The outbreak of Coronavirus has shaken society down to its very foundations. As schools, restaurants, pubs and more shut down, the remainder of the public except for essential workers are having to work remotely to keep everything business as usual.
There’s still candidates to discover, interviews to schedule and job vacancies to fill for many recruiters. In addition, there’s still targets to hit, that are essential in paving the path for your company’s future and your status for the aftermath of this pandemic.
In this unprecedented era of uncertainty and social distancing, how can recruiters be confident in continuing their roles efficiently while making sure their health and the health of candidates are not compromised?
In these strange days most industries must rely on technology and communication in order to maintain productivity. Here’s five tips for recruiters to adapt.
1) Cancel in-person interviews and events
Firstly, all face-to-face interviews must be cancelled and recruitment events postponed for the foreseeable future. Correspond with all your clients and candidates, explaining the reasons for this. Furthermore, offer alternative options that can support the recruitment process, such as virtual, online recruitment fairs and video interviews.
2) Exhibit and recruit at virtual careers events
COVID-19 has caused the Irish government to put restrictions on all large and small public gatherings until after Easter Sunday. And these restrictions will most likely continue into the summer. This encourages recruiters to get creative. Some recruiters may organise their own virtual events or book into pre-existing virtual fairs and recruit from there. Inform all your candidates that you understand and are sensitive to their concerns. Additionally, orchestrate plans for virtual career fairs and schedule regular conference calls to keep everyone in the loop and stress that it is still business as usual. Jumping on board the virtual game early will benefit your process in the long run as you’ll get used to the tools. Furthermore, these online events break transcend borders and connect you with candidates that you wouldn’t have found before.
3) Interview candidates on video calls
Many companies already utilise phone-call and video call interviews. Especially if there’s more than one interview during the recruitment process. Video call interviews can help boost your productivity. Rather then meeting candidates at venues or waiting for them to come to the office you can run the interviews from the comfort of your own living room. This relieves you from the stress and delays of transport and certain factors that could cause delays for you and the candidate.Video calls also suit the process better than a simple phone call, as you can see the candidates. This ins’t for superficial purposes, but it means you can see the confidence and mannerisms they possess or lack.
4) Highlight your new safety precautions
You must be clear and not cause any doubt about your services among clients and candidates. The more cryptic your website looks, the less the candidate will trust you and contact you to avail of your services. Therefore, it’s intrinsic that you update your website and current activities on a daily basis so there is no room for confusion. This can be done through your social media channels, newsletters videos and website. As a result, this will show your commitment and chin-up approach in these hard times.
5) It’s all about communication, communication, communication.
Remember, we’re all in this together. Imagine what it’s like walking in the candidates shoes. Attempting to secure a new job is already overwhelming and stressful enough, without a global pandemic. You must be supportive and positive when communicating with your candidates. Encourage them to keep their head up and persevere. Furthermore, continue to keep all your candidates engaged and updated. This will reassure them that you’ve got their back during this time of isolation. Furthermore, this will help reduce their stress and keep them focused on the task at hand. As a result, their confidence will soar in their interview. Recommend or even invite candidates to virtual career fairs, run them through the event process and format and include tips that will help candidates prepare for it.
Although, we are currently living through uncertain times, the recruitment sector, can not just survive, but even thrive with new technology and the foundations of the recruitment buisness.