Want to recruit top candidates? Start imitating them.

A recent study conducted by CareerBuilder and Inavero indicates that over the past several years, job seekers have developed a highly complex, multi-faceted approach to the job search, in which they utilize today’s sophisticated technology to their advantage.

According to the study, job seekers today now utilize five specific methods to ultimately find their next job:

• Search engines to find company, industry and job-specific information.
• Vertical sites (such as job boards and aggregators) for jobs that fit their qualifications and have a great company behind them.
• Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to post and share content.
• Corporate and career sites to find relevant news and information about specific companies.
• User-generated content sites such as Glassdoor.com to get a better sense of what it’s really like to work for a company.

As evidenced in the Inavero study, job seekers today are accelerating their efforts, using the opportunities they find on job boards as the starting-off point of a more in-depth search to find the opportunities – and the companies – that are right for them. It’s time for employers to do the same. By taking a cue from job seekers and applying this efficient, proactive approach to their candidate searches, employers can create a more efficient, effective recruiting process.

Five things today’s job seekers can teach employers:

1. Go mobile: The fact that over 300 million Americans use mobile phones today – and that mobile searches are up 130 percent over the past year – indicates a significant shift in the way people search for information. Not only are job seekers utilizing multiple channels to search for jobs (as shown above), but they’re also using doing so – increasingly – from their mobile devices. This shift in behavior opens up a huge opportunity for companies to reach job seekers anywhere, at any time of day. One of the smartest things you can do now to prepare your organization for long-term success in capturing talent is to mobilize your careers website.
2. Clean up your online reputation: Well aware that companies now check social media to screen candidates, the smartest job seekers proactively make an effort to clean up their social presence. Companies need to do the same. Thanks to the information available through social media and search engines, companies are more transparent than they’ve ever been. Job seekers can easily get information about a company’s organizational culture, the experience of working there, and what other employees think about the brand. Thanks to the vast reach of social media, companies also have the opportunity – and the need – to see what people are saying about them (on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, for example), become more robust in their employment branding efforts, and reach job seekers at every touch point.
3. Take ownership of the skills gap: : A CareerBuilder survey from earlier this year shows that many job seekers have begun going back to school to learn the in-demand skills that make them more desirable job candidates – and several have even switched careers. But the burden of closing the widening skills gap shouldn’t fall solely on job seekers. Companies have to take it upon themselves to reskill workers – and there are a number of (cost-effective) ways to do so. Consider just a few of the following options:  
• Create a mentorship program within the organization
• Partner with local colleges to offer training and recruit interns
• Set up a tuition reimbursement program or development program
• Promote from within the company
4. Focus on culture: The vast majority of job seekers (roughly 70 percent, according to the Inavero survey) say they would accept a lower salary to work for a company with a strong employment brand. Just as it influences a candidate’s decisions to accept an offer, culture should also play just as much of a role in an employer’s decision to hire. Author and business strategist Amber Naslund advises employers to “hire for culture, train for skills,” which means, hire people who truly believe in the mission of the organization and are passionate about its success. You can’t train for attitude, but you can train for skills. And what’s more valuable to the organization in the long run? (The added benefit is that these employees will likely end up being strong brand advocates.)
5. Do your research: The most in-demand candidates choose their employers wisely. As noted earlier, they not only have access to more information than ever, but they take advantage of it, too – by utilizing multiple channels to research the companies to which they apply. Whether they realize it or not, employers also have access to in-depth, accurate intelligence on job seekers as well. Data intelligence – if applied well – provides employers the insight they need to create a smarter, more efficient recruitment strategy. For instance, employers can utilize marketplace intelligence to pinpoint exactly where the supply and demand for people with their desired skill sets and experience levels are highest. In effect, they can find answers to such crucial questions such as, “Are we seeking talent in the right places? Is the talent we need even available? Who are we competing with for talent and what are they offering that we aren’t?” Without this valuable intelligence, employers simply can’t make the most informed recruitment decisions.

Bottom line: If what you’re doing now to bring in the talent you need isn’t working, you need to change what you’re doing. It’s as simple as that. In order to truly meet the demand for talent, today’s employers need a change in strategy. Perhaps Peter Capelli said it best in a recent Wall Street Journal article in which he calls for “a fundamental change in business as usual.” Because when it comes to recruiting in today’s job market, recruitment as usual just won’t cut it anymore.

Chuck Loeher is an Area Vice President at CareerBuilder, LLC, where he is responsible for sales strategies and revenue growth for companies ranging from Fortune 1000 to midsized businesses throughout the U.S.

Exclusive webcast: Join CareerBuilder’s Area Vice Presidents Chuck Loeher and Beth Prunier on Tuesday, December 6 at 11 am CST for Future of Recruiting: Are You Prepared for What’s Ahead? In this complimentary webcast, recruitment experts Loeher and Prunier will discuss the changing recruiting environment, how employers are responding and what you can do now to position your own firm for long-term, sustainable growth. Learn more or register here.