Ontario’s Current Economy Can Be Good For Finding Great Candidates

There’s no question that we all prefer a healthy economy. For the recruitment industry, however, times of economic prosperity tend to produce a shortage of talented applicants. This means investing a lot of time and effort to find qualified individuals from a small pool of candidates. And suddenly a recession isn’t looking so terrible.

But the economic recession we’re facing now also presents a different dilemma for recruiting top employees.  Instead of a shortage of great candidates, many hiring managers are now regularly inundated with applications from highly qualified people—whether they are hiring are not. Having a wide variety of individuals to choose from certainly beats scraping the bottom of the barrel to find the right person. Although it’s now important to narrow down your job search effectively in order to isolate the top selections in each competition.

Here are a few ways to use the current economy to your advantage during the recruitment process.

Be selective

Since the numbers are on your side, don’t be afraid to write a job ad that really specifies your ideal candidate. Broaden your search criteria to include more than simply education and experience. Consider looking for someone with a demonstrated passion for your industry and the soft skills required to fit in with your company culture.

Stay social

Social networking sites (such as Facebook and LinkedIn) make recruitment possible on a very minimal budget. Promote open positions on your organization’s page and start interacting with interested candidates. Job seekers today are more connected than ever, and you want a candidate who is comfortable using social media for professional purposes. This is a cost-effective way to get a sense of a candidate’s networking abilities. It also allows you to reach a significantly broader audience than through most traditional recruitment means.

Prescreen your applicants

An economic downturn means a high volume of talented individuals looking for work. You don’t want to waste anyone’s time—or get their hopes up—by bringing them in without fully evaluating if they are a good fit for the position. Phone or video interviews are an ideal way to get a sense of an applicant’s qualifications, interest level and interpersonal skills in advance of the traditional interview process.

A series of routine questions are often all it takes to decide whether or not an applicant is worth bringing in.

Remember: the ball is in your court. You have a limited number of positions and a large pool to choose from. Take the time to decide which candidates you really want to spend time and money on.

To learn more about how to find the best candidates in an economic recession, contact the skilled staff at Employment Professionals Canada. We’d be happy to provide more details.