Recruitment teams across the globe are today required to be one of the most innovative teams within the entire HR framework. They are primed with the responsibility of finding new and relevant ways to get the right talent in to support business needs. The changing nature in which the workforce looks and applies for jobs has meant recruiters today have to identify new channels to access talent pools. With the onset of the digital platform, the job search has undergone significant changes. To ensure that the company is able to attract the right talent, recruiters today need to take care of how effectively their company is able to attract talent through online mediums. 

The People Matters TechHR 2017 session on “Succeeding in digital talent search” sought to further deliberate on the issue. Sashi Kumar from Indeed.com, one of the largest job search engines in the world shared his views on how recruiters can benefit from making their search for talent online more rigorous and streamlined. 

As online research slowly becomes the bedrock decision making, one finds that the use of search engines like Google, Bing etc are on the rise. The trend has been similar in the case of candidates looking for jobs online. According to an Indeed’s internal research around 68 percent of candidates searching for jobs in India online with Indeed have done so on a mobile platform. According to different study around 53 percent of employees currently working started their job search online. It, therefore, becomes critical to tap into the talent pool looking for employment online. 

Traditionally there have been many ways that candidates have looked for employment. Today if one looks at the ways the current workforce looks for employment, one is sure to find traces of such method but in an online format. From job boards to company websites showcasing their employment opportunities, the online world today is connected and therefore it’s possible for companies to provide specialized search results for jobs. Something that companies like Indeed have pioneered in. 

Now that we understand how important online platforms are for targeting and acquiring the right talent, the session also shed some light on how can companies actually do so.  Some of the basics for this are to successfully tap into the mobile platform and map the trends of online hires. But another key aspect that often goes unnoticed is the potential of job search engines in attracting the right talent.   In order to effectively use job search engines, the following steps become important for consideration. 

Streamline Job Content

The content of the job description is an important influencer when it comes to a candidate making up their mind. The content needs to serve two purposes. It needs to connect emotionally with the candidate while performing well on search queries. 

Make the application process simple

This again is a step that most recruiters fail to take into account when it comes to creating a job query. Having excessive questions demoralizes any prospective candidate while having too few kills the idea of an application process. According to Sashi, having 10 well-crafted questions is an effective number. 

Create an online brand

The job query on any job search engine should reflect the employer brand proposition of the company. Having a strong and similar online brand image on job sites becomes an effective tool to attract the right talent. It also helps the candidates know more about the company. 

Measure change and track performance

Job search engines like Indeed often provide data on how an employer’s job query is performing. Regularly mapping the change and taking course corrective measures becomes an important part of a recruiters work.    

Keeping the above points in mind while creating a job query is vital for recruiters today. As small as they might seem, getting them right might just make the difference in your future online hires.