Recruiting Strategy

7 ways you can make the most of the summer slowdown

7 ways you can make the most of the summer slowdown
Orla Hodnett

Orla Hodnett

HireHive

The temptation to down tools is real. The sun is shining, coffee shops are selling iced lattes and your inbox is empty. Though the summer slowdown has settled in, it is worth your while doing a little prep work to make the return to full hiring much easier. Recruiting software, planning and strategising may be the only ways to make the most of the summer slowdown.

Employee referral program

One aspect of your recruiting strategy that might benefit from a little extra attention is your referral program. If things get a little quieter over the summer slowdown, you can take this time to plan communication or rewards, which you can share with employees involved in the referrals program.

Graduate recruiting

One demographic who will be actively seeking new roles during the summer is graduates. Whether you are seeking interns or graduates to fill junior roles, now is the time to advertise and engage with candidates.

Social media

When you have a little extra spare time, it is a good opportunity to do some social media planning. Blog posts and infographics can be prepared ahead of time and made use of when recruiting really ramps up. A stitch in time and all that business…

Coming up with job descriptions is an art

Job advertisement templates

Coming up with job descriptions is an art. It can be tough to distill the requirements of a role into a succinct job advertisement. No matter the type of role you are recruiting for, you can prepare a skeleton job specification. There are key soft skills and attitudes you will be seeking, so you can prepare them ahead of more specific job descriptions.

Building up a talent pool and networking

By laying down some prep work now, you will give yourself the edge over the competition as recruiting ramps up. Take this opportunity to go through prospective CVs that you have received or revisit shortlisted candidates who were not chosen for recent roles. The summer slowdown is also a great time to engage with potential candidates on social networking sites.

You may not be busy with recruiting efforts now, but that won't last long

Planning for peak in recruiting from September through to December

You may not be busy with recruiting efforts now, but that won't last long. The big recruiting peak of the autumn is just around the corner. Now is the right time to strategise and consider what roles will need to be filled in the coming months. What you do now will be of huge benefit when you have a number of roles to fill quickly.

Data and record keeping

While you have been busy recruiting, your recruiting software has been storing up data for you. This unseen work will have huge benefits in your recruiting efforts. Any data gathered on past recruiting projects will help you plan and strategise for the future. Not only that, but record keeping for compliance reasons is made easy. Why not use the summer slowdown to do some maintenance on these essential records?

Disclaimer: Header image above is an inaccurate representation of Irish weather ;)

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