We Asked Professional Job Recruiters: How Do Small Businesses Fill Job Vacancies during this ‘War on Talent’?

The Edge for April 2023

Small businesses trying to fill job openings these days have discovered that there is a “war on talent.” So the N.J. Chamber brought together five New Jersey job recruiters – three from job placement agencies and two who recruit for a hospital – to participate in a virtual event on how to attract talent. Read some of what they said below.

Don’t Scare Candidates Away. Make the Application Process as Simple as Possible

Keep it simple for the individual to apply for the position. There can be beautiful branding and language when positions are posted, but if the application process is long, convoluted and difficult, you may lose the candidate. In today’s times, in this war on talent, we have to keep everything simple and easy for the candidate.

– Pia Walker, Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources & Diversity Officer, St. Joseph's Health

Think About the Skills Your Company Needs Now, and Moving Forward

I see a lot of small organizations without job descriptions. When I talk to a client and I say, ‘What would you like a new hire to do?’ They say, ‘What Joe did.’ But needs are changing. The question is: ‘What job duties need to be performed by the new hire?’ We need to think about what the hiring company needs now, not what the job duties have always been. When I recruit, I recruit not for title, I recruit for content, so we get a new person to be exactly what the changing company is going to need and not what the needs have always been.

– Rachel Anevski, Founder and CEO, Matters of Management, LLC

Make Sure Your Company is Aligned on Salary and Interviewing

Recently I had a client whose CFO told me the position would pay $80,000. Later, the VP of hiring said they would go up to $120,000. Obviously, there is disparity in the caliber of candidates we’d be able to identify between those salaries. Also, if you are bringing people into your organization to interview, make sure you have the interview panel set up so if there is a candidate you like, you don’t need him to come back the following week to meet another person and the week after that to meet another person. Speed up the process so it is better for people applying, and easier for hiring managers.

– Nick Malefyt, President, Master Search Solutions

Cast a Wide Net, and Don’t Disregard Old-School Tactics

When you are posting a job opening, cast a wide net and think about where you are going to find the person that would best fill the role? A college job board. A veterans job board. A diversity job board. There are career fairs. LinkedIn is helpful. There are so many different avenues. Look at your internal referral process. You may already have internal candidates as positions open. Those people already know your organization’s culture and they would have a leg up on outside candidates. Don’t disregard old-school tactics like supermarket bulletin boards and bus stops. Maybe advertise on radio. Look at the position and then determine the best avenue to find your candidate.

– Chris Schubert, manager of talent & retention, J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc.

Sell the Organization During the Interview Process

Work with the individuals to ensure they have a great onboarding experience – a great candidate experience. This is a journey for them and we want to ensure we are doing everything we can to make sure they are retained at the organization, even during the interview process. When you are interviewing them, you get that opportunity to sell the organization. Tell them about the organization so that they understand where they are going and why they should be there.

– Charlotte Williams, director talent acquisition, St. Joseph’s Health