Are you a recruiter, a talent acquisition specialist, or a hiring manager who’s failing to find high-quality candidates? You are using the right sourcing tools, preparing the perfect JD, and above all, patiently screening each application. Yet, perfect candidates are almost impossible to find for any job role. You are not alone. In fact, 63% of recruiters feel that talent shortage is their biggest problem.
While one might point towards external factors like a competitive recruiting market, it’s also important to look inside your own recruiter process, which might just be the reason for a lack of quality applicants coming your way. So, where are high-quality candidates, and how can you find them? Here is an eye-opener.
How to identify quality candidates during resume screening?
It’s difficult to attract quality candidates to your company. But, what’s more galling is not being able to identify candidates with strong attributes who are already there in your candidate database or acquired during your recent talent sourcing hunt. Here are a few ways you can mitigate the damage this is causing.
Quality candidates are professional
A resume speaks a thousand words, you must know how to listen. A professionally written resume that’s formatted, grammatically accurate, and delivers required information convincingly is a big green flag during the initial screening process. That being said, not every flashy resume is relevant. Hence, don’t rely solely on this single quality but certainly consider it.
Quality candidates are skilled
It’s not enough to have the required skills mentioned in the “SKILLS” section of the resume. Look beyond that. See how the candidate has explained their use of the skills in their work experience. For example: If the opening is for a Front End Developer and the required skill is Java Script, a candidate who mentioned this as their skill and also explains its application in one of their projects or job role solidifies their understanding of the tool. This process is more important when hiring experienced candidates.
Quality candidates & personality assesment
In addition to skills, a candidate's personality and aptitude also signify their relevance to the job role. Not a lot can be said about the candidate's character based solely on their resume. One can surely get some hints from the interests of the candidate and social presence.
Why is it hard to find quality applicants?
Here are some hurdles that you might be facing when pursuing quality candidate recruitment.
Sourcing Issues
LinkedIn, Indeed, and similar job posting sites look like excellent sourcing tools for recruiters. They are. But, almost every recruiter is using LinkedIn wrong. How? Imagine a scenario where you posted a job on Friday and over the course of the weekend it received over 1000 resumes. On Monday, you find your mailbox cluttered with emails from individual applications. What are you going to do? Open each email, download the resumes, and view them, or maybe add them to a resume parser. By the time you reach a screening, a week will have passed. No wonder it takes 45 days for recruiters to close a job. This entire process is unnecessary. Let’s not forget a majority of these resumes are irrelevant to the job. So, out of the 1000 applicants, 100 are worthwhile, maybe 5 perfect.
Your ATS is not the best resume parser
ATS has largely simplified several administrative tasks of recruiters and HRs. But, you can't rely solely on your ATS for resume parsing and candidate matching. A majority of these platforms provide keyword-based parsing whose probability of missing out on quality candidates is substantially high. Hence, even if you are able to gather a massive pool of candidates for a job role, the probability that you discover the right applicant fast is extremely thin.
Lacking employer branding
The top candidates often know their value and more than money, they are in search of a company that offers them an opportunity to showcase their skills and be appreciated. Others might also be passively searching for an inclusive organization. Practicing employer branding is crucial. It shows your company's environment, culture, vision, and values that can be a big factor in attracting quality candidates.
Candidate experience matters
Even if you are successful at attracting candidates with the best work qualities, a poor candidate experience can deter high-quality candidates from accepting job offers, damaging a company's reputation and limiting access to top talent. Negative impressions during the recruitment process may lead qualified candidates to seek opportunities elsewhere, impacting the overall quality of hires and organizational success.
Engage with passive candidates
Engaging with passive candidates involves proactively reaching out to individuals who aren't actively job hunting. You can use your database to discover the right candidate and reach out to them even though they are placed. You can also foster relationships through networking events, industry conferences, and online platforms, creating a talent pipeline for future opportunities.
Streamline your sourcing efforts with Skima AI
Scouting tens of resumes to check their format, interests or skills is tiring and inefficient. But, if you want perfect candidates, it needs to be done. How about automating this entire process? Skima AI talent intelligence platform unearths quality candidates from within your candidate pool with a lot fewer clicks, in a lot less time. Simply add your JD or create a technically strong Job description for free on Skim AI, upload candidates, and in a few seconds, you will have a list of the best candidates categorized in order of relevancy with the job. Skima assesses the quality of candidates not only based on education, experience, and skills but checks psychological and behavioral aspects to match with the job role.
FAQs
What are the main resources you use to identify quality candidates?
Skima AI unearths top candidates from your candidate database. The platform can be used to identify and match candidates with jobs effortlessly. Skima also integrates with all ATS for a seamless recruitment process.
How to source quality candidates for a job?
Utilise diverse channels like job boards, professional networking sites, and industry-specific platforms to source quality candidates. Implement targeted outreach, engage with passive candidates, and leverage employee referrals. Craft compelling job descriptions, showcase company culture, and utilise modern recruitment technologies to attract and identify top-tier talent.
