Recruit Better Candidates with These Outside-the-Box Ideas

In a fast-paced job market, finding and attracting top talent can be challenging. Close to half of HR professionals (48%) say it’s becoming harder to find and hire the right people for open roles. As the job market becomes increasingly competitive, companies must think of creative ways to recruit employees to stand out from the competition.

Thinking outside the box when it comes to recruitment ideas could be one way to attract better candidates. Creative recruiting can help businesses of all shapes and sizes attract the attention of talent outside of traditional hiring approaches.

Creative recruitment strategies fall outside of traditional recruitment methods. In addition to posting a traditional job description on job boards and social networking platforms, consider trying a few of these unconventional approaches to finding qualified candidates. Read on to discover more about how creative recruitment strategies can benefit your business and how to get started today.

BambooHR can improve the hiring and onboarding experience for candidates to help you attract and retain the very best talent. Find out how today.

Top 3 Reasons to Get More Creative with Recruiting

Stand Out From the Competition

In an overly saturated and competitive job market, hunting for skilled and experienced employers can be challenging. Talent acquisition has been the most common challenge facing HR in 2024. A gripping and compelling, effective recruitment strategy, however, can help you stand out from the crowd and capture your ideal candidate’s attention.

Attract Candidates Who Are Looking for Unique and Exciting Opportunities

Using unconventional hiring strategies can show a company's focus on innovation and creativity, which can help you attract employees who are looking for unique and exciting opportunities.

Showcase Your Company Values

Creative recruitment strategies can be a great way to showcase your company values. For example, hosting industry talks or events at your office can build awareness of your brand among potential candidates. Workshops and talks can help potential candidates gain new skills while giving them a first-hand experience of your company culture. It also gives them an opportunity to chat with current employees about what it’s like working at your organization.

How Can Creative Recruiting Attract the Best Candidates?

Attracting top talent is crucial for driving innovation, productivity, and the overall success of your company. Here are three ways creative recruiting can help you attract the best candidates:

Candidate Expectations Are Shifting

Candidates’ expectations have evolved in today’s job market. Gen Z is projected to make up 30% of the workforce by 2025, and they bring with them fresh perspectives and innovative thinking.

Many of them are looking for roles that offer professional development, better work-life balance, and align with their values, which include social responsibility. Understanding these expectations can help you attract top talent and create a more dynamic workforce for your business.

Broaden Your Talent Pool

By thinking outside the box and adopting more creative recruiting strategies, you can reach a wider talent pool. Creative recruitment strategies require creative thinking, and that means considering candidates who’s perspectives you may not have considered before. Diversity in the workplace encourages innovation, after all. It could also enable you to reach non-traditional candidates and be more inclusive in your hiring process.

Examples of Out-of-the-Box Recruiting Strategies

In need of some creative inspiration? Here are examples of out-of-the-box recruiting strategies to help you improve your hiring process:

Experiment with Social Media

Social media can be a great way to reach potential candidates. Building a strong brand presence for your company across Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok can help boost your brand awareness among candidates, particularly Milennials and Gen Z. To create an effective social media recruiting strategy, keep things clear and concise. Remember, you want to highlight what makes your business unique and what sets you apart from the competition.

Create a Company Podcast

Podcasts are a great way to introduce potential candidates to your company. They can highlight your company values and offer more tangible insights as to what it’s like to work for your company. For example, you could ask current employees about their experiences working at your company and what they enjoy about their current role.

Add a Career Page Chatbot

Adding a career page chatbot to your site can help direct prospective candidates to a dedicated page where they can search and apply for open positions. This can help streamline the hiring process, as there’s no need to go through a third-party hiring tool. Chances are if prospective candidates are visiting your website, they’re already interested in your company, too.

Use Gamification In the Recruitment Process

Say goodbye to boring cover letters! There are more exciting ways for candidates to show off their skills to employers. Recruitment gamification strategies can involve leaderboards, progress charts, and role-appropriate puzzles. You could consider using these during the early stages of the recruitment process as a means of testing candidate’s aptitude after they’ve submitted their resumes. While you’ll still need to interview candidates properly, this can be a great way to get a sense of their skills.

Schedule Group Activities

Group activities can be a great way to test a candidate’s communication, teamwork, and management skills. This can be especially useful if their role involves working closely with a team.

Host a Hiring Event

Hosting an in-person or virtual hiring event can be a great way to recruit employees. Not only does it give you a chance to meet potential candidates face to face, but it also allows candidates to get to know team members and see what it’s like to work at your organization. When organizing an event like this you might attract potential candidates by posting in highly relevant locations, such as college campuses, or specialized online job boards. It can take more time and effort, but you could consider reaching out to individuals directly, through platforms such as LinkedIn. If you’re part of a well-established industry, you could advertise on industry specific sites or magazines.

Does My Business Need Creative Recruitment Ideas?

Wondering whether your business can benefit from creative recruiting? Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself:

Are You Struggling to Attract the Right Candidates?

If you’ve exhausted your traditional recruitment efforts and you’re still struggling to attract the right candidates, this could be a sign that your current methods aren’t working and it’s time to try something new.

Is Your Recruitment Process Taking Longer and Costing More Than Expected?

If your recruiting process is taking longer and costing more than expected, now may be a good time to mix things up to try and speed up the hiring process.

Are Candidates Pulling Out of the Process?

If candidates are pulling out of the hiring process, this could be a sign that there’s something wrong with your current strategies. For example, according to a study by People Management, 78% of candidates say they would drop out of a lengthy hiring process.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when implementing your creative recruitment strategy:

• Identify Skill Gaps In Your Business. Think about what skill your organization is missing. This can help you focus your hiring efforts on experienced candidates who can help fill these gaps.
• Write Specific Job Descriptions. You want your job descriptions to be clear and concise while covering all of the necessary information about the role, such as the job title, job purpose, job responsibilities etc. Don’t forget to include a list of the necessary skills and experience you require your candidates to have, too. This can help to ensure that the right people apply for the role.
• Keep Candidates Updated. Maintaining consistent communication with candidates at each stage of the hiring process is important for creating a good candidate experience. This helps reassure candidates that you haven’t forgotten about their application and shows you’re being transparent about the process.

How Can I Be More Strategic in Recruitment?

Many recruiters often approach recruitment from a sales and marketing angle. One way to do this is by taking the time to understand your target audience, so you can create hiring ads that resonate with them.

Once you’ve attracted talent, it’s important to retain them through the entire recruitment process. Keep them updated on what steps they need to complete and when they can expect to hear any updates. There are also various HR tools and recruitment software you can use to help you streamline the hiring process and build an effective talent pool.

It’s important you measure your recruitment efforts so that you can decide who is best for the role. While it may be tempting to go by gut feeling alone, you may be overlooking unconscious biases or failing to see the best candidates. Using preset metrics to measure and rank applicants can make it easier to determine who’s best for the role.