Five lessons I have learned whilst attracting young candidates into the Housing & Property Services sector

Have you noticed the lack of readily available young candidates entering into the Housing & Property Services sector? We have, and if more is not done to attract these candidates we believe there could be an even greater talent shortage in years to come.

In this blog, Claire Harrison looks at what she has learned while recruiting young candidates into the Housing & Property Services sector and how organisations can attract and retain them long-term.

As the Housing & Property services jobs market becomes even more competitive, the need to attract and retain the very best young candidates is becoming even more important. The problem is that there are less young candidates deciding to choose Housing & Property services as a viable career option.

So what can housing organisations do to solve this problem? Here are my top tips on attracting the best young minds into the Housing & Property services sector, and what housing leaders need to do to retain the very best young talent.

Housing leaders need to promote Housing & Property Services jobs using the right key words and targeted job adverts:

Getting your job adverts seen by the right candidates is hugely important as recruitment becomes more digitally focused. If you want your housing jobs to be seen you need to think about the words you are using and where you are placing your adverts. The main thing you need to consider here is how well you know your market and the candidates you are trying to attract. Think about what they are going to search for, and use similar language when writing the job description.

You need to describe things as simply as you can. For example, your job description. It is important to make sure this is easy to read and tells the candidate what the role is about. Every day I look at job specifications and adverts with complicated job titles, and lots of confusing words and terminology throughout. Strip this back and make sure your candidates understand the job and know exactly who it is you are looking for.

Finally, promote your housing jobs in the right places! There is no point putting all of your roles on a job site that none of your candidates visit. Think outside the box, utilise your own website and promote your job advert in as many specialist outlets as possible to ensure you get the right candidates applying.

Housing leaders need to engage with prospective Housing & Property Services candidates at school and university:

If you want to attract young candidates into the Housing & Property services Sector, you need to engage them as early as possible. Think about getting in touch with local schools and universities and ask them how you can get in front of some of their students. This may involve you giving a presentation on the housing sector or on a specific topic the students may be working on.

Universities will also hold careers fairs throughout the year. These are a great way to get in front of students that are searching for their next career opportunity. It is important however to keep in touch with any talent you might encounter. Get their details, meet with them and ensure they remember you when they come to applying for their next role.

Housing & Property Services organisations need to speed up their hiring processes to attract young talent:

Your success depends on building teams of skilled and highly talented Housing & Property Services professionals, so you need to act fast if you want to attract the best candidates or you risk losing them to the competition. Manual and tedious tasks such as sifting through hundreds of CVs and a lengthy interview process slow down your hiring and increase your time to hire. This can result in candidates dropping out of your process if it takes too long and they are receiving offers elsewhere.

I have two key tips here to streamline your hiring process and make it quicker:

• Look at your hiring process and ask yourself are all the hiring stages really required – this will allow you to streamline your recruitment process. Does a formal interview process across multiple days really showcase the talent of individuals?
  Some of our clients carry out individual interview days which allows a candidate to meet with multiple employees over the course of the day and really allows the client to spend more time getting to know the candidates. Because this is all carried out in one day the turnaround time of the hiring process is much quicker. If this is something you feel you struggle with at the moment, I would be more than happy to help.
  
  
• Set expectations if you know your hiring process needs to be over a longer period of time – sometimes you need to have a lengthy hiring process so shortening it is not an option. A multi stage process is usually for senior permanent hires but it could happen when recruiting at the junior end. If this is the case, be honest with your candidates and ensure they are aware of each stage in the process. This should make them more engaged, and may stop them dropping out altogether.

Housing & Property Services candidates are looking for an organisation that embraces diversity:

Successfully hiring a diverse and inclusive workforce has never been more important for the Housing & Property Services sector, especially when recruiting from the younger generation who view this as a vital factor when choosing an employer. Not only is it profitable, but it also fosters innovation, trust and problem-solving, three things young candidates look for in a prospective employer. Diversity and inclusion should be a big focus for employers because it ensures that all employees, regardless of their background and experiences are treated equally, creating a healthier, more successful team.

Sell your company if you want to attract the best candidates into Housing & Property Services:

Possibly the most important tip I could give is to sell yourself, your company and the benefits of working for you at every stage of the hiring process. Remember, candidates are judging you as much as you are judging them, so it is important to get this right. Never lie, or fabricate anything, but instead give prospective candidates a feel for what it will be like to work for you.

If the advice in this blog was not enough, and you are still looking for more information on getting the right candidates into your business, check out our employer page. It is full of information from building an inclusive workforce to getting your job description right.

Alternatively, you can get in touch with me or my team directly to discuss your needs. We would love to help you attract the brightest young minds to your business.