During the COVID-19 pandemic, hiring managers have been struggling to get candidates in the door. Recruiting budgets have been slashed and departments are wondering how to coordinate interviews, let alone find talent. How can teams adapt? The answer is virtual recruitment.
Virtual recruitment is the process of pursuing, vetting and onboarding candidates electronically. It’s been around for years, but, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s proven to be one of the best methods for acquiring new talent.
Here are five best practices for recruiters looking to hire virtually.
1. Host Virtual Career Fairs: Basically, hosting a virtual career fair allows interested parties to learn more about a company—much like in-person career fairs. These events cater to any individual who’s curious about a company or its industry. Virtual career fairs can take many shapes, but typically involve different speakers giving presentations via webcam. Topics typically include a discussion of career opportunities and help inform potential recruits about the workplace.
2. Strengthen Online Presence: Any organization looking to recruit virtually must have a strong online presence. This includes maintaining multiple social media profiles, posting content regularly and interacting with followers. Having an attractive social media presence will help encourage candidates to follow and like the content the company posts. In turn, this provides a steady stream of passive recruiting leads.
3. Broaden Search Demographics: With telework gaining popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, some employers are allowing workers to remain remote indefinitely. Having such a policy could greatly help virtual recruiting efforts. Without in-person work requirements, recruiters can expand their searches to any candidate with an internet connection.
4. Invest in Quality Audiovisual Equipment: Appearance matters in interviews to all parties involved. That’s why candidates dress up, and it’s why they’re taken to nice conference rooms or offices for hiring conversations. This same thinking applies to virtual interviews. When speaking to candidates virtually, using a quality camera and microphone will say a lot about an organization. Conversely, low-budget equipment may send a negative message about how much the company is willing to invest in employee equipment.
5. Have an Onboarding Infrastructure Ready: Pursuing and vetting candidates is only part of the virtual recruitment process. In the end, these individuals will need to be onboarded virtually as well. In fact, they may be telecommuting from miles away. Virtual onboarding may include moving training sessions, meetings and new-hire paperwork to online channels.
In summary, virtual recruiting takes investment, but it can be well worth the effort when done correctly.
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