3 Ways to Improve Engagement With Prospects When Recruiting

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Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Addison Burke. Her opinions are her own.

269 billion emails are sent daily. 

So while email is great for reaching prospects during the recruiting process, it shouldn’t be your only option.

If it is, you are likely getting ignored. 

People get too many on a daily basis.

Instead, you should be engaging them on multiple platforms via a multitude of marketing tools. 

Here are the three best ways to do that and improve your recruitment engagement. 

1. Start being more selective

There are a ton of people out there looking for jobs. 

But not all of them are the right candidates for you to recruit.

And just like a big email list, the more you have, the lower the percentage that will respond.

Why?

They aren’t the right fit.

If you are mass-blasting emails to a huge list, chances are, the majority won’t show any interest in the jobs you can connect them with. 

Instead start filtering your options. If you use a tool like LinkedIn Recruiter, you can sort your list by key factors like location, specific skills, and more: 

It’s tempting to think that reaching out to more people is better. That you can generate a good employee for the brand faster.

But this often leads to tons of ignored emails and wasted time.

Instead, narrow down your pool of potential candidates. Spend more time finding the right fit, not just any fit. Not only will this produce a better return for you, but it will instill trust in both the brands you work with and future employees. 

2. Use social proof to your advantage

Social proof is pretty self-explanatory: 

It’s using reviews and testimonials as a form of evidence that what you are doing is helping others, and can help future people in your space.

Social proof is incredibly powerful, too. The latest data shows that people trust these social proof reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends. 

So, how can you start to leverage it? 

First, start utilizing social proof on your landing pages or website in general. Social proof on your website can be in multiple formats, from video like Housecall pro does: 

Or using statistics to showcase how you have impacted the lives of your customers, like Lendio: 

Social proof can come in any format. You can utilize it with video, quotes, on social, on your website, on a podcast, or anywhere.

What matters most is showcasing it to build trust in you as a recruiter or your agency to help prospects land their dream job.

3. Create a nurturing funnel

Getting prospects to “stick with you” through the journey is brutal.

At first, they show interest. But somewhere down the line you lose them, never to be seen again.

Churn in recruiting is extremely high, but it doesn’t have to be.

Rather, you should be investing time and money into building a nurturing funnel that keeps prospects around at each critical junction.

For example, starting with your first outreach, you want to hook them in with a compelling, creative headline. Whether on email or LinkedIn. In your subject lines, get creative. Start testing different styles, tones, and audience formats. For example, use a tool like Grammarly where you can test these out in just minutes: 

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This is their first touch-point with you. 

After they engage, it’s time to provide value for them. One great way to do this is by providing them with good content or a lead magnet. For lead magnets, give them something that they can utilize in their job search. For example, a resume template to make them stand out: 

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This shows them that you are invested in their success, not just looking to close. 

From here, you want to continually engage them with value. This goes beyond just online interaction too. Where appropriate, meeting your potential candidates in person can help you establish great rapport. 

If you don’t have an office, meet at a coworking location where you can grab drinks and food and get to know them better. 

The goal here is threefold: 

1. To form a connection with your prospect to better serve their needs
2. To find the right person for the job 
3. To improve your personal brand and success rates 

Recruiting shouldn’t be a breeze. It should be a time-investment in your clients where everyone benefits. 

Continually seek to provide them with value after your meeting, too.

Whether it’s updates on their status or how to improve their cover letters, anything of value will make them more likely to keep connecting with you.

From the first touch-point to hand-off at the finish line, focus on providing value and being a guide for your prospects.

From there, the engagement will flow naturally. 

Conclusion

As a recruiter, you’ve been there before: you find a great opportunity for potentially great candidates.

But weeks pass and they haven’t capitalized.

Unfortunately, engagement doesn’t sustain itself.

You have to be proactive.

Start being more selective with which candidates you share potential opportunities with.

This will increase both you and the candidates success rates, improving your branding and reliability.

Next, utilize social proof to your advantage. This can help you build much needed trust in a field where candidates are weary.

Lastly, create a nurturing funnel where you can consistently engage prospects from start  to finish.