When you’ve gone to the time, effort and expense of a recruitment drive, the last thing you want is for the chosen candidate to drop out almost straight away. According to research done by Gallup, millennials are the generation most likely to ‘job-hop’ and are the least engaged in the workplace, with 21% saying they had switched jobs in the past year. If you have a vacancy to fill and are about to start your recruitment drive, here are just a few ways you can find the best graduates who will have the loyalty and staying power you need.
Ask for Video CVs
You can often gain a good idea of a candidate from their paper CV, but you can gain even more insight if you ask for a video CV as well. Wading through paperwork can be a time-consuming exercise, and there’s the risk that some of the best candidates for the job may be filtered out simply because they haven’t submitted a blindingly brilliant CV.
A video CV can help you get a feel for how enthusiastic they are about getting the job, and it helps you see the person behind the application number. Some of the most confident and eager candidates will look mediocre on paper, but give them a platform through video CVs and they could shine.
Think About the Quality of the Job You’re Offering
Have you ever considered that it could be the job you’re offering and not the candidates at fault? If you’ve struggled to fill a vacancy and find a candidate with staying power, it may well be because what’s on offer isn’t attractive enough to keep them in post. According to a report commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), many UK employees thought their company did a good job at helping them develop their skills, but fell short when it came to developing their careers.
Almost half (43%) of jobs were said to be failing to provide adequate career progression, with a sixth of workers reporting they were in a role which offered no hope of development at all. If you’re not thinking ahead and setting out the future opportunities you could offer your candidates, it’s little wonder people job-hop to maintain a sense of momentum.
Use a Specialist Agency
Companies such as Inspiring Interns specialize in placing graduates, and they’re often faster, more efficient and more accurate when it comes to sourcing the most suitable candidates. Rather than cast the net wide by advertising on a general job site, advertising through a specialist recruitment agency can mean you get higher quality applicants who are better suited to the role you have to fill.
As recruitment drives can be time-consuming and costly, using a graduate agency can mean you save yourself a lot of effort in the long-run. Many of the graduates a specialist agency has on their books will be high caliber and motivated to find their perfect job, and if they can find you the best fit, that person is more likely to stay with you.
Provide Support
Once you’ve got a graduate in place, make sure they feel supported. This is probably going to be their first ‘proper’ job and it may take a while for them to master the ropes and build up their confidence. They will be more likely to leave if they don’t feel they’ve been given the time and support needed to understand the work.
Use the first week as an orienteering exercise, so they can really learn about their role and how they fit in within the wider company structure. Ask for feedback on where they might need more guidance and, above all, be patient!
In an era of short attention spans and chronic job-hopping, higher employee retention rates are at the top of many recruiters’ wish lists. Use any or all of these techniques and you up your chances of finding the ideal candidate who will become a loyal and long-term employee.
