If you’re struggling to get even three or four qualified applications in an open position, you’re not alone. Businesses across many industries, including finance and accounting, are experiencing the same. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent Employment Situation Summary, the unemployment rate hasn’t changed much: “Both the unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.4 million, changed little. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.0 percent to 4.3 percent since May 2024.” With employment rates staying level, competition for the best talent continues to be a problem. 

On the other hand, certain open positions, largely in marketing and technology, are experiencing large waves of applications. It all comes down to the specific industry your open position resides in.  

Regardless of your particular situation, attracting top talent with specialized skills is challenging. Thankfully, there are strategies businesses can use to attract the right hire and beat out the competition. Keep reading to discover top methods to fill your hiring pipeline.   

Don’t Wait for Candidates: Actively Sourcing Talent  

Top candidates won’t just come waltzing in your office doors (or onto a Zoom call). You need to actively utilize strategies that attract top talent like a magnet. This means spending time, effort, and money on the recruitment process. Here are recommended methods to go on the offensive and increase the number of top performers applying to open roles.   

Be Active on Social Media Platforms, Especially LinkedIn  

In this type of job market, top talent takes their time to evaluate potential employers and determine whether the business checks all their boxes. Currently, candidates with specialized skills aren’t likely to make compromises.   

Your social media presence is an opportunity to showcase a strong company culture and employer brand. Candidates use these platforms to vet potential employers, especially LinkedIn. Put your best foot forward and demonstrate what makes your company a great place to work. Do you promote work-life balance? Do you provide uncommon benefits like adoption assistance or tuition reimbursement? Do you offer well-being initiatives? Posting thought-leadership content about these topics shows potential hires why they would want to work for your company.   

It might not be part of your current brand strategy to talk about these topics so publicly, but I’d encourage you to think from the perspective of potential hires. If your online presence is all work and no play, it may make quality candidates think twice about applying.    

Define your workplace culture in a public forum, like social media, to showcase the culture you’ve carefully created for your team. If you do, application numbers may explode.   

Attend and Network at Industry Events   

What better place to recruit talent than at industry events? That’s exactly where you’ll find driven, top-tier talent determined to learn and improve skills. If you meet someone you believe is the best candidate for a role, having the right materials to make an effective pitch is paramount.  

Before you attend an event, make sure you pack:   

• Business cards  
• A physical brochure about your business   
• A digital landing page on your website designed specifically for job candidates  

It’s also important to prepare answers to common questions about your company and the opportunities you have available. Additionally, make sure that you follow up with potential candidates soon after the event. If you have a physical office, invite them to an in-person visit. Allow them to see first-hand the strong employer brand and work environment you’ve worked hard to curate.   

Partner with Colleges and Universities to Recruit   

Many businesses in a variety of industries recruit directly from universities and technical colleges. If your business misses this opportunity to find new members of the workforce willing to learn and fine-tune their skills, you may be passing up true talent. Seek out schools with established industry expertise and attend related job fairs. Treat them as you would any industry event or conference.   

Invest More in Training, Salaries, and Perks   

A combination of fewer top-tier professionals in the job market and more demand from employers has caught businesses off-guard. There are fewer workers in other generations compared to the baby boomer generation and, as they retire, there aren’t enough candidates to replace vacancies. The gig economy is also strangling candidate pools. With a large demand for these candidates, staying competitive in the market through training, education, salaries, and other initiatives is more important than ever.   

Focus on what potential and current employees need and want most. Seek out experts on your Human Resources team or from industry professionals to gauge what wows job seekers. That may include:   

• Providing competitive compensation, 401K matches, more PTO than average, and bonus potential to set you apart from competition.  
• Better cost shares on the health insurance (smaller companies unable to offer other perks may opt to cover the full cost of health insurance to be competitive in the market). 
• Longer than average parental and caretaker leave. 
• Implementing work-life balance policies such as flexible work, remote and hybrid work, 4-day work weeks, etc. Our Talent team has seen the negative impact on applicant numbers when employers are not willing to consider flexible options.   
• Incorporating unexpected and innovative benefits such as childcare assistance or technology stipends (for remote and hybrid employees) 
• Offering continuing education and career growth options such as mentorship programs, development opportunities, tuition reimbursement, or education stipends.  

That last point is critical. Many individuals who don’t have the “complete” education needs a position requires may make excellent, qualified candidates for the role with proper guidance and skills. If you find these professionals early in their careers and help them not only to see the value in the profession but also smooth the process for them as much as possible, you’ll create a stronger pipeline for your hiring managers.   

Get Your Team Members Involved  

Team members that excel and are strong advocates of your company culture should be involved in recruitment marketing. There are a couple ways to get staff involved in the recruitment process:  

• Employee Testimonials  

Employee testimonials showcase employee satisfaction and real employee experience. Candidates gain insight into what it would be like to work for your company. Just like reading reviews about products you are considering before buying, positive employee reviews accelerate and drive high performers to submit an application. Testimonials also demonstrate employee engagement, which is generally a strong indicator of positive company culture.   

• Employee Referral Programs  

Referral programs provide incentives to talented employees to refer peers or even friends in the industry to open positions at your company. This has double the impact—your employees feel rewarded and appreciated while your talent acquisition team receives strong applicants.   

While these recruitment strategies accelerate the hiring process and number of job applications in a competitive job market, it goes without saying how important employee retention is in decreasing open vacancies. If you’d like to learn more about retaining talent or potential hiring strategies that may increase your talent pool, reach out to our Talent team.