What is actually better?
Inbound Recruitment or Recruitment Marketing are trending buzz words at the moment. But what is Inbound Recruitment exactly? And why would it be better than outbound recruitment? In this blog I explain the differences in more detail.
Shortage, flexibility, robotization, agile, lifelong learning: it is the order of the day. And especially the question: where do you get new employees from? And how do you bind talent to your organization? You can choose for nights filled with LinkedIn searches and Inmails.
Instead of looking for candidates yourself, you can also let your dream candidates come to you more or less automatically. And not by spreading vacancies around, but by being an attractive employer. We call this ‘inbound recruitment’. But how do you do that? And the key question: which is more suitable for your organization, inbound or outbound?
Pull, pull, pull
You see it happening in the current market: too many unfilled vacancies, too few people to fill them. Good candidates are pulled from all sides, while they are probably not waiting for this at all. Why would someone switch if he or she already has a good job? And why to you? A higher salary is rarely enough for that anymore.
“Why would someone switch at all if he or she already has a good job? And why to you?”
That is why a good employer brand is so important. By obtaining an authentic and distinctive preferential position as an employer (in the eyes of potential employees), you can attract the right people, and then never let them go. Recruiters, therefore, have to start thinking more and more like (inbound) marketers.
How is inbound recruitment different from outbound recruitment?
Outbound recruitment is the traditional approach. You share open vacancies on your company’s website, via social media, and on job boards. Here is where the recruiter comes in play. Actively looking for promising candidates. Found a match? Then it’s time to get in touch. Emails or InMails, phone calls, apps. Every tool is used to introduce the candidate to the company and the position. Without that action, the candidate might not even know the company. Let alone consider working there.
“You create engagement and ensure that potential candidates get to know your company by delivering valuable content”
Inbound recruitment is actually the exact opposite. You do not actively look for the right candidate yourself, but let him or her come to you. You create engagement and ensure that potential candidates get to know your company by delivering valuable content via email campaigns or social media. This content is as authentic as possible and gives a good idea of who you are as an organization and how your employees feel about working for you. Involve your employees in the development of this content. If a position actually becomes available, a candidate – if all goes well – is already enthusiastic and will apply from intrinsic motivation.
Inbound recruitment is focusing on latent job seekers
LinkedIn research shows that only 25% of its users are actively looking for a new job. As a recruiter, you are therefore mainly concerned with searching for and recruiting passive talent. In addition, 15% are not yet ready to switch jobs but are already taking steps in this direction.
You never know when someone is ready for the next step. The goal of inbound recruitment is to let potential candidates discover their pain points. Do they now experience a poor cultural match? Do they have a (too) low salary? Too few development opportunities? If someone realizes that such a pain point actually exists, you are there for them with relevant content, references of current employees, and all the information they could wish for. The result? The will to work for your company will come naturally!
Inbound vs. outbound: which is better (for your company)?
Ideally, as a recruiter, you use both methods interchangeably. By combining inbound and outbound, you not only create a large pool of candidates but this pool is also targeted. In other words: you can find people specifically for one specific vacancy, as well as provide your organization with good candidates in the long term.
Has your company only been around for a short time? And do you need new employees quickly? Then outbound recruitment can help you. Networking and cold calling will always work and will continue to provide you with candidates. But do you need a more continuous flow of people? Then outbound recruitment is not the solution. Inbound recruitment provides many candidates, all of whom are interested in your company.
How to start with inbound recruitment?
In one of my blogs I explain how to start with inbound recruitment. Click here to read it! It all starts with a strategy and clear goals. In the strategy you define your target audience and make persona’s. The key to sending the right message in the right channels. Pull your quality candidate through the Awareness, Consideration, Interest funnel and convert them to a qualified applicant. It takes some research and time for inbound recruitment to be a success. Make sure the traffic to the career site and amount of applicants are increasing!
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