Terrific candidates are always searching for you.
But you may not always have an open job that’s right for them.
When that situation occurs, do you have the right tools to reach them?
You probably already rely on several platforms as a recruiter—from job postings and a custom career site, to Facebook groups and LinkedIn threads. But you could be missing the most important one...
A talent community.
A talent community is a medium enabling you to connect with candidates who don’t see an available opportunity with your company that aligns with their interests. Put simply, it's a hub where candidates can submit their information to your company without committing to a specific position.
Recruiters love talent communities, and for several reasons worth noting. The first and most apparent reason is because they help you find candidates who are truly interested in working for your company (rather than just a specific available position).
Once you have a surplus of job seekers in your talent community, you can review them and build a pipeline of individuals who already understand your employer brand and who are eager to work for your organization.
A talent community also naturally helps you capture and hire more qualified candidates who are ideal fits for your organization. Because a talent community allows candidates to simply submit their resumes, you will no longer lose top talent just because you don't have a relevant position currently available for them.
Plus, if top talent doesn't have time to complete your application process for a specific job, they can quickly and easily apply to your talent community instead.
And because your talent community members aren't applying to specific positions, it gives you the opportunity to place them in the most appropriate and necessary roles.
For example, if your store has multiple locations but a candidate isn't sure which location to apply for, they can submit their resume to the talent community and let you decide where to place them. In return, you can position the candidate to work at the store that needs the candidate's specific skills most.
Even if you don't have a position for your talent community members quite yet, you can use your talent community to proactively recruit for positions that you will need to fill in the near future.
Ultimately, a talent community is a smart and easy way to attract more applicants and prepare your company for future recruitment success.
The way in which you use your talent community will differ depending on your recruiting goals. But for most, it's a great tool for sourcing.
First, provide easy access to your talent community by showcasing it wherever you list your jobs, such as on your career site or on your job postings. Create clear messaging around the talent community signup form and explain how candidates should use it. For example, your messaging might say, "Don't see any positions that sound right for you? We still want to hear from you! Join our talent community."
Then, when you have a new position on the horizon, make it a habit to check your talent community for potential prospects. If possible, use notifications so that you can be alerted when a new candidate enters or when an applicant matches a role that’s in high need. You may find that you already have all the right candidates living in your talent community.
Another best practice is to build relationships with the talent community members who align with your culture. Reach out to them on a regular basis with company updates, new job opportunities and upcoming events. Doing so will boost their interest in your organization and will keep your company top of mind.
The best way to implement a talent community is to rely on a tool that was built for the candidate experience and also provides a back-end for recruiters.
Our Recruiting.com Talent Community tool works just like a job application. Candidates fill out a simple form that asks for their name, email and resume. Once they “Join,” they are added to your Talent Community within the Recruiting.com Candidate Relationship Management system (CRM). Your team can log into this system to view your Talent Community candidates and track your interactions with them. You can Search and Group candidates by job type, skills or background.
You can also implement your own talent community by collecting resumes that fall into your “grey” area (applicants who you can't hire right now, but still stand out as a great fit). Keep these resumes in a designated place so that you can quickly access them to stay in touch.
At the end of day, you need to cover all your bases when it comes to capturing candidates. And that’s where the talent community tool comes into play. It enables interested prospects to easily offer their information, even when they don’t see an opportunity that’s right for them.
In return, you are able to strengthen your talent pipeline with interested candidates, and can start building strategic relationships that will lead to a more productive workforce.
