Companies have been dealing with a lack of skilled workers for quite some time already. Due to demographic and geographic trends all over the world, the job market seems to be in a state of disrepair. Companies are desperately looking for qualified candidates to fill their vacancies. This is where Active Sourcing, or the active search for great candidates, comes into play. Today, we’ll explain why Active Sourcing as a new recruitment strategy is so important, and the opportunities that it offers both companies and candidates.
The times when personnel would publish their job vacancies in newspapers and job boards, waiting for fat envelopes with CV’s and cover letters, are long gone. The lack of skilled workers in today’s job market has forced companies to take action and approach candidates directly. This has also directly affected the priorities and processes of job applicants in recent years.
Money is no longer the sole motivator – more and more employees are looking for corporate cultures that share their own values, and that offer the applicant more room for personal development. Criteria like flexible work times are also playing a huge role in the selection process of job seekers. These reasons are placing a lot of pressure on companies to make their own employer brand as attractive as possible, to win over potential candidates.
This is no small task. But for those who want to find and employ the best talent and the most skilled executives and professionals, it’s very important to use the most effective strategies available today.
Companies are trying to develop new strategies and new methods of acquiring these employees. What happens when candidates are no longer accessible through job postings and classified ads? Companies must find ways to approach them directly. This is the main idea behind Active Sourcing.
For a long time, Experteer has worked to support companies as they look to approach selected candidates who aren’t actively looking for jobs. Although 48% of professionals and managers do not specify that they’re actively searching for a new job in their online profiles, 96.4% would like to be directly contacted by companies with new job opportunities.
These findings came from a recent Experteer study. “The biggest advantage for active sourcing is that companies can reach selected candidates who aren’t applying actively to job postings. However, many of them are open for a career change and to being approached by corporate recruiters.
Active sourcing is important in order to find the right managers and executives,” says Klaus Mantel of Experteer. Companies that simply lean back and wait for applications will struggle to beat out the competition.
To optimize the potential of passive seekers, many companies are relying on career portals, as well as social networks. But the chances of finding potential managers on Facebook or Twitter are rather slim. However, companies like Experteer offer an entire databank of qualified candidates looking for a career change.
But finding htese candidates is not the only challenge that companies must overcome. It’s imperative that companies tailor each approach to the candidate, so as not to give the impression that a candidate is receiving a mass mailing, sent out to thousands of others. Of course, most candidates value a direct approach, as it brings certain advantages – they are addressed specifically and only for jobs that fit their qualifications and skills. But especially for positions in senior management, the importance of individualized and personal contact should not be underestimated.
