How to Find More Candidates

Last updated on April 12, 2024

So you post your jobs on job boards and you get some candidates. Great! But wait… There’s just not enough applicants to maintain a healthy pipeline. And none of them is the perfect fit you’re looking for. So what else could you do? 

Try new recruiting strategies. Due to the changing candidate expectations and the evolving job market demand, finding workers today requires a more targeted approach. Thus, traditional recruiting tactics like hiring with Indeed and Glassdoor alone are no longer enough to attract TOP talent.

You won’t get access to passive candidates on job boards because these individuals are not actively looking for new career opportunities. And with the sheer number of job postings, candidates may become overwhelmed, finding it hard to find relevant positions. Not to mention that the costs of promoting job board postings are getting incredibly costly.

Now let’s see which innovative recruiting tactics you should implement to find more candidates – without relying on job boards.

Increase your reach through social media recruiting

Imagine having the power to connect with an audience beyond the confines of traditional job boards. With over 300 million active users in North America, social media has emerged as the largest candidate pool in history. Leveraging the expansive reach of social media allows you to tap into a broader audience that may not actively browse jobs on traditional job boards. Social media as a recruiting tool is vast, vibrant, and readily available right at your fingertips.

Here’s how you can increase your reach leveraging social media recruiting:

1. Targeted outreach

With social media advertising, you have the power to reach directly those individuals who align perfectly with what you need. Craft personalized recruitment messages that truly resonate with your ideal candidates. Share compelling content that gives them a glimpse into our company culture, values, and the exciting opportunities you have.

2. Engaging content strategies

Social media recruiting is the most effective solution for quickly making your jobs stand out from the sea of job postings. This recruiting tool allows you to craft compelling and shareable content that your candidates won’t encounter anywhere else. Share employee success stories, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and highlight workplace initiatives. This engages your prospective candidates and creates a positive association with your company. What could elevate your employer brand more?

3. Community building

Making your brand the go-to spot online can totally change the game in attracting the best talent. Social media is like a two-way street – you get to show off your company and see what your potential candidates are all about. With likes, comments, and even live sessions on Facebook and Instagram, it’s the ultimate tool for keeping things lively. By building a sense of connection and belonging, social media makes your company not just a company, but a TOP community for potential candidates.

Promote your jobs with Facebook Ads

Beyond merely showcasing your opportunities on social media, sponsored Facebook Ads can skyrocket your reach and multiply your ROI compared to job boards. And the best part: It all happens in no time.

To put it in perspective, Facebook users spend an average of 3 hours a day immersing themselves in the platform’s vast landscape of content, opportunities and connections. So Facebook as a recruiting solution is not just about being present. It’s about being seen by the right eyes. With sponsored ads, you can strategically tailor your job listings to reach individuals with the right skills and interests, and put your opportunities in front of the perfect candidates instead of waiting for them to navigate the crowded space of job boards to your postings.

It is also important to note that Facebook Ads is the best solution for finding passive job seekers. 73% of the workforce are passive job seekers who are not registered on job boards. But the incredible amount of 285 million users show that they are on Facebook. So what could be easier? Find them where they are – on Facebook.

Here are the 3 key reasons why you shouldn’t miss out on promoting your jobs with Facebook Ads:

1. Hyper-targeted candidates

Facebook Ads offers unparalleled precision and efficiency. Unlike the broad strokes of traditional job listings, its sophisticated approach allows you to tailor your ads to specific requisites. This newfound capability not only fine-tunes the recruitment process but also ensures that your jobs reach individuals with the exact skills and interests required. This way you can boost your chances of quickly finding the perfect candidates and easily building robust pipelines.

2. Maximized job visibility

Facebook Ads for recruitment provide a level of visibility that goes way beyond organic reach or other sponsored solutions. Running targeted ads on the social media giant allows you to set a budget for your campaigns, so you have control over how much you invest, making it cost-effective to attract a diverse pool of applicants.

3. Engaging and high-converting ad formats

Facebook Ads allows you to elevate your job listings with visually appealing content, ensuring your potential candidates don’t just scroll past. Craft compelling ad copy that highlights the unique aspects of your open positions and entice potential candidates to click through and apply. If you’re thinking, ‘I’m not a marketer, I’m just tinkering with templates,’ there’s a tool you would love. Boostpoint Create.AI, a new AI Writing Assistant specifically built for Talent Acquisition teams, generates all the unique content you need to promote your jobs from job descriptions to emails to social media posts. With just a few clicks. Leveraging time-tested recruitment content creation methods, machine learning, and taking your company’s information into account, Boostpoint Create.AI tailors each piece of content to your employer brand and hiring goals. It’s time to leave tedious recruitment tasks and focus on more strategic moves, all while creating content like a marketer.

Make sure your applicants are qualified

Finding the right candidates is like assembling a winning team for your company’s success story – they bring not just the skills and expertise needed for the job, but also add their unique chapters to the workplace narrative. That’s why simply attracting candidates are not enough to fill our your positions. They have to be qualified as well.

No matter how wonderful a candidate is in specific areas, if they don’t qualify for the job, that exceptional skill set would remain an untapped potential, preventing you from making a successful hire. 

Here’s how you can attract more qualified candidate:

1. Identify your ideal candidate persona

As the architect of your recruitment strategy, begin by sculpting a detailed portrait of your ideal candidate persona. This involves more than just listing skills – delve into the nuances of their work style, values, and aspirations. By creating a comprehensive profile, you lay the foundation for a targeted approach that ensures you’re not just attracting candidates but the right ones who resonate with your company culture and goals.

2. Utilize precise targeting options

Precision is the key to unlocking the full potential of social media recruiting. Leverage the advanced targeting options available on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. By narrowing your focus you ensure that your ads are seen by individuals who align closely with your requirements. This strategic targeting approach maximizes your efficiency so you don’t have to worry about the quality of your pipelines anymore.

3. Tailor your ads to the candidates you’re looking for

Some say placing a generic ad for hiring on social is safe, so let’s go with that. The challenge with that is safe doesn’t stand out. Safe talks to everyone, so you end up attracting unqualified candidates. Then what’s the point?

In fact, your social ads play a crucial role in attracting the candidates who have what you need, so make sure you’re creative strategies are right. Use compelling headlines and captivating imagery that the best workers would resonate with. Seize their attention and never let it go. Clear and concise job descriptions that highlight not only the job responsibilities but also the unique aspects of your workplace culture will set your ads apart but you’ll also need a dash of your employer brand’s personality to make your ad memorable. This is vital to ensuring that the candidates drawn in are genuinely qualified for the positions you seek to fill.

4. Implement a quick apply solution

An astounding 60% of candidates abandon the application process midway due to its perceived length. To ensure a greater number of qualified candidates click the apply button, every second becomes crucial. Implementing a short application process reduces barriers for potential candidates. That’s why we designed our innovative Quick Apply Experience to be completed in under 1 minute on mobile. Boostpoint®’s Quick Apply feature provides you with a short application form within the social app environment. This engaging and seamless experience not only enhances candidate satisfaction but also accelerates the hiring process. Your candidates can breeze through the application, feeling like you appreciate their effort to apply. Plus, it makes things super easy on your end to qualify them right away. Win-win! 

Immediately connect with your candidates 

Crafting a prompt and authentic connection with your candidates is an innovative move in the recruitment game. As today instant communication is the norm, your approach to speed can make all the difference.

Here are a couple of creative ways to maintain an immediate and memorable connection:

1. SMS recruiting

In a world where everyone is glued to their phones, SMS recruiting emerges as a game-changer. It’s shocking that only 13% of candidates answer calls from recruiters. But with a 90% average open rate, SMS Recruiting overperforms email and calls.

Rapid and direct, text messages for hiring provide a channel for instant communication with your candidates. Implementing an automated follow-up text message immediately after their application acknowledges their interest and jumpstarts the engagement process. Moreover, text messaging feels more comfortable for candidates because they have the option to think about their response.⁠

Boostpoint®’s innovative recruitment marketing platform seamlessly combines text message automation with the power of automation, helping your Talent Acquisition team can double your applicant-to-interview ratio with ease. Our automated follow-up tool ensures instant engagement and real-time communication, even in your sleep. 

2. Social media engagement

Dive into the realm of social media beyond the recruitment campaign and engage with them directly. Respond to their comments, share industry insights, or simply acknowledge their achievements publicly. This establishes a real connection that makes the formal application process more human. Your responsiveness on social media sends a powerful message about your company’s commitment to building relationships.

3. Personalized video messages

Break away from the traditional written communication and send personalized video messages to candidates. A short, friendly video expressing gratitude for their application or providing insights into the company culture adds a human touch. This visual approach is not only more engaging but also conveys authenticity. It’s like sending a virtual handshake coupled with a warm welcome, making your candidates feel seen and appreciated.

Wrap Up

While job boards like Glassdoor and Indeed have their place, the job market has changed. And it’s time to upgrade your talent search by saying goodbye to traditional recruiting strategies that don’t generate enough candidates. Social media recruiting, especially Facebook Ads, is a game-changer for targeting the right workers, including passive job seekers, and immediately converting them into applicants. Try SMS recruiting for a higher response rate and multiplied interviews, and engage on social media. Embrace the new, and find your next candidates in a simpler, friendlier way.