8 strategies to attract high quality candidates

UK employers face significant hiring challenges, with many grappling with skills gaps in a continually evolving labour market. However, with 41% of workers planning to look for a new role, there are opportunities to secure top talent.

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In this article, we’ll be walking you through tried and tested strategies for attracting the candidates your organisation needs.

Importance of attracting high quality applicants

While it might seem obvious that employers always want to appeal to high quality candidates when looking to fill open roles, it’s worth bearing in mind the specific benefits that come with hiring top talent.

These include, but are not limited to:

• Plugging skills gaps: By attracting and onboarding top candidates, employers can efficiently address existing skills gaps, thereby ensuring that their teams are well-equipped to face any challenges they may face moving forward.
• Driving innovation: The best candidates aren’t just those who show up and get the job done on a daily basis. They’re also creative thinkers who can solve novel problems and thereby boost productivity and innovation.
• Gaining a competitive advantage: By hiring the best talent the market has to offer, organisations can stay ahead of the curve and leverage cutting-edge skills, knowledge and expertise to obtain an advantage over their competitors. 

8 strategies to attract high quality candidates

Given the impact top employees can have on an organisation, it’s no surprise that employers are constantly looking for ways to appeal to the highest calibre of talent. But how can you stand out from the crowd?

Let’s look at the specific strategies you can implement within your hiring processes to attract the best applicants from your talent pools.

1. Build a strong employer brand

Reputation is absolutely crucial to attracting potential employees.

Here are just some of the ways you can start building a stronger employer brand:

1. Leverage social media: Never discount the power of social media to influence perceptions. There are almost endless opportunities to use the internet to share your organisation’s values, culture and employee experiences in a way that makes it an appealing place to work.
2. Take part in industry events: By becoming a visible presence at industry events, you can also become top of mind for applicants searching for a new role. These can be in-person conferences, employment fairs or even online events where existing employees can contribute their expertise and knowledge.
3. Use your website: Most candidates will at least glance over your website during the application process. This gives you an opportunity to showcase any achievements, awards and anything else relevant that may appeal to jobseekers.
4. Promote transparency: Totaljobs research shows that 80% of candidates avoid roles that don’t specify salary information. As a result, employers that are able to provide some salary details, even just a range, in their job adverts can gain jobseeker trust and thereby boost job applications. 

2. Publish engaging job descriptions

Badly written adverts and job descriptions can be seriously off-putting for candidates who might otherwise be well suited to a role. 

Remember, you’re asking jobseekers to put time and effort into an application process that might ultimately not go anywhere for them. 

If a job advert is clearly low-effort and/or unclear, applicants will either respond in kind with low-effort applications or just avoid applying for the role completely. 

So, when putting together a job description, always try to: 

• Outline key responsibilities and requirements alongside the job title.
• Highlight the opportunities for training, development and professional growth in your organisation.
• Use inclusive language to ensure that you’re appealing to a diverse range of prospective candidates.
• Avoid vague language so you’re only speaking to candidates with the skills and experience you need.

Further reading

How to write an effective job description

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3. Provide competitive benefits and compensation

In addition to transparency around compensation, competitive offerings around salary and benefits are critical to attracting applications from qualified candidates. 

Whatever else you have to offer, remember that salary is also a priority for workers seeking a new role. Our research shows that 51% of jobseekers are motivated by a higher salary, demonstrating the importance of compensation to candidate attraction.

To ensure that your salary and benefits are truly competitive, consider: 

• Benchmarking what you want to offer against industry standards, taking into account your organisation’s location, reputation and budget.
• Find ways to differentiate your offering from competitors, like coming up with attractive bonus schemes or offering in-demand benefits like flexible working.
• Consider positioning your organisation as a place that takes family-friendly policies seriously. Two-thirds of workers told Totaljobs they view employers who offer family-friendly benefits more favourably. 

4. Encourage employee referrals

One of the best and most cost-effective ways to identify and secure candidates who are qualified and aligned with your organisational culture is leverage employee referrals.

Current team members being prepared to recommend your workplace to people in their network is a vote of confidence that shouldn’t be overlooked.

To encourage your current employees to refer to high-quality candidates, you may need to implement an employee referral scheme.

This can incentivise employees to make referrals by rewarding them for successful hires.

5. Build strategic talent pipelines

Attracting quality candidates to open roles is understandably a priority for most hiring managers.

However, you can also set your organisation up for success in the long term with the establishment of strategic talent pipelines.

In order to assemble a successful pipeline of talent candidates, employers can:

• Partner with educational institutions, such as universities and colleges, where top candidates graduate from.
• Work closely with industry organisations and associations where new talent might come through.
• Create internship programmes so potential future hires can get a real feel for life at the organisation.
• Participate in career fairs and networking events, where your employees can engage and connect with a wider pool of talent. 

6. Invest in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is growing in importance for job seekers, with a Deloitte survey showing that 80% see inclusion as an important factor when choosing an employer. 

This means that, with a genuine culture and respect for DEI, you can attract a broader range of quality candidates, while ensuring current employees feel welcome and valued. This requires developing a strong DEI strategy within your organisation that demonstrates a commitment to workforce diversity and inclusion. 

You can then showcase your diverse teams and inclusive initiatives through: 

• Your online channels
• Employee word-of-mouth
• In-person events like conferences and job fairs 

7. Create a positive candidate experience

Focusing on creating a positive candidate experience is an undervalued strategy when it comes to candidate attraction. 

This candidate experience can have a significant impact on your organisation’s reputation, with experiences, whether positive or negative, often being reported online or shared by word of mouth. 

The best candidates are going to expect professionalism, good communication and transparency from the moment they submit an application through to the interview process. 

To create a positive candidate experience, employers can: 

• Streamline the application process, reduce the number of rounds where possible and ensure candidates are tested on different aspects of their capabilities and experience at each stage of the application.
• Communicate promptly and clearly at each stage of the process.
• Make sure the experience is welcoming and positive. This might include steps to ensure that interviews are conducted in a friendly and professional manner.
• Provide feedback on the application process, even for candidates who are ultimately unsuccessful. 

8. Make training and development part of the offer

Training and development opportunities are high up on candidates’ list of priorities when looking for a new job.

Our research found that career progression and development is a dealbreaker for many candidates. Over half (53%) said they wouldn’t apply for a role that doesn’t offer it as a benefit.

There are various types of training employers can offer candidates in order to stand out in a competitive hiring landscape, including: 

• Onboarding training: Implementing comprehensive onboarding training helps to bring new hires up to speed quickly and emphasises the importance of their professional development from day one.
• Technical training: Offering training in emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, can plug skills gaps and demonstrate a commitment to employee growth and future aspirations.
• Leadership training: Providing opportunities for leadership development can attract high-performing, ambitious employees interested in taking on management responsibilities in the future.

Turning candidate attraction into a long-term advantage

Attracting high-quality candidates requires building a reputation that draws the right talent consistently. By investing in employer branding, being transparent around pay and focusing on inclusive practices and meaningful development opportunities, organisations can stand out in a competitive hiring market. As skills gaps persist and expectations evolve, employers that take a strategic, candidate-centric approach will be best positioned to secure and retain the talent they need to grow.