Thriving as a Hiring Manager in a Job Seeker's Market

Maine employers are currently faced with a 3.5% unemployment rate, which means we are undoubtedly in a job seeker's market. In order to remain competitive, hiring managers throughout Maine are rethinking their recruitment strategies.

So what exactly is a job seeker's market? To put it simply, it means there are more job openings than there are availble job seekers. And for you, the employer, it means you need to be able to attract the passive job seeker. You know - that top performer that is currently employed, but keeping their options open. Gone are the days of posting an online job advertisement and being inundated with qualified candidates. Now you are on the hunt. 

As a top staffing firm, Manpower has learned how to thrive in all types of markets and have some tips to help you be successful too. 

1. Discern Needs vs. Wants

As hiring managers in a job seeker's market, we may need to make some reasonable concessions on what skills and experience candidates bring to the table. This doesn't mean we advocate for hiring unqualified people, but more over we recommend having some flexibility. While your ideal candidate has 5+ years of experience, being open to looking at candidates with 2 or more years will vastly increase your pool. 

2. Act Quickly

According to Manpower's 2016 Talent Shortage Survey, the best candidates are off the market in a mere 10 days. This means there is not time for a long and complicated hiring process.  You don't want to lose out on a great hire in hopes that another will come along. If you can't make the offer right away,  be sure to keep the candidate informed about the process with regular check ins. 





3. Know Your Value Proposition

Not every job is perfect for every person, but every job is perfect for someone. Know who that someone is, and be ready to speak about what makes this a great opportunity. Whether the draw is the position itself or the organization as a whole, you bring something unique to the table. Aside from compensation, what are your added perks? Free parking? On the bus route? Advancement opportunities? A job that ignites a passion? Ask yourself why you like working for the company, and go from there. 

4. Partner Up 

When it comes to filling both your permanent and your temporary openings, you don't need to go at it alone. Partnering with a staffing firm like Manpower can give you a leg up on the competition. Not only will you gain access to our active candidate pool, we will also do the recruiting for you. Your success is our success, which means you can count on us to deliver the right candidates at the right time. And the best part is, you don't pay a dime until we deliver. Who could turn down an offer like that?



5. Offer Competitive Comp Plans

As they say, "money talks". Hiring and retaining top talent and recruiting passive job seekers requires having a robust and fair compensation strategy. Do you know were you stand in the market? Can you do better than your competition? There are a number of tools that you can use to measure the competitiveness of your compensation package, such as: Maine DOL, Glassdoor, PayScale and more. 





Final Tip: Get Social

Over the last several years social media has become a dominant force in the recruitment world. Resources like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter have allowed companies the opportunity to get exposure to the passive candidates like no other platform before. The key is be consistent, post regularly and be engaging.  A poorly managed social media space may in fact be worse than not having one at all.