Top 3 concerns for recruiters in times of COVID-19 with tips on how to get through them!

Budget cuts, remote work challenges, delivering bad news to candidates still in the pipeline – this is what recruiters all over the world are dealing with right now.

A difficult situation full of uncertainties, to say the least…

We don’t have a magic wand to make it all go away. What we do have, though, is recruitment marketing knowledge to share with you and plenty of it! So, here are the top 3 concerns for recruiters in times of COVID-19 with tips on how to get through them.

Recruitment…Marketing…Innovation… budget cuts are everywhere. So now what? What can you do as a recruiter in these times of uncertainty to optimise your budget and continue on ‘business as usual’.

Tip: Share your jobs only via the right channels

Stop relying on ‘spray and pray’ recruitment marketing – target more than ever before! Without the luxury of a big budget, you need to up your knowledge of what works best for your target audience. In another blog post, we discuss what recruiters can learn from Netflix’s hit TV series ‘You’ to target candidates – click here to have a read.

Targeting candidates on a low budget – easier said than done? Not if you know what options are out there! For instance, did you know you can advertise your jobs on niche channels like Spotify, Business Insider, and Tinder? You can read more about this in a previous blog post here.

So, really the message here is – don’t put all your eggs in one basket! Optimise your budget and improve your return on investment by advertising across a variety of channels. Use generic job boards and add a niche channel or two to create the perfect media mix. If you do so, you can expect less and more relevant candidates – a win-win! 

Tip: Cluster & advertise your jobs smarter

Be smart about it! If you want to advertise multiple jobs within the same business unit, make sure to cluster them. For example, ‘Looking for a job in Sales? See all our Sales vacancies here’. By doing so, you can share multiple vacancies under the one advertisement, saving time and money!

Tip: Collaborate & use your colleagues’ network 

Now is the time to get creative. And collaborate.

Leverage your colleagues’ network. People are online more than ever before (yes, that’s possible) – reading, scrolling, liking, commenting, sharing, fishing for news updates, checking how other organisations are handling the current situation, following industry trends. So go ahead and ask your colleagues to give your jobs a boost on their social media channels. It will work. More than ever before!

Working remotely, the kids being at home, system connection hiccups, ad-hoc company updates, the kids being at home (have we already mentioned this one? ?) – time can easily become your enemy. Bottom line – you need to find ways to be more efficient with less but how?

Tip: Get the right recruitment tools 

Investing in new tools right now is probably the last thing on your mind, but (yes, there is a legit but here) estimate smart and don’t rush into saying ‘no’ to all investments right now. The right tool can solve so much – improve efficiency, optimise costs and increase productivity. The right recruitment tool can start paying itself off immediately – tomorrow, next week or next month – and in times of uncertainty it’s great to have some certainty, isn’t it?

This one’s simple! If you have to deliver disappointing news to candidates in the pipeline, here is how to do it. 

Tip: In times of uncertainty – be authentic and be kind.

Don’t be afraid of exposing too much or the sustainability of your business or your reliability as an employer. We are all in the same boat right now! Being open, honest and sincere about your current situation will bring you far.

Complete hiring freeze? Communicate it. 

Only recruiting for key roles and all other jobs are on hold? Communicate it.

No final business decision yet? Communicate it.

Keep your employer brand authentic, remain approachable and act efficiently – this is all you need to do right now. People WILL understand and appreciate you being honest with them. 

Our Recruitment Marketing Platform eases your recruitment process by:

a) offering you access to all the channels you’d need to target active and passive candidates worldwide;
b) helping you select the right channels for their jobs
c) offering (upfront) insights in your ROI.

Interested in giving it a try? It’s an easy 1-2-3 and for-free set up!