Candidate Mindset

• A new year sparks a need for change and candidates being open to new opportunities.

• Employers will be doubling down on their outreach post-holidays, and candidates may be more overwhelmed than usual with requests. Showing empathy and respect for their time will go a long way.

Recruiter Focus

• Analyze last year’s performance - did you reach your goals? If not, assess where adjustments need to be made this year.

• Meet with hiring managers to understand their needs for the year.

  • Look at the skills/potential of current team and determine which roles may be able to be filled from within, vs external
  • Set priorities for roles and a timeline for hiring each one.

• Set quantitative and qualitative goals for 2022, based on insights from last year along with larger company-wide goals and hiring manager goals. Create a timeline.

• Confirm and communicate your recruiting budget.

• With the budget in mind, audit current tools & research new ones, if needed.

Candidate Mindset

• Spring means high school and college graduations, and that means a new influx of candidates into the job market. If you’re open to hiring new-to-the-workforce candidates, make sure your job descriptions and process reflect that. Keep in mind that recent grads may be inexperienced or completely new to the interview and hiring process, so more communication and transparency is needed!

• While remote work is becoming more common, for those in location-based roles, late spring and summer are popular moving times. If you are hiring candidates that may need to relocate, this is a great time to do so.

• As summer sets in, many take off for family vacations and/or have kids on break from school. While it’s a good time to get in front of candidates, you may also see slower (or fewer) email responses.

Recruiter Focus

• Revamp your employer branding with an audit of your career site and social media, especially LinkedIn. Do they communicate your values? If you were a candidate, would you want to work for your company after reviewing its online presence?

• Review your email outreach templates to ensure they’re aligned with your brand and with best practices for engaging candidates.

• Update any job descriptions for hard-to-fill roles. Meet with hiring managers to determine what roadblocks are getting in your way.

  • Providing analytics on open, response, and interested rates will help the hiring manager understand when adjustments need to be made.

Wow more prospects in 2022 with these 12 tips for improving the candidate experience.

Candidate Mindset

• As summer winds down and kids head back to school, people may be more open to making a career change.

• As with the beginning of the year, hiring somewhat resets in fall. Hiring managers across all industries will be looking to fill roles before the end of the year, and once again, candidates in in-demand fields may feel bombarded by offers.

Recruiter Focus

• At the end of Q2 or beginning of Q3, review the goals you set at the beginning of the year. Are you on track to accomplish them by the end of 2022 or do they need to be adjusted?

• To prepare for the fall hiring boom, review your tools and processes to make sure they are optimized by August. Are there features you aren’t using in your current software? Is your team’s workload evenly distributed?

• Take stock of candidates you previously passed on and add them back into your funnel if they could be a good fit for any new open roles.

• This is also a great time to get into the “selling” mindset of recruiting – practice your “sales pitch” and make sure the compensation/benefits you are offering are competitive.

Candidate Mindset

• Candidates might hold off on making a decision or leaving their job until the next year, in the event they get an end-of-year bonus or have vacation time to use up before the end of the year.

• The end-of-year holidays may also cause slower responses from candidates in general; avoid reaching out to any candidates on major holidays, and once mid-December hits, potentially wait until the new year to engage new candidates.

Recruiter Focus

• Review candidate feedback from the year; does it reflect what you wanted their experience to be?

• Review your budget. What is your cost-per-hire for this year? Can you reduce your CPH next year without undermining your results?

• Analyze your workload as a recruiter and if applicable, as a recruiting team. How are you actually spending your time, and how does it compare to your ideal routine? How can you streamline?

• Reflect on your personal experience this year: what were your successes, and where do you have room to grow? The holidays might provide you with a bit of free time to research professional development opportunities to enhance your skills or knowledge for next year.

• Plan ahead for 2023! While some may not be ready to make a change at the end of the year, you'll want to build a pipeline in November and December. That way you'll be able to hit the ground running in January.

As a recruiter today, you’ve most likely learned to expect the unexpected. Your organizations are counting on you to understand candidates’ needs better than ever, to rebuild teams, and to come out on top of The Great Reshuffle. As with any plan, it helps to have partners who see your vision, and want to support you in reaching your hiring goals. Reach out to us to learn more about partnering with Fetcher to automate your sourcing and outreach efforts in 2022.

About Fetcher

Our mission is to help you engage talent that will transform your business aspirations into reality. Great talent is hard to find - that's why we offer a talent sourcing platform that not only gets your brand in front of the right candidates but also gives you a competitive edge in talent acquisition.

Begin building a relationship with your next great hire today, and let Fetcher handle the rest. Get started for free.