In the Year 2021, We Are Re-Thinking Job Recruitment
When it comes to jobs in Rowan County, like most places in the U.S. in the year 2021, it’s a job seekers’ market. From small businesses to large, employers are eagerly seeking employees to fill available jobs.
The Rowan County Chamber of Commerce and the Rowan County Economic Development Commission partnered with local companies to offer a summer job fair Saturday, June 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at West End Plaza Events Center, 1935 Jake Alexander Blvd. W. in Salisbury. Free transportation is provided by Salisbury Transit, and folks looking for jobs can participate in a scavenger hunt with a $200 gift card prize.
Local companies are offering more:
- onsite job offers
- higher wage positions
- weekend and rotating shift positions
- sign-on bonus options
- tuition assistance
- and childcare assistance.
We don’t know how long this trend will last. Local companies such as Snow Joe, LLC, of Salisbury say that it’s a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and additional federal benefits set up to ease pandemic problems. Whitney Moore, HRBP, Human Resource Business Partner at Snow Joe, said that “the additional benefits provided to able-bodied non-working individuals caused a trend in general to hinder the workforce.” She holds out hope that the end of the federal additional unemployment benefits and the federal rent program will help ease the situation.
Partnerships
Snow Joe, a digitally native, direct-to-consumer company that designs, develops and distributes high-quality yet affordable outdoor residential tools and winter weather solutions, has partnered with the Rowan EDC, NC Works, and the Goodwill Career Connections for recruitment. These are good moves, especially reaching out to colleges and trade schools, such as Rowan Cabarrus Community College’s NC Works. There is also a new emphasis on skill trade careers at Rowan-Salisbury Schools.
Elaine Spalding, President of the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, has asked county residents to contact federal and state elected officials, asking for support of the Chamber’s call for public policy changes to revitalize the workforce and solve the labor shortage. The proposed policy changes deal with unemployment insurance, childcare, transportation, and more.
Transparent Job Ads
Meanwhile, businesses are finding new ways to gain the attention of recruits. Catawba College Associate Professor Erin Dougherty recently encouraged employers to be more open about salaries in their job postings. Zippia, a recruiting website for companies and job seekers, used her advice in its post on predicting the future of job markets. She suggested that job ads be more transparent, to help candidates know more facts before they apply. This would save time and energy for job seekers, as well as for companies.
https://www.zippia.com/theatre-manager-jobs/trends/#section-professor-967164350833
Here are a few other ideas for companies, as we are finding that the Year 2021 has us all feeling more than a little “out of the box.”
- Update company website Career pages to stand out among the competition. Candidates want more than the company mission statement and structure.
Give them diversity statistics, such as what percentage of the workforce is women, degreed vs. non-degreed, white, etc.
Promote your awards.
And make it all visually attractive. No long gray paragraphs.
- Employee testimonials are not new to Career pages, but this idea is: What about having a couple of employees deliver podcasts about the company? Listeners will be able to hear the pride in their voices. Employees can talk about their background and their roles at the company. Companies are beginning to take this one step further and allow employees to blog about quality-of-life issues — their personal interests, hobbies, families, etc.
- FAQs on the company website:
-How do I know if you received my application?
This is so important. I can’t tell you how many people in the interview process who have told me that they send off their resumes and never hear a word.
-Will you tell me when the job has been filled?
-How will I know if I have been selected to move forward in the process?
– When will I know that the job is filled?
Candidates will appreciate knowing this information, and best of all, they will know upfront that your company is employee-centered.
- Embrace social media in your recruitment process. Post your employee testimonials with fun workplace photos of the employees. Don’t forget to tell the stories of your team events and other celebrations.
Companies can also create specific social media accounts that target job candidates.
- Share current projects (success stories) in blogs. This helps candidates better understand projects that they might be working on at your company.
- Develop a recruitment video. Keep it short — a fast, upbeat 30 seconds will lead candidates to your company’s Career page. Market it, market it, market it. Include information about the area to help with relocation. Don’t forget humor.
- Do you have “a talent community” stashed away? This is a group of resumes of candidates not chosen for past jobs. They may not have been a good fit for past jobs, but 2021 is a new day. Keep in contact with candidates you interviewed but were not chosen. When a suitable position opens, let them know.
- No company wants to lose its talent. But it happens. Keep that door open. Encourage former employees to “boomerang” … to come back when the opportunity is right for them. Find an online way to let those former employees know about new opportunities.
- Offer a payout to an employee who refers a candidate who is hired. This is money well spent as it saves time and energy.
- Become a “veteran friendly” employer, partnering with organizations such as the U.S. Department of Labor and Recruit Military. Look at military job boards such as Hire Heroes USA, Hire A Veteran, Military Hire, and Hire Veterans.
- Stop worrying about gaps in resumes. Once again, it’s 2021. Life has been hard. There have been childcare, elder care and disabilities issues. People don’t lose their talent and skills because of life issues.
- What are they saying about your company online? Check out inquiry sites such as Quora, Reddit, and Yahoo! Answers. If you find a comment less than favorable, provide an honest answer and try to establish a relationship.
- Optimize your job search on Google. A total of 73 percent of all job searches begin on Google. This is a must in 2021 recruitment strategy.
Source: builtin.com
