The Employer Engagement Guide: How to Source the Best Talent in a Candidate-Laden Market

Welcome to Part Seven of the Employer Engagement Guide. Wondering where to get talent in a candidate-rich market? Here’s how you can source the best candidate in this competitive society.

Wondering where to find top-quality candidates in an overloaded market? There’s been a shortage of skills across multiple industries recently. With this in mind, you may think that, in a post-lockdown market where mounting numbers of applicants apply for jobs, it’ll be easier to recruit the talent needed to drive your company forwards.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. A market rich in talent isn’t always as rich in skills. Quite the opposite, in fact. Recruiting managers are receiving such a high number of applications that it makes it trickier to source the best candidates you require with desirable talents.

After speaking to our clients, we know there’s a whole host of applicants applying for jobs. As many as 118 candidates can apply for just one position. We now live in a time where companies need the best candidates to shape their future in a post-Covid world. What does this mean? It means sourcing top talent amid these applicants is a crucial challenge.

So, where do you find top talent in a candidate-rich market? What’s the secret to processing an overflowing amount of applications and getting the perfect fit?

Thankfully, we have a few tricks up our sleeves for employers, so they can find the candidate with that ‘something more’ in this every-man-for-himself society.

How to get candidates 

Target your advert correctly

Ask yourself the following:

• Is your advert targeting the correct kind of candidates?
• Are you posting it in the right places?

If you don’t target it right, you won’t receive the right responses from the right candidates. People’s mindsets are changing. Rather than salary being the main driver in their job quest, many candidates consider flexibility and location.

What’s more, avoid uploading job vacancies to social media platforms and job boards that your target audience doesn’t use – it’s pointless.

Check the quality

Don’t be afraid to ditch grammatically-incorrect CVs or ones with poor formatting. When you’re handling such vast volumes of CVs, you can afford to be picky.

Be open-minded

When you open a CV, it shows a sequential timeline of someone’s work experience. However, be open-minded when opening a candidate’s CV, as we’ve faced exceptional times. Someone’s situation may indicate they’ve been forced to temporarily move to a position outside of their former job position on their CV.

Cut down the chance of unconscious bias

Widely available, applicant tracking systems (ATS) remove candidate names and other areas that cause unconscious bias. If it isn’t possible to obtain such as system, think about dividing the process among various staff involved in the recruitment process, so you benefit from different perspectives.

Grade your candidates

Grade the rest of the applicants by critical and desired skills.

Make a shortlist

So, you’ve narrowed your list down to roughly 15 applicants. Now it’s time to start creating a shortlist for the first interview process.

Don’t forget to get back to the candidates you didn’t select, if possible, as this continues the communication. While these applicants may not be right for the role now, they may be in the future.

Should you consider candidates from smaller firms in the application process?

It doesn’t matter what size company a person works for. What matters most is what skills they can offer. However, it depends on their industry and position.

For several firms, it’s paramount they’ve worked in the finance sector before. That said, in our opinion, this is becoming less critical. A candidate’s flexibility, and the skills they can transfer across various industries, are broadening. An increasing number of applicants have extensive skills than merely their own specific specialist skill set.

We recommend considering the following when hiring in today’s challenging market:

• Knowing what type of candidate you’re seeking and what’s essential.
• Being open-minded about employment gaps and job-hopping. Many candidates will have swapped roles following furlough, which then shows on their CV.

Every company is always looking for top talent – this will continually be the case. If anything, this is more vital than ever, as organisations have been restructuring.

Work alongside a recruitment specialist

Market Talent wants you to win the war for top-quality candidates. Our team hires on behalf of several world-leading banking and finance companies. Our niche market data drives our clients’ (and our own) recruitment strategies to guarantee the most proficient recruitment processes.

At Market Talent, we ensure the visibility of our clients’ vacancies, so they’re spotted by top-quality candidates. What’s more, we respond quickly and only provide the best talent. Thanks to our competitive market knowledge and expert salary guides, we’ll assist you in enticing the right individuals for the position you need filling.

Are you a hiring manager? Get in touch now and we’ll help you source the perfect candidate for your vacancy.