Data insights

7 Data Points That Will Make Attracting and Closing Candidates Easier

If you could read a candidate’s mind, you’d probably be a damn good recruiter. You’d know what they want to hear, what they think about the job, and exactly what it’ll take for them to accept your offer. You’d always say the right thing.

These seven stats might not be as sexy as a superpower, but they will let you in on what candidates are thinking—where they’re looking, what they’re looking for, and why they ultimately say yes. That means you can catch their attention, highlight what they want, and close the deal with superhuman speed.

Here are seven stats to help you understand and hire the best talent.  

1. Where candidates look to get info before applying: your website (53%), LinkedIn (38%), and search engines (35%)

If you know where candidates are looking, you can put your best foot forward and make a great first impression.

Since most talent checks out your company’s site, it’s a good idea to make sure everything there is in tip-top shape. Beyond being accurate, appealing, and up-to-date, your careers page should make it easy for them to apply and prepare.

Same goes for your LinkedIn Company Page—check out some of the best Company Pages for inspiration. Search engines are also important, so make sure your posts and pages are search engine optimized.

This mind-reading stat (and a few others below) come from LinkedIn’s Inside the Mind of Today's Candidate report, which is chock-full of other insights.

2. Employee referrals is the #1 channel for quality hires

If you know where to get good talent, you can direct more resources there. Employee referrals are the #1 channel for quality hires, according to last year’s 2017 Global Recruiting Trends report (psst… this year’s report just came out—get it here.)

Referrals is a solid tactic you’ve known about forever, but you might not have known they were this effective. See how the top referral programs work if you want to steal some great ideas.

Note that we’re talking about quality hires here, not just any hires. Predicting quality of hire can be hard without a crystal ball, but these factors can help you see the future a little more clearly.  

3. 89% of candidates want to hear about job details in your first message to them

There are plenty of tactics to get better responses on your InMails, but knowing what they want to hear is sure to help.

While you may not think it wise to give them everything they want (for the same reason toddlers don’t get a candy-only diet), you should probably consider it when 89% of candidates want the same thing. Your first outreach should offer more than, “hey, let’s talk!”—you should give some real deets on the job itself.

4. 56% of candidates say they’re more likely to respond to a hiring manager

If you used the insight above and you’re still not getting any response from a coveted candidate, have the hiring manager tag in to send an InMail instead. Candidates are 56% more likely to respond to the person they’d be working with.

5. 70% of candidates say learning about the job’s responsibilities was the most useful thing they heard from interviewers

Once you’ve gotten them this far down the funnel, it’s often just as much about you impressing them as it is them impressing you. Offer a better candidate experience by detailing the responsibilities of the job in your interviews—an overwhelming majority (70%) of candidates find it most useful.

6. Most common reasons millennials left their jobs: lack of career advancement opportunities, followed by dissatisfaction with compensation and benefits  

After interviews, once you’re ready to make an offer, you really have to convince passive candidates of two things: not just why they should join your company, but also why they should leave their current job.

If you’re recruiting millennial talent—candidates under 35 or so—you should know that the biggest reason millennials leave their jobs is a lack of advancement opportunities. Sell the job as a career move and emphasize potential career paths, along with any professional development benefits you offer.

7. Reasons why employees accepted offers: compensation / benefits, advancement, and challenging work

Of course, candidates deciding to take your opportunity in particular is slightly more important than them deciding to part ways with their old company.

In terms of what gets talent to accept your offer, it’s basically a three-way tie: compensation, advancement, and challenging work all hold roughly equal sway in candidates’ decisions.

Be sure to hammer all three of these points (assuming they apply) when you’re making your closing argument.

Now that you’re in candidates’ heads and you’ve gotten a taste of the power of stats, you’re probably hungry for more. Lucky for you, LinkedIn’s just released the latest Global Recruiting Trends report. Dive into it for powerful insights—and watch this space for even more stats that can give you a recruiting edge.  

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