How can you balance ATS-driven recruiting with passive candidate sourcing?

Use ATS data to identify patterns, measure recruitment KPIs, and refine strategies. Simultaneously, incorporate passive candidate sourcing to tap into a broader talent pool. Passive candidates, not actively seeking jobs, can bring unique skills and perspectives. Utilize social media platforms, professional networks, and industry events to identify and engage with passive candidates.

The balance between managing recruitment marketing, EVP, candidate management, deep insights, Trends & analytics to support recruiters and the wider business can be extremely challenging. Balancing sourcing brings integrations, more tools/vendors, and ultimately more costs/resource to utilise. The simplest solution is finding an ATS that comes pre-integrated, globally, with the talent you need to engage. Rival is the only ATS to deliver that. Enabling recruiters to deliver more of the best fit talent, quickly. More (separate) tools, often don't create the impact & outcomes needed .

THIS ONE IS MY FAVOURITE!! - Optimise ATS, Ditch jargon, refine searches, and integrate with sourcing tools. - Focus on critical roles, understand your ideal candidates' online haunts, and reach out directly with personalized messages. - Turn applicants into advocates, leverage employee referrals, and build a talent community. - Track the effectiveness of both methods and analyze candidate journeys. Remember, it's an ongoing rhythm. By optimizing your strategies, embracing experimentation, and fostering connections, you'll attract the perfect partners.

One Recruiters often forget is to check your own homework on a mobile 📱 How does the advert look, how many scrolls is the advert. The majority of job seekers now search and apply via a mobile phone so it’s key you optimise for mobile, but also let your hiring managers aware that candidate behaviours have changed too.

Make sure you know the difference between job adverts and job descriptions here. The ad needs to be shorter, contain relevant info about the day to day role and essential skills, but shouldn't be chapter and verse. Go with the mindset of 'If it's more than 2 scrolls on a mobile, it's too long.' The key difference in the advert is also 'what's in it for the candidate?' Make it stand out, what will they get in return for their hard work. Afterall, it's not all one way.

Your employer brand and online presence is best method to attract passive talent to notice an opportunity in your organisation. Enhance your online presence with sharing your significant milestones, expansions and growth taking place, industry potential, learning opportunities, sharing success stories by other employees, showcasing role models of success within organisation. These steps need to be taken on consistent basis to increase your visibility for passive talent and create an employer brand. Participation in best employers surveys and great place to work certification and showcasing strengths of your organisation on social media helps gaining attention and interest of passive talent in your organisation.

The secret to developing organic candidate pool lies in how well your employer brand is perceived online. If professionals relate and engage to your content, vision and journey, you already have the attention of top talent! Not only does it bring familiarity and recognition but also acts as a magnetic force to bring in new talent!

Effective outreach begins with an engaging subject line. Your first objective? Get them to open the email. Your second? Get a response. That’s your focus. Avoid jumping too far ahead with goals like 'Get them to apply' or 'Schedule a call' too soon. A common mistake in recruiting outreach is trying to skip essential steps. Keep it straightforward. Include a touch of personalization in your subject line, whether it's their name, job title, or company. The message itself should be more about the recipient than you or your company. And when it comes to the call to action, make it clear and to the point.

Keep it short, keep it personal, and keep it honest. If you have a novel's worth of text, you can probably anticipate an instant close out of your message. Personalization is also key so it doesn't seem like your outreach is just another in a mass message. My personal favorite, honesty...stop withholding information. Be upfront and share the things people care about (cough compensation cough cough).

To strike the right balance between ATS-driven recruiting and passive candidate sourcing, it's good to track the outcomes of your passive sourcing efforts. This means analyzing every stage of the funnel. — Response Rates: Are people actually replying to your messages? This tells you if your reach-outs are hitting the mark. — Conversion Rates: Measure how many of these interactions are turning into interviews. — Quality of Hire: Assess the long-term impact. Are these hires meeting performance expectations? How well are they fitting into the team? Tracking these things helps you see how passive sourcing fits with your ATS efforts, helping to refine your overall recruitment strategy.

Leverage ATS data to understand your candidate pool's demographics and preferences. This insight allows for tailored messaging, crucial in engaging passive candidates. Each role demands a unique communication strategy, reflecting the role's specific culture and requirements. Regularly review your recruitment metrics to identify what's working and what's not. Celebrate your successes, but more importantly, learn from your failures. Use these insights to refine your approach continuously. Remember, in recruiting, one size doesn't fit all.

Applicant Tracking System, or ATS, is a great way to keep organized - but as search strategies change so will your approach. When passively sourcing candidates, I’d recommend dropping the job board and reaching out 1:1. Be honest with candidates about the company, role, and timeline to build your pipeline in a way that enables strong long term connections.

When I chat with other recruiters, it's what I often hear: "I don't have enough time to look for suitable people" or "I have to view too many CVs from the system". Posting jobs on job boards? It's fine. But striking the right balance between outbound and inbound is super important. Because at the end of the day, the number of applicants doesn’t mean much if they don’t meet your expectations. As always... Quality > Quantity.