Interview top performers and create personas.

Meet with top performers to help you craft a detailed persona of your ideal candidate. You’ll be able to gain insights into what qualifications are needed and what attracts the people you want to apply. 

The questions you ask during these interviews will help ensure your job description is an accurate representation of what you’re looking for. You’ll be able to pinpoint the must-have skills and find out what’s needed to do the job effectively. This will also give you a chance to explore what their goals were when they started and if they’ve changed over time.

Learn more about personas

Write straightforward, keyword-driven job descriptions.

Make your job posts identifiable by search engines with recognizable titles and clear job descriptions that are easily scannable by candidates.   

Try to avoid gimmicky titles like “rock star.” And be sure your messaging is inclusive by not using words like “sensitive” or “competitive,” which may be gender-biased. You also want to be very clear about the projects or tasks candidates will work on or should have experience with. 

Learn more about writing effective job posts

Simplify your application process.

Find out the key metrics when it comes to your applications. What’s the completion rate? The abandonment rate? Application-to-offer rate? Then take a look at how your application and interview process meets candidate expectations and make adjustments if necessary — like when applicants have to input the same information they just uploaded with a resume.  
  
Also keep in mind that even before the application process starts, it’s important that candidates can discover the information they want about your company so they can decide whether to apply or not. So track what candidates want to know, then strengthen your content to reflect what you’ve learned. 

Learn more about simplifying applications

Refine your outreach strategy with InMail.

InMail can help you improve how you reach out to candidates to get a higher response rate. You’ll get custom-messaging InMail templates tailored to different candidates, with the ability to send up to 25 InMails at once. And with your access to InMail analytics, you can track response rates and identify high-performing templates and messages. You’ll also be able to get real-time insights into performance and usage to discover opportunities that will help you grow candidate engagement. 

But before making InMail part of your outreach to candidates, there are some best practices to follow:

     •     Try to build a personal connection — avoid generic messages
     •     Use shorter subject lines
     •     Include a clear call to action so candidates know what to do next
 
Learn more about using InMail

Stay in touch throughout the process.

Candidates want to feel excited and valued from the beginning of their application and interviews to the offer. But how do you know what level of engagement is too much or not enough? Start by counting how many interactions you’ve had leading up to an interview. If job seekers feel overwhelmed — or forgotten — it can cause them to lose interest or turn down an offer. 

A negative candidate experience can also impact your overall ability to attract talent. So be sure to also keep track of the percentage of people who are recommending applying to your company. And since the interview process is time-consuming for you as well, you’ll also want to assess the number of interviews resulting in job offers and adjust your screening process accordingly.

Learn more about touch points

Be flexible with your work environment.

In the new world of work, employees and candidates want flexibility in where, when, and how they work. Employees are more likely to recommend the company they work for if they’re satisfied with their time and location flexibility. Long work days or always being expected to be on-site gives candidates second thoughts about filling out an application or even considering your company. It also affects employee reviews, which can turn negative.  
 
Giving employees and candidates options on where and how they work is now expected — whether they’re working remotely, on-site, or in a hybrid situation. This also goes for when they’re working. Whether it’s taking care of children, an aging parent, or other obligations or goals, people want a schedule that works on their time. It’s why flexibility has become a major benefit to point out in job descriptions. 

Learn more about workplace flexibility

Search for people who will add to your culture.

Define a vision for your company’s culture and share it widely with stakeholders. The next step is to find candidates that can add to what you have defined as your company’s culture. 

You can find the right candidates that will add to your culture by creating job descriptions that are more performance-based — what an employee will be doing — rather than just skills-based. Be sure to also screen for soft skills like collaboration and problem-solving to help meet your organization’s vision for their culture.   

Learn more about adding to culture

Be transparent about compensation and benefits.

A must-have detail in your job post is transparency into salary and perks. Having this information in your job descriptions can help candidates decide if the compensation and benefits being offered are a good fit for what they’re looking for. Candidates appreciate employers being up-front about this information. 

Avoid listing generic benefits like insurance and paid time off. Be sure to set your company apart by listing a “perks” section in your job description that may include flexible hours, work from anywhere, learning reimbursement, or commuter stipends. This helps differentiate your company’s job posting from similar jobs at other employers. 

Learn more about salary transparency

Make your company stand out.

If people don’t know who you are, they won’t apply. Share your company’s story where you can online, like a LinkedIn Career Page. It will help get job seekers interested. Put together a team of brand ambassadors who can share their testimonials, event photos, and write blog posts. 

You can also create a career site that not only lists open positions, but speaks to your company’s brand. This will help describe who your company is when people are reading your job listings. 

Learn more about company branding and hiring

Show you care for employees’ well-being.

A company’s success begins with prioritizing employees’ physical, emotional, and mental health. If your people feel cared for at work, they’re more likely to be happy at work and remain part of your organization. 

Employee well-being starts with an employer focused on care, trust, and compassion — not celebrating round-the-clock work. That means creating new strategies to support employee well-being, whether they’re working on-site, in a hybrid situation, or remotely. 

Learn more about employee well-being

Dedicate time to employees from day one.

A new hire’s experience on the first day lays the foundation for long-term success. Create a systematic approach to onboarding by mapping out their first 45 days and assigning them an onboarding buddy to help them build personal connections. It will help lead to improved happiness and retention rates. 

If possible, make sure new employees also get a meaningful assignment on the first day. It should be challenging yet doable for a new hire. You can schedule regular check-ins about the project or just to chat about how their onboarding is going. These check-ins help keep new hires engaged during the start by giving them a chance to give feedback about their onboarding. 

Learn more about onboarding  

Provide growth and talent development opportunities.

One of the biggest reasons employees leave their roles is lack of advancement. They want to join a company that offers growth. You can help keep your employees engaged with a skill-building platform, such as LinkedIn Learning. 

Offering opportunities to learn and grow shows how your company makes career progress a priority. This will help you retain employees and also attract job candidates who have a growth mindset.
 
Learn more about offering growth opportunities