In a highly competitive job market, the onus is on recruiters and HR professionals to think outside the box if they want to hire the best talent. Creative recruitment strategies are critical to source, attract and then retain the cream of the candidate crop.
Creative recruitment doesn’t stop after the hire; implementing innovative retention strategies is key to reducing attrition and keeping top talent engaged.
Many may think that creative recruiting is an innovative approach to recruitment, but it has been used in the past. Being creative, different, and unique is a crucial part of the successful hiring equation. Especially nowadays, when the market is overly saturated and competitive, making hunting for skilled and experienced employees harder than ever before.
To catch the perfect employee, you can no longer post job applications on various boards and wait for resumes to start coming in.
Hiring is more about persuasion and catching attention, and what better way to seize the attention and interest of your target employee than to make your recruiting campaign gripping and compelling?
This article will lead you through different creative recruitment strategies bound to catch your ideal candidates’ attention. We will go over:
- The proven practices and principles of creative recruitment,
- Most creative recruitment strategies that have ever existed,
- Case studies of the most successful creative recruitment strategies,
- And how can you become better at creative recruitment!
Let’s say goodbye to the dull, black letters on white background type of job applications and hello to the attention snatching creative recruitment strategies that will bring you the best workforce and save you time and energy.
7 proven principles of creative recruitment strategies
Let’s observe some of the principles of creative recruitment that have been utilized by some of the biggest companies and proven to work over and over again.
Handpick and flatter
This is a strategy for when you’re recruiting for a more niche role, perhaps, or a senior-level role. For those hard-to-fill, niche roles, retained recruiters often bring invaluable expertise and access to passive candidates who might not actively be seeking new opportunities but are open to the right pitch. Identify your dream candidates for the position, research them in as much detail as possible and reach out to them personally.
A perfect example of this principle is the case of Red 5 Studios, a game company. They have handpicked 100 ideal candidates and got to “know” them by going through their social media profiles and work history. Afterward, they have sent each one of them an iPod with a personalized message from the CEO themself.
The result? More than 90 of them responded, and 3 even left their current jobs to come on board. Furthermore, many more people discovered the company through word of mouth!
Self-selection Screening
Self-selection screening is a way of pre-qualifying applicants. Simply introduce an open invitation event to candidates before the interview stage. Those who turn up are really keen – those who don’t, not so much. This also gives you an opportunity to assess candidates in a group environment while giving candidates more insight into who you are and what you do.
This allows you to cut down the time you spend sifting through resumes and conducting interviews by identifying the candidates who are genuinely interested in the role.
Seek candidates who are not just a cultural fit but a culture add, bringing new perspectives and diversity of thought to your team
Be wary of the