Pooling for talent
Candidate pools are that thing everyone talks about but no one really does. It’s one of the biggest lip service the industry has. This is mostly the case because previously it’s been seen as too time consuming and difficult and so we all chat about our various pools which as it turns out are more like puddles. But there are ways to grow effective candidate pools.
Introduce your marketing team to your recruiters
We can urge recruiters to be more like marketers all day long, but for some consultants it’s too far out of their comfort zone. Instead, urge your two teams to collaborate to leverage their individual expertise to nurture talent pools.
Be our guest
Create and host events that will bring the community through your door. It can be anything from a five-a-side football league to a monthly roundtable event, or even a breakfast club. As the host you will always hold the guest list and therefore can invite your perfect candidates and build relationships. The trick here is to create an event that will benefit your candidates, and naturally in the long run it will benefit your agency.
Use your network
As a recruitment consultant your network is your golden ticket and your get out of jail free card. It’s the best thing you have and it’s often overlooked. Use your network to give your would-be candidates what they want. For example, if you’re hiring within tech and you’ve placed the CIO of Google and have a great relationship with them, ask them to do a pizza and beers night where anyone within tech can come, have free beer, and chat to someone they admire within their industry. It’s your job to create the spaces for talent pools to happen, not necessarily provide all the content for them to operate. You’re the facilitator and party planner, not the main entertainment.
Use your technology
Your recruitment software should be helping you maintain and build talent pools consistently. Access Recruitment CRM keeps your consultants engaged with their candidates using automated mailshots, notification reminders and candidate portals. Integrated front and back office functions also allows you to pass information throughout the business quicker and more efficiently, keeping your candidates engaged throughout the entire process.
Step into the spotlight
As a recruiter you’ll always be asked to speak at conferences, write blogs or offer your opinion, and you should always accept these gigs. Be known for speaking about a particular issue or topic, and the candidate pools will automatically float to you. If you’re interested in the industry you recruit for, then speaking at industry events is even more encouraged.
Be cut throat
Don’t be afraid to remove people from your talent pools. Keep it small and selective. The aim of a talent pool is to have a high caliber of industry professionals at your fingertips, not a mass of people that may or may not be helpful to you. The more time you have to spend maintaining your talent pools, the harder it gets and the easier it is to fall by the wayside.
Hear from our CRM specialist on why Access Recruitment CRM software can place more candidates quicker.
