Are You Running into Recruiting Problems During the Holiday Season?

It's that time of year again where every holiday imaginable hits at the same time: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year's Day. Oh and let's not forget about Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Despite the holiday season, the business must move forward and there is still a need to recruit for quality candidates. This can actually be a great time of year to make strategic hires.

Let's take a little time to address a few key challenges faced by recruiters and I'll share some of my top tips to help you make it through the holiday season.

Candidate Sourcing

The first problem may come when sourcing for candidates. Unfortunately, during this time of year, the level of qualified resumes may not be readily available or you may see the same resumes on the job boards you are utilizing such as Monster, CareerBuilder, Dice, and/or Indeed. During this time of year, candidates are enjoying the holiday season and the time off with their families and friends and are not applying for open positions.

Scheduling Interviews

While applicants are making their family and friends a priority for the holiday season, they are also aware holidays can be a slow time of year for organizations. During the holidays, companies are closed and employees are on vacation and this can be a deterrent for the number of resumes and applications received.

As the hiring manager, you may find a challenge during the interview phase of the recruitment process. Vacations are scheduled throughout the holidays and at times can pose a bit of a challenge. Many times candidates have prescheduled vacations or your interviewer(s) are on vacation delaying both the interview process as well as the final start date.

Recommendations

As a Recruiting Consultant, I recommend the following to help you keep moving forward throughout the holidays:

• Anticipate the needs of your open positions.
• Consider building a pipeline of qualified candidates prior to the holiday season by sourcing for resumes and reaching out to candidates.
• Upon reaching out to the candidates, be transparent with them about the hiring process and provide them with a tentative timeline of events.
• Lastly, attempt to keep your candidates "warm," connecting via the telephone or by email during the holidays.

Although you may face challenges, do not stop. Keep pushing to progress as you may find a quality candidate when you least expect it!