By all credible accounts, 2015 should be a big year in the world of recruiting and talent acquisition. The recession caused some deep cuts and ugly bruises, but with many wounds nearly healed, companies are ready to rip the Band-Aid off and forge ahead with more aggressive growth strategies. That includes growing personnel.

As exciting as that sounds, a new year can also bring new challenges. To help out, we have compiled some tips for companies looking to make the most out of their 2015 recruiting efforts.

• Know your competitive advantage. The tables haven’t been completely turned, but due to the increased demand for talent and resulting competition among employers, candidates will have more power in the market than they have had in some time. And the more options candidates have, the more perceptive they are to differences between employers and the more selective they can be in deciding where to start the next leg of their career. So, you have got to know what distinguishes you among your competitors and flaunt it. Tactfully. Arming candidates with the right info about your company goes a long way towards ensuring that they make the right decision (which would be choosing your company, of course). A word of caution here, though:  make sure the traits you highlight—whatever they may be—are genuine and enduring. Nothing is worse than being sold on a culture that doesn’t actually exist.

• Be prepared to pay a little more. During the recession, few saw any meaningful bumps in pay and many job seekers will be looking to make up for that “loss” if and when they move. Not all candidates will be worth what they are asking for, of course, but some certainly will be, and you should be prepared to pay it if you want to land the best talent.  Even outside of tech, signing bonuses and other perks are coming back into play—at the entry level, no less!   

• Do your due diligence. While you may not need to know a candidate’s complete life story, it is important to know the real reasons candidates are presenting for your positions. Mainly, you need to determine if they are fleeing from or moving toward something. Logic will tell you that it is often a mix of both, but experience has shown us that the mix is rarely equal. Candidates whose chief motivation is to get out of a current situation and away from an existing workplace, may not be as selective or smart about choosing their next destination. Even if they interview well, they could end up being a poor fit, because they allowed the urgency of fleeing something bad to cloud their judgment over what’s best for the future. This is not always the case, but it is worth investigating on the front end to avoid misery on the back end.

We hope these tips and strategies help you navigate the recruiting landscape of 2015, but if you’re still looking for more, or need help on implementation, give us a call.  This is what we do.