6 Recruiting Methods You Should Retire and Why

Recruiting is an HR area that keeps on developing and improving with every passing year. We can see that with technological advances, such as the integration of gamification in recruiting, the use of ATS to automate the process and the help of background check services to simplify the final stages of hiring.

Other aspects of recruiting methods and strategies have evolved to accommodate Gen Z, to provide a better candidate experience that will reflect well on the company’s brand and to attract a more diversified workforce. In general, there are more innovative recruitment ideas every day and we are making great strides with HR recruitment techniques. However, some recruiting methods seem to be stuck in the Stone Age but are still being used for some reason. These HR recruitment techniques do nothing to ease the process and move it along. In fact, they only hurt companies and should be put out to pasture.

Recruiting Methods You Should Retire

1. Vague or Over-Excited Job Descriptions

Candidates nowadays are savvier than ever. They know exactly what they’re looking for and have short attention spans for reading job ads. If they can’t make out what role you’re looking to fill, they’ll just move on to the next one. Alternatively, if you use too many fancy adjectives, like “guru”, “superstar” and “superhero”, they are also put off.

This may not be one of the most innovative recruitment ideas, but writing a job description that is short, concise and to the point, is one that will attract the best candidates. So retire the generic descriptions and those that you haven’t rewritten since 2000. The candidates want to know that you care about the role.

2. Posting Vacancies in Print

In the years before the Internet really took over the world, companies would post about vacancies in newspapers, magazines, and journals, as those received the most exposure. Today, with the prevalence of social media, there is no reason to do that. Not only is print advertising more expensive than advertising online (which can be free in many cases), but most of your candidates don’t even read newspapers. Millennials and especially Gen Zers spend most of their days on their phones and will look for work on job boards, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

3. Hiding The Company Name

You may have heard conversations about how to use positive employer branding to attract top talent to your company. This is one of the most popular HR recruitment techniques since people enjoy working for a company that has similar values to theirs; one in which they’ll enjoy the work culture and they could also brag about to their friends.

You lose all of these benefits when you choose to hide your company name when recruiting. Even if the job description sounds amazing, candidates may choose not to apply, because they don’t want to waste their time on a company they don’t know. Moreover, if the role is not that amazing, people may still want to apply if they know the company, and you’re losing those people.

4. Insisting on Paper Applications

You will hear this again and again — the current workforce is looking for the quickest and easiest way to apply for jobs. The more obstacles you put in their way, the more qualified candidates you’ll lose. Asking for candidates to fill out their details on paper is not only redundant (since you’ll probably need to digitize it later anyway), but it reflects poorly on your company. 

The younger generation expects everything to be done electronically. If you ask them to fill out a paper form, you’re telling them that their role will also be filled with old fashioned procedures and anachronisms, which will make them think twice about applying.

5. Relying on Face-to-Face Interview Alone

An in-person interview is an important stage of the hiring process. It gives both the candidate and the employer a chance to get to know each other, ask questions and gauge if they actually want to start a long-term relationship with each other. However, there are multiple ways to conduct an interview, and a role may require several interviews, not all of which need to be conducted face-to-face.

There are a number of video interviewing tools that you can use, which may ease the process for candidates who don’t live in the same city as the role. Other, more innovative recruitment methods include prerecorded questions, chatbots, and AI technology that doesn’t even require the presence of the recruiter.

6. Undervaluing Your Candidates

Gone are the days when you could lowball a candidate and get away with it. Potential employees today know exactly what they are worth. They have countless sources online to look for the salary they deserve, they arrive ready and will not take a low offer, as they are probably interviewing with other companies as well.

But this is not just about not being able to “fool” the candidate. If you want your employees to respect your company and also stay in the role for longer, you should pay them what they deserve. This also includes offering them a fair benefits package.