Do you have a candidate search that has been open forever? Is everyone unhappy with how it’s going? It may be time to reset your search, says guest author, recruitment expert Katherine Moody.

Running Out of Candidate Options?

Is your hiring manager repeatedly rejecting candidates who fit the requirements everyone agreed upon when you started? Are your hiring managers changing titles, requirements, and duties on the fly—without your input?

In this whirl of activity and low response, you may no longer even be clear about what the position does, or what the ideal candidate looks like, or even what the hiring manager wants! These problems result in ‘last-ditch’ efforts known as “find more candidates.”

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If you're experiencing any of these, you're not alone. Here are some of the ways that I’ve helped recruiters get back on track:

1) Get Clarity

Schedule a meeting with the hiring manager. You may have already had your launch meeting when you started, but things may have changed. It's never a bad idea to get more clarity around the position, what they're really looking for, and how this position contributes to the company. Plus, you’ll be seen as a proactive consultant to your hiring manager.

Call it a mid-course correction or the “I have a few questions so we can more closely target candidates” conversation. No need to throw anyone under the bus here (including you!). So refrain from saying anything like “I should have asked earlier” or “you should have told me that.”

Make sure you ask the questions you have without apology or feeling stupid for having them.

Please note: I’ve been recruiting for more years than I want to see in writing and absolutely have never seen a job description that gave me all the information I needed to do a quality search.

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2) Course Correct

Rewrite the posting as if you were talking to the ideal candidate on the phone. You may also consider using video to tell that story. Each of these will pull in more qualified candidates. Plus, it will save you time because you won’t have to say it over and over to all the candidates you interview.

Be sure to include any sound bites that you heard from the hiring manager that make this job unique, what differentiates the team culture, or what makes the role important to the entire organization. In short, focus on what your ideal candidates would think is really cool about the position.

Rewrite your Inmail message with a subject line that speaks to what's most important to your ideal candidates. Any email should be brief, centered on the candidate, and include a direct link to the new engaging posting.

Only after taking these steps can you determine what sourcing changes you need, if any.

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