How to Build a Recruiting Strategy — Step-by-Step Manual for Companies (updated)

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No company can be successful without a well-thought recruiting strategy. All in all, people are the core of any business, and if you hire the best of the best, you will overcome competitors sooner than others.
The ITExpert team is here to share the key steps of building a strong strategy for hiring staff. These tips will be especially helpful for heads of HR and Recruiting departments, so make sure to read this piece to the end. 😉

How to Define a Search Strategy for Your Vacancy

Let’s imagine you already need to hire an IT specialist. You would like to find a candidate whose salary expectations will be not so high and whose expertise will extend the limits. Don’t say you disagree, as everyone wants that! 🙂

Do you have a specific algorithm for processing this vacancy to find a future employee? If yes, great, then just match yours with ours. If not, get a pen and a notebook and write down the main stages of creating such a strategy:

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1. Internal Analysis

Start With the Deadlines and Timeframes

• When do you need to close the vacancy? Is it urgent? What is the deadline?
• When are you going to process your first candidates? 
• How much time will it take to process one candidate from the beginning till the end?
• Do you have other urgent vacancies to close simultaneously? How many of them are there? 

Answering these questions is essential for understanding whether you are setting realistic goals.

Next, Approve the Budget

• Do you have a salary range for the position?
• Are you ready to extend it, if a candidate exceeds expectations?
• Also, are you willing to hire a less experienced candidate for a lower salary?
• Are you ready to pay a recruiting agency to speed up the search process and strengthen the effort of your in-house team?

Keep in mind that some of the payments are one-time, and you get specialists asap, which is beneficial in the long run.

Draw the Portrait of your Ideal Candidate

• Who is this person and what background and experience do they need to have?
• Where do they live (by the way, you can consider people from Eastern Europe or India to reduce costs)? However, keep in mind different time zones.
• Which soft and hard skills must they have?
• For which companies should they have worked?

The more details you know about who you need, the more clear the search process will be. You will be able to match everyone with the list and save time on interviews and other vacancies.

Specify the Details of Your Position

• What is its grade (Junior, Middle, Senior, etc.)?
• How many years of experience is perfect for this position and the grade?
• How many years of work with the key technologies is a must-have?

Lastly, Define Those Key Technologies

• Which technologies are so crucial that without them you won’t consider a candidate for the position?
• What level is necessary for getting to the next steps (interview, test task)?

The last two points will allow you to sift candidates through a selection sieve as quickly as possible. Spend time only negotiating with those who are 90% likely to fit the vacancy!

2. External analysis

To discover how adequate your offer is, and in order not to look strange in the eyes of potential employees, we recommend that you do the following:

Analyze Median Salaries in the Market

• What is the salary range for similar positions on the market?
• Does your budget fit the market median?
• See what financial bonuses and perks others offer and think of what you can propose.

Check the Market Size

• How many relevant specialists are now available? Sure, you can’t know precise numbers, so let them be approximate.
• If there is a lack of professionals in the required field, how could you extend the search?
• Are there some optional compromises in the requirements?

Consider Other Criteria

Define key points with which you will be able to attract or even hunt candidates:

• Unique and actual technology.
• Your HR brand image.
• Fully remote work and flexible schedule.
• Or anything else. 🙂

3. Getting Started on the Vacancy

Here is a brief to-do list:

1. Start with a couple of facts that can draw candidates’ attention to your vacancy
2. Create an appealing description of the vacancy. Include key requirements, responsibilities and working conditions.
3. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of your company or vacancy.
4. Choose platforms for posting your vacancy. If you don’t know what to use, test several platforms to find out where relevant specialists look for jobs. For example, on LinkedIn, you can find the whole spectre of IT experts, no matter where your future team member lives.

By the way, here you can find more hints on where you can look for future employees.

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4. Corrections and Adjustments

Time flows, and you haven’t sent someone an offer yet? Try these tips to get more results:

1. Expand your search. If you haven’t come across your ideal candidate, expand your requirements. Mention related technologies and use synonyms so that as many potential suitable candidates as possible can find your vacancy.
2. Analyze people’s feedback. What are the main reasons for rejections? What are the salary expectations of those with whom you have already talked? Maybe you need to adjust your budgets or offer some extra perks!
3. See what platforms perform better. Where do you get the most relevant response? Put more effort into them, while saving time on abandoning ineffective ones.

What Else Can You Do to Improve Results?

In any case, if you need to find many high-quality candidates in the shortest time, you can always cooperate with recruiting agencies. We have a well-tested strategy that works and we provide guarantees for our services.

Drop us a line to discover more details on how we can help you close your most urgent vacancies!