Shaping Your Recruiting Future: 6 Hacks for Long-Term Success
6 practical hacks to build and maintain your own recruiting network. Grow a talent pool, activate hiring managers, and keep the relationship warm.
Contents
6 praktische Hacks für den Aufbau und die Pflege deines eigenen Recruiting-Netzwerks. Statt dich ausschließlich auf Jobbörsen und Social Media zu verlassen, investierst du in ein eigenes Talent-Netzwerk. Der Artikel zeigt, wie du vielversprechende Kandidat:innen statt Absagen ins Netzwerk aufnimmst, Hiring-Manager:innen zu Multiplikatoren machst und mit Talent-Listen, Fachnews und Event-Einladungen die Beziehung pflegst.
6 Hacks to Build Your Recruiting Future
Reading time approx. 7 minutes
Breadcrumb: mana HR → HR Knowledge → Blog → 6 Hacks Recruiting Future
Contents
- Networks: do you really need them?
- Why you should invest in your own network
- Our 3 tips for building a network in practice
- 3 hacks for maintaining a network without the stress
- Recruiting networks shape the future: be part of it
- Frequently asked questions
TL;DR
Your own recruiting network makes you independent of job boards and social-media algorithms. Instead of rejecting promising candidates, you add them to a talent pool, activate your hiring managers as multipliers, and keep nurturing the relationship. This article gives you 6 practical hacks to build and maintain your network, from talent lists to shared industry news to event invitations.
Author: Dominik Becker · Published: 07.11.2022
Share on LinkedIn · Share on XING · Share on Facebook
"I have an aunt who has a friend whose brother has a son who's just..." No, please don't roll your eyes! Because what sounds like the start of a bad joke is the be-all and end-all of our (business) lives: networks.
In recruiting too, or especially in recruiting, you should absolutely put the advantages of networking to work for you. Because maybe that very son of the brother of the aunt's friend is looking for a job. Your open job! And that makes him the perfect person to reach out to.
Networking in recruiting is fast and direct, and it holds a hidden gem of a candidate or two. So that you benefit from these advantages too, this article gives you 6 hacks for building and maintaining your own recruiting network. And believe us: it will change the future of your recruiting!
Networks: do you really need them?
It's a fair question, because networking always means a certain amount of work. But the fact is: networks make our everyday lives more convenient and faster. Living within a web of networks is called connectivity. Not being able to take part can even lead to social exclusion.
Lieferando, Amazon, Facebook. All these structures exist only through the construct of social or economic connections. In recruiting, too, you already benefit from the system of recruiting networks: by posting your open roles on Stepstone or Indeed, running your employer-branding campaigns on Instagram and Facebook, or swiping through apps like Truffls or matched.io. Not to mention staffing agencies. In every case you tap into the provider's network and benefit from their connections.
But what about your own network? Do you spend enough time and budget building your own contacts? Don't worry, only a few would say yes to that right now. Yet investing in your own recruiting network is extremely important, both for filling your current roles and for future-focused talent retention. So you're killing two birds with one stone!
Why you should invest in your own network
We're sure you've heard a thousand times why building your own network in recruiting is essential and where the benefits of a talent pool lie. So we'll just remind you of the most important point: with your own talent network, you're independent!
Job boards, social media, and staffing agencies are useful support. But you're tied to their pricing structures and algorithms. Stepstone raises its prices, you have to pay. Facebook changes its algorithm? The next day you might no longer be visible to your target audience. Your success then depends not on you, but on others.
Don't get us wrong! We're not saying you should stop using job boards, social media, and so on. But maybe you can pull part of your budget and time out of there and invest it in your own network as a second pillar instead.
Because then you alone decide: which tools you use, what it costs you, who you want to reach, and how often. You have full control! Sounds like work? It is. But it's doable. To make it even easier for you, next up are 3 tips on how to take network-building into your own hands, in a resource-friendly way. Step by step.
Our 3 tips for building a network in practice
Despite the effort involved, building a talent network doesn't have to turn into a huge project. Even if you go about it in small steps, you'll soon have a nicely filled talent pool on hand.
Tip #1: Don't send rejections
Instead, add promising applicants to your network. Once you've filled a position, the immediate pressure is off. The pain is gone, and normally you'd now reject the remaining candidates. Wait! Some of the specialists might be a real shame to lose, because they bring interesting skills that you'll urgently need for a future opening. So instead of a rejection, send out a networking request. It works for you with no extra effort, and you already have promising people on hand for future roles.
Tip #2: Keep your evergreen positions online long term
There are surely qualifications you hire for again and again: software developers are one example that applies at many companies right now. So you don't have to start from scratch every time, you can simply keep the job postings for these evergreens online permanently and automate your recruiting campaigns. That way you gradually fill your talent pool and spare your team's resources. When the role opens up, you may already have an ace up your sleeve.
Tip #3: Turn your hiring managers into multipliers
Your hiring managers often know the open positions best, and they have a network of their own. Make them partners in the search by activating their personal contacts. They can also encourage the people in their departments to tap into their networks as well. Because maybe someone right now has "an aunt who has a friend whose brother has a son who's just...".
Because they're right in the middle of the department and close to the people, your hiring managers in particular can show their teammates why activating a personal network matters. And motivate them to join in.
Want a real-world example? A colleague complains about all the overtime caused by understaffing. Your hiring manager understands the frustration. At the same time, she uses the conversation to point out that this is exactly why everyone pitching in on network-building matters, and that everyone can actively help solve the problem. How? For example, by having the colleague share job postings or think about which of their contacts would fit the team well.
That way you not only get people emotionally on board, you can also draw on a huge network and personal recommendations at the same time.
Video recommendation
Dieses Video wird über YouTube abgespielt, hierfür brauchen wir deine Zustimmung. Möchtest du die Präferenz-Cookies akzeptieren & das Video von YouTube laden?
[Play]
3 hacks for maintaining a network without the stress
A good network is your safety net when people quit unexpectedly or departments report openings at short notice. Unfortunately, it rarely forms on its own, and even then it has to be tended and cared for to work. With our 3 hacks, though, that's no problem.
Hack #1: Create talent lists
Your own talent network can take many forms. You can use dedicated talent-pool tools or good old Excel. Then create a separate list for your most important qualifications within your network, for example for the software developers mentioned earlier. That way you can send open roles straight to the right specialists, with no detours. And here too the rule is: step by step. Don't create lists for all qualifications in your network at once. Start with the most important ones, your evergreen positions. Your goal should be to establish continuous contact. That builds loyalty and keeps talent and candidates in the pipeline.
Hack #2: Keep hiring managers on board for the long run
They're the link from the department to recruiting. And they have to help with the search! It's no coincidence that the word "hiring" is right there in their job title. Their absolute strength: on technical topics, they're always up to date. That's their job too. And so they also know what applicants care about. Just ask them to share interesting news from trade journals or links from websites with you, quickly and informally. You can then take that industry news and send it to the right talent list. Without any fuss: just a short greeting, a note about the industry news behind the link, your polite sign-off, and done. In just five minutes you've refreshed contact with your talent and created a positive candidate experience.
Your signal to applicants: "We care! A relationship beyond a pure hiring process matters to us."
Hack #3: Invite people to events
Your company events aren't just a highlight for your current employees and good for your media presence. They're also a proven way to connect with talent. After all, the applicants in your pool are interested in your company. With an invitation to company events, you build that interest further and strengthen the bond. Whether it's a summer party, an open day, a hackathon, or the annual 5k run. Anything works to tie the specialists in your talent pool even more closely to your company and let them get a feel for what it's like there.
Recruiting networks shape the future: be part of it
Yes, building a working recruiting network isn't entirely possible without some effort. But already now, and definitely for your company's future, there's no better tool in recruiting. With our tips for building and maintaining your own recruiting network, you now know the best way to go about it. And with the right tools, such as the mana HR Talent Pool, your effort can be reduced considerably.
Give it a try. We wish you great success in the future of talent recruiting!