When your company has a role it needs to fill, posting to a digital job board is the quick, simple, and obvious solution, isn’t it? An HR representative or department manager spends a few minutes throwing the kitchen sink into the job description, clicks Post Job, and crosses all of their fingers and toes.
The applications start pouring in. Success!
Wait just a minute.
Now someone has to dedicate their time to filtering through hundreds of applications. Remember how easy it was for you to submit your post? It’s just as easy for a job seeker to reply to your post, which means you get flooded by highly unqualified applicants using the ‘spray and pray’ technique.
In the meantime, that kitchen sink we talked about earlier could be costing you the exact applicants you’re searching for!
Where Are The Good Ones?
A survey by the Harvard Business Review found that 46.4% of men and 40.6% of women who didn’t apply for your job said since they didn’t meet the stated qualifications, they didn’t want to waste their time and energy applying for a job they didn’t think they would get! Another 20% of men and 13% of women said they didn’t apply out of respect for you and your time since you made it clear who you were looking for.
Stunning, isn’t it? You’re weeding out the people you want to attract and encouraging the ones you would rather not.
When you add up the actual costs of paying for each click on your post from an unqualified applicant – or the qualified applicant who was just discouraged from applying by that kitchen sink – combine with the opportunity and resource costs of sorting through the poor choices and interviewing the best of the worst … is this the best investment you could make?
The Hidden ROI of A Recruiter
At first glance, a recruiter might seem like an unnecessary middleman or a luxury your company just can’t afford. Look a little deeper. When you choose the right recruiter, they become a business partner with your best interests in mind.
My job as a recruiter is not just filling a role with a warm body. My job is to consult with you and other organizational leaders to get to the heart of what you really need to successfully meet department and company goals.
I work closely with you and the candidate to make sure this is the best fit for both parties. By the time the candidate is presented to you for consideration, they have been so thoroughly vetted that you can more accurately think of them as referrals instead of merely applicants.
Look Ahead
The value of a referral over a cold introduction via a job board can really add up. According to Jobvite, referrals are 5x more effective than *all* other sources of hiring. They are hired 55% faster, and nearly half of employees hired through a referral stay for 3 years or more. Only 14% of job board hires stay! That’s a scary statistic when you realize that the cost of turnover can be up to 400% of the person’s annual salary,
Are you stepping over a dollar to pick up a quarter?
When you consider the long-term negative impact a poor hiring strategy has on everything from turnover costs to team morale, the short-term cost in exchange for the long-term benefits of working with the right recruiter turns out to be a smart investment in your organization’s continued success.
Jessica Van Pelt at the Pegasus Agency expertly combines technical, business, web, and marketing acumen to match great companies with great people. Contact Jessica at (973) 876-3118 or email jvanpelt@thepegasusagencyllc.com to discuss your staffing needs.
