An effective recruitment process is quite in-depth and well-thought-out. It needs certain preparation, time and money invested. A well-organized recruitment process should be able to find and select the talent the company needs in 4-8 weeks for most positions.
However, recruiters often make mistakes that drive talent away. The mistakes can range from not asking the right questions to merely your attitude towards the candidate. No recruitment plan can be perfect but avoid these 6 mistakes and you’ll be more successful with higher quality candidates.
1. Ignoring Job Advertising Methods
Candidates have lots of choices on where they look for jobs. A recruitment process is greatly supported by job advertising. One of the biggest mistakes recruiters make is to only post their job on their own website or in one place and let the candidates come to them. Yes, you may get lucky and find a candidate, but don’t count on it. Get your job out there as many ways as your budget allows. Go out and attract those highly qualified candidates that aren't looking for a new job. AgHires specializes in recruiting, job advertising, and designing ways for your job posting to reach the most qualified candidates. By using postings, digital and social media advertising, email marketing, and recruiter reach outs to get clients’ jobs in front of the right audience rather than waiting on candidates to come to them. In this type of job market, you can't sit back and wait.
2. Not Pre-screening
Pre-screening candidates can save lots of time. It is better to talk on the phone before inviting them for in-person interviews. All you need is 15 minutes with a candidate on the phone to determine if they meet the basic requirements of the job. Having a candidate come to your location and discover they don’t have the experience you need could be off-putting, especially if you didn’t specify the requirement in the job description. Plus, you’ll save time where you could have been interviewing someone more talented.
3. Not Preparing for the Interview
It is as much of a duty for the company or interviewer to prepare for the interview as it is for the candidate. In industries as intricate as agriculture, you can’t depend on basic questions. During the planning of the recruitment process, you must list questions that will effectively reveal the right kind of talent. Questions should not just be about evaluating the skills and experience of the candidate. Try to ask a few questions to gauge the personality of the candidate to determine if they will fit within the company’s culture.
4. Not Marketing the Company
Most candidates that will apply only know basic information about your company. During the recruitment process, it is your responsibility to tell them a little more about your company and what you do. Don’t make the candidate search for more information before they apply. Think of your job description as an advertisement. Show off your business and your culture to make them want to work with you.
5. Interviews are All Talk
Contrary to popular belief, a job interview should not just be about talking. Have the candidate walk with you around your operation. In the agriculture and food production industry, you can walk the interviewee through many of the ongoing processes of the day. This will give you an opportunity to ask more questions and determine how well the candidate will fit in your day-to-day operation and give the candidate a visual of what’s going on.
6. Creating a Small Candidate Pool
Before you start shortlisting, it is important to create a significant candidate pool. The more options you have, the better chance you have of finding the gems you are seeking. This is also helpful if your first round of recruitment fails to yield results. You can always go back to your pool and reopen the search process. If you close off your options right from the beginning, you are likely to settle for candidates with the minimum amount of requirements you are looking for.
A good recruitment process can take a significant amount of time. It requires patience, organization, and attention to detail. Make sure you're representing your operation the right way and you will hire better talent. If you need help with recruiting the best talent within the agriculture, agribusiness, food production, produce, food processing, and horticulture industries reach out to the team at AgHires at 844-244-4737, see the jobs available at AgHires.com or see more on AgHires recruiting process at AgHiresRecruiting.com
Written by: Ryan Young, AgHires Vice President Sales & Marketing
ryan@aghires.com