the new recruit needing to pass probation before the compensation is provided, you eliminate any potential risks and help ensure a high calibre of new talent.
Are you saving a sinking ship?
It’s understandable why recruitment is at the forefront for businesses; ultimately, open vacancies are costly and hinder productivity.
However, don’t get tunnel vision.
Too often, businesses put all their focus on plugging immediate gaps.
The result is often a revolving door of people, in which current employees become disengaged and resign, creating a never-ending cycle.
There's no point spending all that time and resources looking for people if they will simply leave because you're not giving them a good work environment that keeps them engaged.
During the recruitment masterclass, we also covered the importance of learning & development (L&D), staff engagement in relation to employee retention, and talent management.
