Recruiting for government contracts can be a long and time-consuming process, especially when the positions are highly technical. Here are five tips and tricks that can help with your search for the right candidates.
- Use job boards that allow searches by clearance
When hiring for government contracts, you may often find yourself searching for candidates who have security clearances. It can be difficult to find people with government clearances on websites like LinkedIn, Monster, and ZipRecruiter. Luckily, there are job boards with functions that allow recruiters to search for cleared employees. ClearedJobs, Clearancejobs, Cleared Connections, and Hiretual are all options. In addition to the security clearance filter, these websites have the typical filters such as location, salary, degree, etc. Using these websites can help expedite the sourcing process as you won’t waste your time searching for candidates with the correct security clearance.
- Familiarize yourself with the lingo
As a recruiter and Human Resources professional, it can be difficult to understand the job requirements and qualifications. In the intelligence community, we often use acronyms to simplify and make work processes more efficient. Additionally, it helps to be familiar with different systems and computer programs most often used by these professionals. Being familiar with and using this lingo is integral to recruiting qualified candidates for specific positions. It’s often useful to take a refresher on which acronyms mean what in order to be more comfortable. Before you know it, you’ll be using the lingo with no thought at all.
- Ensure that the job requirements and duties are clearly laid out
Transparency is key when obtaining talent to ensure each candidate is a perfect fit for the role. Recruiting talent for these highly technical jobs can often be a challenge, so ensuring that the job requirements and duties are laid out clearly is of utmost importance. Candidates need to understand what programs and software they will be using, as well as what they will be doing with the programs. If you neglect this, candidates may be unsure if they under or overqualified and may lack interest in the position. Furthermore, displaying a clear goal gives each candidate an understanding of what they would be working towards, which will help make them be more inspired and motivated to accept the job.
- Document your process
The recruitment process has a lot of moving parts. Being organized and thoughtful with each candidate’s progress is important to maintaining an effective process. Keep a detailed log of where each candidate is in the recruitment process, what their individual skills and qualifications are, and what is coming next for them to ensure clarity and organization. Excel is a resource that can be easily taken advantage of in this scenario, being proficient in Excel makes it easier for you or a colleague to easily pick up from where you left off. If this process is not well documented, it can lead to reaching out to the same candidate multiple times or letting them fall between the cracks.
- Display your company culture
Play to your strengths. What makes your company unique? For example, we are a women-founded, veteran-lead small business that offers our clients some of the best and most talented analysts and engineers. When recruiting talent, always be sure to give the candidate some more information about what your values, mission, and expectations are. Culture is one of the most important elements of determining if a candidate is going to be a good fit in your organization. Therefore, being clear about how your company operates benefits both the candidate and the organization. When reaching out to a candidate, try adding a paragraph about your company and what you stand for. If candidates have a better idea of who they will be working for, it might make them more inclined to join your team!