The 90-Day Struggle: Finding Qualified Candidates In Budget

In today's competitive hiring landscape, you can't always throw money at recruitment problems. Budget constraints are a reality at most companies. As a head of recruiting, I'm constantly challenged to source top talent on a tight budget.

When a new opening pops up, we launch a 90-day sprint to fill it. But we can't just post and pray. With limited funds, we need to employ smart, budget-conscious strategies to land qualified, affordable candidates.

It's a tricky balancing act. Here are the main obstacles we navigate:

Skyrocketing Cost Per Hire ?? Between inflated candidate salary expectations and rising recruiter fees, each new hire costs significantly more. Our set budget doesn't stretch as far, forcing us to do more with less.

Lack of Referral Bonus Budget ?? Referrals are a cost-effective source of quality hires. But bonus programs strain our budget. We've had to reduce referral rewards, costing us employee sourcing support.

Pricey Job Ad Spend ?? Paid job boards and ad campaigns tend to generate the highest applicant volume quickly. But they burn through our media budget fast. We've had to shift focus to free and organic sources instead.

Recruiter Team Constraints ?? Adding more in-house recruiters could increase hiring efficiency. However, growing our recruitment staff would blow up the cost structure. We're stuck with a small overloaded team.

To tackle these challenges, we've implemented creative approaches such as:

• Exploring affordable video and virtual interviewing tools to reduce hiring manager time ??
• Partnering with schools for discounted student talent and low-cost campus events ??
• Prioritizing diversity programs that access government funding and grants ??
• Leveraging social media and employee advocacy to amplify open roles ??
• Negotiating pay-for-performance models with recruiting agencies like Search Solutions ??
• Automating screening tasks using AI to free up recruiter capacity ??
• Developing internship initiatives to build future hiring pipelines ????
• Offering employee referral contests instead of large bonus payouts ??

The constraints are real. However, it is possible to recruit top talent on a conservative budget with some innovation and flexibility. What cost-saving tactics have worked for you?

Search Solutions can be your partner to solve any tough-to-hire roles!

Please share any budget recruiting wins in the comments!

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