Let’s face it: The MENA job market is facing a dire situation. The region has been producing the highest global youth unemployment rate for the past few years. Although the stagnation of the private sector and the economy’s struggle to adapt to technological advancements is sure to play a role, the employers are at fault as well. They have been clinging onto rudimentary means of hiring for a demographic that simply doesn’t respond to those tools anymore.
This has presented recruiters with a pressing conundrum that requires them to completely reevaluate and redesign their strategies. To this end, they must fashion an altogether new approach that caters to the unique sensibilities of the younger generation.
Here are some definite must-dos to become a better recruiter in the MENA region:
1. Leverage the Power of Social Media.
To reach out to your candidates, you must go where they are. The younger generation is exceptionally attuned to the digital space. Their presence on Social Media is wide and far-reaching and occupies a significant portion of their time. Even for employers, the advent and stupendous rise of social media has ushered in a plethora of opportunities to brand themselves and speak to their audience. 
Leverage the power of this space to fulfill your recruiting objectives. Reach out to candidates on job listing sites, Facebook, career portals etc. Maintain an active and consistent presence on social media, employing it as a channel for constructive interaction and effective employer branding.
Keep the material interactive and diverse, utilizing the appeal of different kinds of content such as images, videos, blogs etc. Posting about vacancies won’t gain you much traction if you haven’t thought of creative ways to communicate them. Candidates are being flooded with information on the internet left, right and center. So the object is not merely to communicate, but to communicate effectively.
Ask yourself: What can I do to make my content stand out? The great thing is that there’s no definite answer. Social Media is a play field; get adventurous and experiment with crazy, out-of-the box ideas to drive engagement while of course keeping the content consistent with your brand voice throughout. There’s no end to what you can do on this platform!
2. Switch to Recruiting Softwares.
To become a better recruiter, the key is to curate an experience that is most suited to your candidates’ interests and preferences. To this end, make technology your friend. It’s no surprise that the young workforce is most responsive to digital technology, given their proficiency and comfort with it.
Recruitment Softwares are becoming all the rage as companies have been quick to recognize their ability to more effectively cater to modern recruitment formats. A good recruitment software will be able to streamline administrative tasks by automating your recruitment functions, be customizable to your company’s specific needs, while at the same time offering you plenty of features for employer branding and ensuring a tremendous amount of ease and efficiency.
Talentera, a powerful recruitment platform, maximizes the amazing benefits to be gained from recruitment softwares. A quick glance at its features will reveal why it’s rightly seen as an all-in-one recruitment solution for HR:
· You can customize your career site
· Set up your hiring stages based on your individual recruitment model
· Design questionnaires and assessments
· Schedule interviews
· Review the hiring budget and track its monthly progress
· Monitor progress of applicants in the recruitment funnel
· Avail a list of options for candidate correspondence
· Access analytics regarding recruiting efficiency
By shifting your recruitment largely to the digital medium, you’re maximizing the comfort that candidates feel with your process while minimizing the effort required on their part. The nature of your recruitment process will speak volumes about your company and an easy, efficient, and up-to-date recruitment process will only help your case!
3. Put your Culture on Display.
Job seekers are very picky about the job they choose. Determined and ambitious with a no-compromises attitude, they want to take in all the information they can about your organization before they decide to apply. So don’t forget to go beyond the dull impersonality of objective job descriptions and company overviews.
Focus more on offering them an exhilarating peek into your organization’s culture. Perhaps post videos about your workplace or what a normal day in the office looks like, do a Q&A session with employees, or live stream company events etc. The young candidate isn’t just interested in securing a job that pays the bills, but one that fosters their emotional and mental well-being too. Craft your content and value proposition keeping this in mind!
4. Keep it Sweet and Simple.
Here’s another fact about young candidates: They’re low on patience. Used to the ease and convenience that technology has brought them, they’re not entirely comfortable with tedious processes that consume too much of their time and energy. It’s not just important to grip their attention but to sustain it as well.
So keep your recruitment journey short, but impactful and efficient. Avoid lags, eliminate unnecessary stages, and focus more on the quality of each stage and the contribution it’s making to candidate assessment. If you feel an overhaul is in order, do not be resistant to make the required changes.
5. Keep them in the Loop.
Be prompt with your communication. Young candidates value instantaneous communication. Waiting for days on
end for a response is demoralizing and compels the candidate to start searching elsewhere. In their mind, if they haven’t heard from you in a while, then you’re probably going ahead with another candidate. Whether or not you end up hiring the candidate, keep correspondence with them a constant until the recruitment process has reached completion.
6. Keep Feedback a Two-way Street.
Feedback offers the chance to learn and grow for both the parties. Whether they bag they role or not, candidates will appreciate feedback regarding their performance in an interview or an assessment. If they didn’t make the cut, feedback from your end regarding their performance can give them a chance to work on their weak points and fare better next time.
Similarly, don’t forget to take their feedback on their recruitment experience with you. Harsh or encouraging, it will always give you a good idea of what is clicking with the candidates and what needs to be reconsidered.
7. Present a Wholesome Package.
As already mentioned, young candidates are looking for more than just a hefty salary in a job. While this still might be the principal factor in job selection, employees today gravitate more toward companies that have more holistic packages in place.
This means having an impressive selection of employee benefits, such as sick leaves and health insurance, opportunities to learn and grow, and a healthy work life balance . Before you begin recruiting, make sure you’re offering a package that appeals to the priorities of the modern candidate.
It’s hard to deny that the best recruitment practices are those that keep up with ever evolving patterns and trends in the industry and the workforce. A productive recruitment strategy directly reflects on the caliber of the candidates you hire and the perception they develop of your company. Better recruitment automatically means a better workforce, and that’s all the motivation you need to revamp your recruiting strategies!
About Talentera
We strive to build a top-class online recruitment solution that will help organizations from every discipline to recruit smarter, faster and easier. A product of Bayt.com, which leads the job site market in the Middle East region, we are privileged to have served thousands of employers of every shape and size in the region and it is this 14 years of rich online recruitment experience that we have poured into Talentera.
If you’d like to speak with an expert to learn how Talentera can improve your company’s recruiting processes, please get in touch.
