Operating in the world of COVID-19 has certainly brought new challenges for many industries and organizations. Virtual recruiting for IT candidates is no exception, but at Knowledge Services we have adjusted our recruiting strategy to a virtual-first approach, proving to be both exciting and rewarding.
We spoke with our IT Recruiting Lead, Katie Scofield, for more information on how IT recruiters can best navigate the challenges in this industry and some of the ways the KS Recruiting team is making strides to remain supportive and proactive for our candidates and clients.
Create and Maintain Authentic Relationships
Just because we cannot meet in-person and network with candidates, that doesn’t mean companies cannot maintain authentic relationships. It is imperative to stay in touch with candidates to check in to see how they are doing and genuinely take a moment to connect. During this time, we’ve been doubling down on our communication with candidates to identify ways we can better serve them through a quick call or video chat. Additionally, a simple email or LinkedIn message can go a long way.
Knowledge Services continuously works to establish and maintain authentic relationships. Our Recruiting team has made it a priority to speak to our current talent resources to see how they are adjusting while working from home and how they are maintaining communication with their teams and managers. It is also valuable to see how they are on a personal level, too. Asking them how their families are doing, for instance, assures them that they are supported.
In addition, our Recruiting team has reached out to professionals on LinkedIn who have been laid off from local organizations and offered free job coaching, resume tips, interview advice, and much more. Knowledge Services wants to support the professionals in our community to navigate these unprecedented times. This helps our team form valuable connections and meaningful relationships with IT talent in the communities we serve.
Virtual Interviewing
Virtual interviewing is as an essential way to maintain relationships and screen candidates for your positions. This typically takes place via phone or a video conferencing tool such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WebEx, etc. With the right tools, virtual interviewing is easy to set up and coordinate and is a great alternative for on-site interviews that allows everyone to maintain social distancing, but still has the personal touch of seeing someone face-to-face.
Knowledge Services’ IT Recruiting Team conducts virtual interviews through Microsoft Teams daily. During the first few steps of the interview process, we try to get to know the candidates a little more by gaining a better understanding of their professional background and future goals.
Knowledge Services is also grateful to have participated in our first of many virtual career fairs hosted by Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. During the career fair, KS had a virtual company booth and used our video conferencing system to host virtual conversations with students and alumni interested in IT roles.
Advertising and Social Media
Advertising your company brand online and staying active on social media are important recruiting goals. However they’re especially pertinent in business during this time, especially when recruiters’ day-to-day tasks have been altered to online, rather than in-person.
For example, when sharing an open job posting online, the recruiting team wants to make sure job descriptions are clean, accurate, and concise. With so many of us on mobile devices, it is important to make the job postings and descriptions easy to read with clean and consistent formatting on all screen sizes. According to an iCIMS article on the modern job seeker, 66 percent of working Americans, including 82 percent of millennials, expect every company to have a mobile-friendly career site and job application process.
From an organization standpoint, the recruiting and marketing teams can work together to help grow your social media following for your company. Companies are encouraged to post helpful articles and infographics on social media, as well as share perspectives from other supportive businesses. This can be a great way to build brand recognition and interact with potential candidates virtually.
The Knowledge Services IT Recruiting team continues to share their openings on large job boards such as Indeed, Zip Recruiter, and LinkedIn. With the help of the marketing team, we share relevant content and helpful recruiting resources on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Employee Referrals
Referrals are a great way to learn about the best candidates from people you know and trust. I would suggest always reaching out to your network of current employees and people you know in the IT arena to ask for referrals. Especially in times of high unemployment, most people know a few talented candidates in the market for their next position who they would be happy to recommend.
Knowledge Services’ recruiters utilize our network to ask for referrals and we offer an employee referral bonus to motivate our current team to share names of people who could be a fit for current openings.
While recruiting can be challenging at times, it is also worthwhile and rewarding when done right. Knowing your team was able to provide your employer or client with the best possible candidates can be an incredible win. Here at Knowledge Services, our recruiting team hopes a few of these tips will help your team become even more successful.
Happy recruiting!
