How to find the right candidate when recruiting in a pandemic

Recruiting is an inexact science in the best of times. A host of variables must come together for businesses to connect with the perfect candidate, and recruiting professionals spend their entire careers facilitating such connections, even during a time when connecting with others has been more difficult than ever.

Businesses have faced many challenges over the last yearplus. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on various industries. As businesses look to rebound from such effects, finding the right candidates for new openings may present some unique challenges. Though some businesses may be back in their offices, many continue to operate remotely, while others may have decided it benefits them to continue working remotely even after the pandemic has ended. The effects of remote working are far-reaching and even extend to recruiting. Though it may be challenging to fill positions during the pandemic, firms can implement various strategies to find the best candidates possible for each opening.

• Reexamine hiring protocols. Hiring protocols are implemented for a reason, not the least of which is ensuring hiring managers and department heads get as strong a feel for a candidate as possible. But companies may need to revisit such protocols as they try to fill openings during the pandemic. For example, if company policy mandates that each candidate is interviewed in person by two managers before they can be offered a job, tweaking that rule to two virtual interviews may be necessary.

• Be flexible with your offer. The challenges of the pandemic are not exclusive to businesses. Professionals are facing their own challenges, including how to juggle their responsibilities at work with their obligations at home. That balancing act has always been difficult, but it’s become even more challenging as parents must arrange for child care during a time when many schools are only offering in person lessons part-time, if at all. Though some businesses may want new hires to work full- time in the office, to find the right candidates they might need to relax those restrictions until life returns to some semblance of normalcy. Being flexible with new hires in regard to remote working might attract more qualified candidates.

• Consider contracting new hires. It’s understandable if hiring managers are nervous about offering full- time work to candidates they have never met in person. If that hesitation is proving too much to overcome, companies can offer positions on a contractor basis with the opportunity to become full- fledged employees in a few months or when the pandemic ends, whichever comes first.

Recruiting during the pandemic has posed some unique challenges. A few simple strategic shifts can help recruiters overcome such challenges en route to connecting with the right person for the job.