You have posted your ‘text based job description’ in a job site and have been waiting long enough now for the best applicant to knock at your doors for hiring!

This reminds me of Godot, the famous unseen character from the play of Samuel Beckett in the renowned story named ‘Waiting for Godot’ where the two characters, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), kept waiting for the arrival of someone named Godot who never arrives. 

Hoping for the best talent to barge in by using your traditional methods is just like trying to find your Godot.

The best candidates aren’t responding to the traditional tactics anymore. They are slipping through the net and one needs to be more proactive in connecting with them. These days, finding the right talent requires a little more thought and creativity than it used to in earlier times. You may want to pick up some tricks and tactics that most innovative recruiters rely on. 

Here are the five unconventional approaches that are being used by companies for attracting the best talent:

1. Embed game mechanics into your referral programs 

Gamification of employee referrals pushes a culture of hiring the right talent in the company. It is being used as a key strategy to enhance an employee’s engagement level in referring probable culture fit candidates. One just needs to ensure that the correct participation offering is blended with referral rewards and recognition under the referral Gamification program. 

Marriott International Inc. was one of the first to adopt game mechanics for the referral and recruitment process. In the need of attracting tech-savvy new generation candidates and attracting them to enter into the hospitality industry, the organization created a hotel-themed Facebook app, My Marriott Hotel. The game comprised of candidates navigating daily tasks of running a hotel kitchen. How they solved the real world challenges were assessed by the evaluators leading to identifying the right candidate for hiring. The game has been successful in attracting a wide range of good candidates and has been made available in various languages viz., English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Mandarin. 

2. Run Inventive campaigns

Creative recruitment campaigns have helped many companies interact in a unique way with candidates. One of the unconventional guerrilla tactics to recruit talent without spending a fortune is seen adopted by Volkswagen. During a time when Volkswagen was in dire need of good mechanics, they did something quite creative. Their undercover representatives dropped faulty cars off at repair shops across Germany. And all these cars had a secret message printed on their undercarriages. The messages were the advertisements that read ‘Wanted Mechanics’. The logo and email addresses were embedded in the advertisement. This campaign proved both fun and memorable and it also successfully brought a lot of gifted mechanics into the Volkswagen team.

3. Technology to the rescue

Thanks to technology, hiring strategies have never been so effective before!

By embedding Virtual Reality (VR) in Lloyds Banking Group, they used this technology to narrow down the pool of thousands of applications for its Emerging Leadership Program every year. After completing the analytical tests followed by a video interview using Launchpad, hundreds of candidates who reach the final round were evaluated in virtual reality platform as part of a day-long assessment center visit. This VR platform helped to assess candidates in a much more effective way. Candidates freely moved within a 360-degree virtual world and manipulated objects using tracked motion controls. The evaluators kept assessing on how the candidates approached and solved tasks, using standardized metrics that the Banking Group was looking for.

Going digital has brought in many good changes for the TA function. Many of the best workplaces have adopted various means to ease out their hiring challenges. ‘Get Referred;’ – a new mobile referral tool by American Express has brought in two thousand additional referrals every month since its launch. Giving a new meaning to being proactive, American Express gives an opportunity to candidates applying for an open position to request a referral directly from an American Express employee who is a member of their LinkedIn network. 

4. Think differently

The US-based First Merit Bank is supposedly known to have used an unconventional hiring strategy at one point in time when they were looking to find individuals with stellar customer service skills. The members of the recruiting team went to local retail stores and purchased various items. Later, they returned some of the items to assess how the individuals respond to both situations.

Complex puzzles can also be a great way for organizations to stand out from the crowd and spark the interest of their ‘ideal hire’. They are really effective at filtering out unsuitable candidates quickly. Google uses it quite often. In one such strategy, Google had put up a tricky mathematical puzzle for all to see in billboards. Anyone who solves the billboard puzzle gets to unlock a URL with another puzzle. And if this too gets solved, one can embrace an offer which none can resist.

5. Keep the hunt on

Always keep Interviewing! The right time to be interviewing is before there is a direct need. A proactive interviewing ensures there is a pipeline of quality candidates when a need arises. Also, proactive interviewing gives more insight into the marketplace on what’s trending. Always leave every person you meet with a positive impression of your company and the team. It’s a small world; you may wish to see them join your organization someday soon. Also, a hiring interview can informally take place anywhere, even when you are traveling. You never know, the next best hire may be sitting right next to you on the same airplane you are traveling!