As hiring challenges continue, with high employee resignations, changing candidate expectations, and smaller and smaller available talent pools, recruiter training programs are more important than ever. A new generation of workers with new challenges for recruiters and hiring managers means keeping up with the latest recruitment technology and mastering particular skills. Knowing what to include in your recruiter training program doesn’t have to be overwhelming. There are some specific components that are essential for recruiters to learn to use.

Today’s talent acquisition professionals need to know how to conduct Boolean searches for successful candidate sourcing, how to use live roleplay, and how to take advantage of on-demand learning. Understanding talent analytics, and how to gather and use the data that impacts recruiting, is another key recruiter skill. A competitive edge in recruiting means mastering these newest recruiter resources to find and assess candidates and ensure recruiters are always on top of the latest talent acquisition trends and techniques.

Understand Boolean Search for Candidate Sourcing

LinkedIn quotes candidate trends, one of which shows that only 30 percent of the global workforce is actively looking for jobs, and 70 percent are passive candidates open to new opportunities. That makes candidate sourcing skills an important part of recruiter training. Knowing Boolean search is at the top of the list in this area.

Most people are familiar with using the internet to search for topics they want to know more about. Boolean search is a more targeted way to search for candidates, resumes, and individual achievements that apply to the roles recruiters are looking to fill. It narrows the candidate search to more specifically experienced and qualified candidates.

Rather than search for candidates or resumes with the term accounting executive, Boolean search with “accounting” and “executive” and “healthcare” to find candidates with accounting executive experience in the healthcare field. Boolean search involves keywords and operator terms such as “and” “or” and “not” to modify and specify search elements to get the most relevant results.

Know How to Use Live Role-Play  

Recruiter training should include how to use live role-play in interviews with candidates. A role-play interview has the interviewer presenting a work scenario to the candidate to act out. It simulates a situation the candidate will encounter in the desired position. The role-play interview should be short and clear, 30 minutes to an hour, and can involve another staff member if needed.

Recruiters should understand the position and what employees in that position will be doing and will be expected to achieve. This enables them to evaluate the candidate’s response and assess their understanding of the role and expression of experience and skills. The role play interview benefits candidates and interviewers in several ways.

It enables candidates to demonstrate skills, learn about the job, and interact with employees. It allows interviewers to see candidates in action in the role, rather than just on paper on in conversation. Role-play interviews give everyone a more thorough understanding and experience of the job and the applicant.

Using Talent Analytics

Another essential skill needed in recruiter training is understanding talent analytics. Talent analytics involves analyzing employee data with statistics and technology to make better business decisions around recruiting. Using a data-driven approach helps increase the quality of hire and employee engagement while decreasing the cost of hire.

Training in talent analytics teaches recruiters what kind of data to use to improve hiring results. Sourcing data from job boards, social media, applicant tracking systems, and candidate relationship management systems is important. Recruitment analytics data from recruiting technology tools is another valuable source of data for recruiters.

Data from in-person interviews is important to recruiters as well. Collect and use information about successful candidates who make it to final interviews such as how long it took from application to final interview and insights on the interview process. Employee data collected after hire and at benchmarks in the first year give valuable insight into sourcing effectiveness and hiring quality.

On-Demand Learning

On-demand learning is a training strategy that makes learning opportunities and resources available anytime anywhere. In recruiter training programs, on-demand learning is an important resource for busy recruiters who must prioritize time for learning and balance it against the demands of the role. When your recruiters can easily learn the new techniques and skills they need to improve your talent acquisition strategy and hiring success, your whole organization benefits.

TalentIndustry.com emphasizes that on-demand learning should not be left solely to the employee/recruiter accessing the learning, but be manager directed and followed up to be most effective. Active manager support is when managers guide recruiters to specific on-demand learning resources and engage them about it afterward. A manager/recruiter partnership with learning, where the manager actively asks questions about the training content and how to use it in talent acquisition, prompts clarity and application of learned information.

Boolean search for sourcing, live role-play, talent analytics, and on-demand learning are not the only things to include in recruiter training, but they are some of the most important components. They will make any recruiting strategy more targeted and successful, and improve your organization’s hiring success and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

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