Candidate Pools: 4 Ways to Effectively Develop Candidate Pools

There are many steps to take before creating candidate pools that have diverse and talented people. This process might seem overwhelming if you have loads of candidates to interview, but following the right steps will help you develop a strong candidate pool. We’ve put together a guide to help you navigate the candidate pool process and find the right employees for your company! 

What is a candidate pool? 

A candidate pool is a group of qualified applicants who meet the job requirements and get moved to the shortlisting process. Their personal contact information is stored in your applicant tracking system so you can request a phone screening interview with them. The candidates who don’t pass the first interviewing stage will be moved back into the talent pool for future roles. Candidate pools are good for establishing what candidates suit your company and how you might interview them about their skills. 

Why build and manage a candidate pool? 

Candidate pools are important for maintaining well-staffed departments in the company to sell products and deliver services. You can gather candidates into a candidate pool and interview those who have the right talent and skills. Here are some examples of why you should build and manage a candidate pool:

Reduces the Cost of Recruitment:  You will spend less money on advertisements and marketing strategies by only hiring people in your qualified and motivated candidate pools. 

Reduces the Time to Hire:  You don’t have to worry about finding applicants on job websites, as you can choose talent from your candidate pools and hire someone with the right skills.

Improves Candidate Experience: Candidates won’t face constant rejection in candidate pools if they have opportunities to go back to the talent pool and wait for more roles.

Provides Access to Passive Candidates: You can interview candidates who aren’t currently seeking roles but are open to new opportunities in your company.

Top 4 ways to develop a candidate pool 

Growing your candidate pool ensures you have a constant flow of applicants to fill open positions. This flow reduces the recruitment time and helps you to find highly qualified candidates for the role. Even if you expand your candidate pools over time, you still need to retain them by engaging with their interests and career goals. Below are four ways you can develop candidate pools: 

• Social media

Social media is a good strategy for strengthening candidate pools. The recommended social media platforms are Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter when engaging with potential applicants. You can use these platforms to sort through candidates who highlight their skills, level of expertise and previous employment on their social profiles. For example, if you want more candidates with technical skills, you can scan social media pages for experiences in technological roles. 

Here at High 5, we keep candidates engaged with your business through social media posts and company-branded mobile apps. We can keep them updated through text messaging if you want to retain their level of interest in the candidate pools. 

• Recruiter website

You can use a recruiting website to attract new potential candidates to your company. Using specific keywords on your website will target different locations. For example, if you’re looking to hire someone for remote work, you might use keywords that apply to international industries. These keywords should include job titles, locations, company name, desirable skills and type of industry.

Although recruiter websites are more effective, you can also upload job postings to popular job boards. Some candidates might prefer to seek jobs using filters on job sites. This method might not prove to be time efficient, but it’s still worth sharing your job posting as much as possible to find new candidates that aren’t already in the talent and candidate pools. 

• Previous applicants 

Staying in contact with unsuccessful applicants will help them stay engaged with your company. You can move these applicants into a talent pool, which is a group of potential candidates that have shown an interest in your open roles. Creating this talent pool allows you to locate candidates with relevant skills and experiences for future positions. You should have their contact information in your applicant tracking system, so don’t forget to engage with candidates that didn’t get interviews.

At High5, we can help you offer new opportunities to candidates that match their skills. This stops them from feeling too discouraged after the application process. Our recruiters will share advice to candidates about how they can succeed in the future with similar roles. 

• Candidate referrals

If you want to seek referrals, you can speak to your candidates about friends they might know with relevant skills and experience. Candidates may show you potential applications that possess a wide range of talent. Some candidates might also have past colleagues who they would highly recommend for open roles in your company. Simply ask for names and the contact information for these referrals. 

After receiving new applications, you can add them to your application tracking system. The ATS will send interview requests to new candidates via texts and emails, so it may be easier to stay in contact with them and arrange interview dates. To ensure these requests are personalized and relevant, you can seek the help of High 5 to make sure candidates are welcomed.Their average response time is 17 minutes too, which lowers the amount of time to screen new applicants. 

Summary

Developing your candidate pool will help you find more talent suited to your open roles. You can strengthen your candidate pool by regularly engaging with the candidates. High 5 gives you access to top workforce professionals that are suitable for companies like yours, which can help expand your candidate pools. Our platform offers global talent supply chains that include strong talents and skills.

FAQs

What is a candidate talent pool?

A talent pool is a database that holds relevant candidates who have suitable skills and experiences for open jobs. Talent pools should include information about their professional background, previous job responsibilities and unique talents. Companies use talent pools to find candidates who might fit well in the company’s culture and open position. 

How do I expand my candidate pool? 

You can expand your hiring criteria to suit more candidates with different experiences. Consider lowering the job requirements to match with those who have less work experience, but more unique skills. For example, if one requirement states 3+ years experience in tech roles, you can reduce the amount of required experience to one or two years.

How do I attract a diverse candidate pool?

Networking with professionals who know of possible candidates will help you locate highly qualified applicants. These applicants might be from different cultures or educational backgrounds who want to seek companies with equal opportunity recruitment. You can also reiterate the equal opportunities statement in the job posting to attract more candidates.

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