The summer is finally over, and September tends to be the month in recruitment when everything starts picking up again. With that, comes pressure. More candidates, your clients back wanting the top talent for their roles, and competition will once again be fierce. The last quarter of the year tends to not only be busy but also challenging if you’re not prepared for it.
But don’t worry – we’ve put together 4 top tips to get you through this time and to keep you ahead of your competitors.
Obvious, right? Well, in the current market with all the sudden shifts happening, yearly plans can become useless – which is why it’s crucial to keep reviewing it every quarter and making adjustments. It’s not uncommon for busy recruiters to forget about the plan they put together at the beginning of the year, or to get caught up in daily tasks ignoring what they originally wanted to achieve. But if you’ve done it right, this plan should keep you going until the finish line – so now is the time to have a second look at it and make sure the actual data is in line with the goals and predictions. If you have slightly deviated from the plan, at least this gives you 3 months to refocus before the year ends. The best thing to do is create a quarterly plan (if you haven’t already!) that will give you and your team the direction you need for this last push.
Most of the year is already behind you, so this last quarter is a great moment to look back at all the marketing campaigns you’ve already run and adjust your strategy. What has worked so far, what got you the most exposure, engagement, and placements? What type of ads and job boards did you use that made the biggest impact? Whatever was not working can be now scrapped from the record, so you use this last quarter to finish the year strong. This is also a good reflection for going into 2023. You’ll now know what not to focus on - and things that maybe you didn’t have enough time to explore this year that could defiantly be fruitful in 2023.
Even though it’s only September, as a recruiter, you need to start preparing for the Christmas period already. Christmas is traditionally the slowest time of the year with a shortage of candidates, so make sure you’re ready and your BD strategy is in place. You can also use this time to promote your brand – there are various campaigns you could run in order to keep your candidates and clients engaged so you don’t come out of their radar. Also, start making your list of whom you’re going to send a Christmas card or thank you to. Are there any candidates or clients you’ve been trying to nail down? This is the perfect time to reach out and spread some Christmas cheer… even if there is an underlying agenda.
This ties in with your annual plan check-up: Have you used up more of your budget than predicted? Or do you have some additional savings you could now put to work? Whatever the case, evaluating your budget is crucial at this time of year – you need to be ready for a mad race in the industry, so make sure you don’t come out short! If you have a budget left, this is the perfect time to put it towards some more advertising or maybe even Christmas gifts. Linking back to the second point though, you need to spend your money wisely, and best to be putting it behind something that has been proven to work. If you have blown your budget, though, this could be cause for concern, and you’ll really need to look at your annual plan, analyse what went wrong, and make sure this doesn’t happen again next year.
For tips on thriving in a candidate-driven market, have a read of our eBook below! It will help you come up with a solid strategy for this last quarter of 2022.