In a highly competitive market, it is harder than ever to recruit and retain top talent. Success depends not only on a company's current offer, but also on its appearance, credibility and consistency in delivering on your promise. If you want to hire the best specialists, your mission should also be to become the best company. A company’s size, money and power are not necessarily determining factors, it’s the overall package that counts.
This is why a smaller company shouldn’t have to hide from a larger competitor at all. Our experience has shown that both startups with 4-5 employees and large holdings of several thousand employees can attract the best talent.

In this post we would like to share information about inbound and outbound techniques of recruiting.
When a company fills a position, it should make an effort to stand out from the crowd. Why does a candidate want to have a chat, or join your company?
Let's take a look at some of the key procedures that can help you successfully recruit specialists for your company. There are two kinds of technique: inbound and outbound techniques. Although they are different recruiting philosophies with different approaches, they both have the same end goal: hiring the perfect candidate.

Inbound Recruitment:

Inbound recruitment is a strategy that attracts candidates without having to talk to them first. This is a method of creating targeted branded content to specifically increase your brand awareness, and in turn, convert qualified candidates into applicants.

The importance of inbound marketing methods for recruitment lies not only in the building of relationships with candidates, but also in the communication of your company's brand and values. Let's put this in perspective: If you spend two hours sending direct messages to specialists, the number of people you reach is limited to the amount you can accomplish in those two hours. But if you spend the same amount of time posting on websites or social media, the number of people you reach is unlimited, in theory. Creating a personal brand doesn't provide immediate results, but it can provide long-term results. After all, your brand and online presence are how the market perceives you. Having a memorable and positive brand is a critical way to come out on top in an effort to attract talent.

It's not a new insight, but we'd like to remind you of it nonetheless: Since many candidates will browse a company's social channels before applying to an open position, you'll want to make sure your social media and online presence look professional and attractive. Some great sites in our opinion are LinkedIn, Github, Twitter, Instagram, Slack, TikTok or Reddit, just to name a few that are out there. In addition to creating your own brand, make sure your company pages are up-to-date and consistent with your values.

Outbound Recruitment:

Outbound recruiting is a strategy where you actively seek out individuals who may be valuable for a position you are offering. To be successful in outbound recruiting, the focus is less on social media or marketing and more on finding and attracting top talent. This is where your ability to build a relationship with candidates is important.

First, in outbound recruitment, your direct approach to candidates is a critical factor. After all, specialists receive messages concerning new opportunities every day. It's important to tailor your message. Say less about yourself and more about what you have to offer. Candidates are looking for exciting areas of responsibility and development opportunities. Whether it's ongoing development, the opportunity to grow, flexibility, or continuing education: The interests of the candidates have the highest priority in outbound recruitment.

Furthermore, an organized search concept is essential. It sounds trivial, but you should know what you are looking for before you start your search. At best, you will attract people who share your passion. For example, let's say you are a pharmaceutical company: Better check in with candidates one too many times and find out what really matters to them. Are they motivated to work in the pharma environment? What is their specific interest in the industry? What innovations would they like to tackle? With an organized search approach, you can launch a more targeted search, reaching more suitable candidates. Be creative: "Why are you the best fit for us?" and come up with something tailored. This leads to informative, honest and pleasant conversations with candidates.

However, with a strict selection, there is also a risk of excluding potentially suitable candidates. Our experience has taught us: Don't get too hung up on formalities or specifications. Be creative in recruiting and always think about compensating factors for something that would usually lead to an exclusion. A simple example: If the original requirement was an academic degree, a strong practical experience may be even more valuable than the reason for exclusion "academic degree".
Last but not least, we would like to talk about your reputation: This derives from a variety of factors, but in the recruitment process, great communication and efficiency will make you stand out. Invest time and maintain a relationship with candidates throughout the recruitment life cycle. With life cycle, we mean from your first message to the moment you make an offer. This creates a great reputation, and doing otherwise can create a less desirable reputation within the candidate community. Don't get us wrong: you can maintain a good reputation even though you're rejecting candidates. If you can provide honest feedback after internal communication with everyone involved in the recruiting process, even a rejection can come across as a breath of fresh air and nothing to feel down about. In addition, it's also a fantastic learning for you and your future recruiting processes.
Remember that your reputation is built on how you are perceived as a company.

If you would like support or further insights from us, please feel free to contact us at any time: contact@pickvogel.ch 🐦