The fall hiring season — which we’re now rocking in full — is often a challenge for HR professionals and recruiting managers. The summer season in recruiting is usually a dead time that can feel more about paperwork and task/box-checking than setting up actual conversations with candidates. But in the fall, hiring seems to ramp up once more. When it comes to filling your open positions, how can you best take advantage of this hiring “busy season”?

How can you find and recruit candidates more effectively this quarter?

Here are three tips to help you make the most of the season:

Work the network: Talk to your peers. Use your contacts’ LinkedIn connection and email lists. See who knows people in need of work or could be passively lured. Proactively build this out. Unfortunately, a lot of companies lay people off closer to the end of the year because of fiscal year close dates — and no one wants to be unemployed during the holidays. As a result, there’s an untapped, and often highly-qualified, talent pool out there as we get closer to the end of the year.

Utilize social media: Talk transparently about what openings you have, the qualifications needed, the necessary responsibilities, etc. and encourage people to share on their personal networks (i.e. the ones people look at more, such as IG and FB). Offer up a few elements around the culture too. What’s it like to be part of this team and work within the company? Think about which social networks to take advantage of, as well.  While LinkedIn is becoming the go-to channel for job postings, some research indicates only 18% of potential candidates are even active every day.  Instead of sticking to only one social sourcing channel, think about spreading your message across multiple social platforms to help ensure the right candidates are seeing the right message.

Use the systems in place: If you have an ATS, dig deep for people who applied to similar roles in the past but who weren’t accepted at the time.  There can be a whole treasure trove of great applicants there just waiting for you reach back out to them. Some candidates may have moved on or landed somewhere else but you never know who is waiting for the right offer to come their way. Explaining what happened in the previous search and providing context for what you need and are hiring for as you head towards 2019 can go a long way toward attracting a candidate to reengage with you. 

What channels should I be using?

There are any number of answers to this question, but quick hit-style:

• Facebook: good.
• Instagram: can be good, and is often specifically framed in the context of younger workers.
• LinkedIn: good depending on what you are hiring for, but generally not tremendous for more blue-collar roles.
• Job boards: Good in the context of volume; not necessarily good for quality of hire.
• Word of mouth: Absolute gold.
• Referrals from current employees: Gold (so long as you trust them).
• Monetary incentives, such as employee referral programs: Can be a good way to trigger interest and have semi-vetted candidates (people known by your current employees) coming in.

What if I’m starting this process completely from scratch?

Your checklist would be:

• Figure out what roles you truly need to fill (job role design)
• Start by reaching out to current managers and employees for referrals
• See if you can incentivize current employees in some way 
• Now move to social media and job boards
• Take a deep breath and realize it’s all going to be great

Remember, there are a million and five approaches to recruitment and recruitment marketing. None of them are necessarily “better” than any other one. It’s what works for you. Maintain a neutral stance, have a clear vision of what to look for in a candidate, get ready for the busy season, and go get it. You got this. It might even be easier than you think.