Original post by Hannah Morgan via U.S.News Money
Employers are optimistic about growth and hiring over the next 12 months, and yet they also expect that filling these new jobs will challenging. What are companies doing to attract talent and how can you position yourself for maximum visibility?
According to Jobvite’s 2014 Social Recruiting Survey, conducted in August, almost 70 percent of recruiters expect hiring to become more competitive over the next year. This is good news for job seekers in engineering, information technology, operations and sales roles, which companies expect the need to fill.
Jobvite surveyed 1,855 recruiters and hiring managers from numerous industries and found that employers have strategies to compete in the war for talent. Close to three quarters of those surveyed plan on highlighting the company culture to win over candidates, and more than half the recruiters said improving benefits is an important priority. They will also be highlighting other perks, including higher compensation, flexible hours and working remotely. Here are more insights from the survey:
1. Referrals still reign supreme. The Jobvite study reported that the best hires came from referrals, internal transfers, direct sourcing and intern-to-hire. While you are familiar with how referrals, internal transfers and intern-to-hire happen, you may not be as familiar with direct sourcing. In recruiting terms, this refers to targeting specific candidates through research. Direct sourcing involves finding the right match of skills, traits and experience by searching résumé databases, social network profiles, personal connections, company directories, professional associations and other internet-based resources. Direct sourcing involves proactive outreach to members of a specific audience comprised of active and passive job seekers.
Quick Tip: Start identifying companies you want to work for and building inside connections who can serve as referrals. If you are in college, don’t miss out on internship opportunities.
2. LinkedIn is the top social recruiting tool. Ninety-four percent of recruiters and human resources professionals surveyed by Jobvite credited LinkedIn as being the go-to source for recruiting. Facebook rose to second place, with 66 percent of hiring professionals using it as a source for recruiting, and Twitter placed third, at 52 percent.
