For Job Seekers
& Companies

Job search platforms like LinkedIn, Glassdoors, and Indeed are popular channels for guiding you toward the most fulfilling career opportunities. These professional sites can help bridge companies with compatible hires, considering how 87% of companies have problems finding the right hires. From the job seeker's perspective, these sites help contact recruiters, expand professional networks, and promote relevant skills.  You can boost your chances of getting hired by top recruiting companies with a strategic and engaged approach to managing your online presence. The MRI Network team shares proven tips on how you can stand out from the crowd to attract recruiters and preferred employers.  Crafting an Attention-Grabbing Resume A polished and organized resume improves the chances of attracting busy recruiters and employers. You can increase the attention-worthiness of your CVs by responding to the trending needs of hiring managers or organizations from your target industry.  Adding relevant skills and specifying the expertise of your professional proficiencies (e.g., Intermediate Python competency for programming professionals) in your resume can go a long way toward securing a role.  The strategic use of headers, summarized objectives, and concise bullets can also make your resumes more easily scannable. These steps could make your resume more appealing since employers and recruiting teams often have to sort through thousands of applications before settling on a candidate.  Utilizing Keywords and Industry Specific Skills You can narrow down to a fitting role with job search platforms by applying the relevant keywords and industry-specific skill sets. The fine-tuning process should be based on your desired career objective or pathway.  Begin your keyword research by coming up with a clear description of your target career or role. For example, when seeking a junior manufacturing role in computer assembly, you might search for keywords like "computer hardware," "assembly technician," or "junior production specialist." If you find yourself hitting a brick wall, consider starting with a single keyword search on your job search platform and referring to listing results for additional keywords.  Networking and Engaging With Online Recruiters Job search platforms make it extremely convenient to start a conversation with a recruiter or potential employer. Most job search platforms support  direct messaging features where you can begin a casual discussion with hiring parties to learn more about a specific role or job opening before applying.  You also have the opportunity to browse an organization's profile page for reference to the various company roles and positions. Doing so lets you connect with the relevant department representative for more details on a specific vacancy, clarify expectations, and work out a smoother job application process.  Showcasing Relevant Skills and Achievements Promoting relevant skills and accolades in your job search profiles enables hiring parties to locate and contact you when they are actively searching to hire for a role that matches your credentials. Similar to how job seekers rely on strategic keywords to find the perfect employers, recruiters and hiring companies also turn to trending terms to discover the most qualified talent.  Aside from technical skills, you should also promote soft skills that have become highly sought-after across industries since the uncertainties of the pandemic. Some of the  top soft skills in recent times include communication, problem-solving, creativity, and time management. Soft skills could prove a game-changer when recruiting companies decide between candidates with similar technical experiences and qualifications.  Researching Companies Before Hiring  It is recommended to conduct thorough research on a company before applying for a given role. Job search platforms serve as a transparent and accessible channel for checking  employee testimonials, reviews, and other forms of social proof  to assess the culture of a potential workplace. Employee-sourced content can help provide exclusive insights on topics like recent mergers, career development opportunities, and trust levels among management.  You should also look at other links for a comprehensive company assessment. For instance, you could visit the organization's blog for references to upcoming events, corporate activities, contributions, and employee involvement.  Takeaway While job search platforms can significantly streamline employment efforts, strategic optimization of your online presence remains crucial. By doing so, you can communicate with your preferred companies, gain a mutual understanding of priorities, and ultimately agree on the best hiring arrangement.  MRINetwork functions as a global network of talent advisors that has supported the workforce across 40 countries through periods of transformation and challenges.  Visit MRINetwork  to discover how you can enhance your career journey with our trusted job experts. 

Businesses have the unique challenge of prioritizing the recruitment of experienced workers amid a global talent shortage. Salary negotiation is a potential success strategy for differentiation organizations from their competitors. Companies need to know how to be flexible without undercutting their bottom line, while applicants need to know their value while not asking for more money than is available. Understanding the Importance of Fair Compensation Fair compensation must benefit both employees and employers. A salary shows a worker's value, reflecting their skills, experience, and importance to the company. Competitive salaries help staff maintain a healthy work-life balance and discourage them from quitting. However, it’s important not to put all the business funds into the recruitment budget. “Fair” means affordable for the company as well as beneficial for the employee. After all, when the business grows and increases its profits, everyone benefits. Preparing for Salary Negotiations as an Employer Employers can take the following steps to ensure a successful salary negotiation during the recruitment process: •           Make sure any job posting or salary discussion is compliant and legal, and don’t prevent existing employees from sharing information about their salaries if they want to. •           Ensure salary offers are fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory. •           Consider if bonuses or other additional monetary rewards are possible or appropriate. •           Research current salary data for the role in question. •           Ensure you have a process in place for gathering feedback on your recruitment process. That way, you can understand if your salary negotiation techniques are causing job applicants to go elsewhere. You could also prepare to offer a probationary period during which the candidate would receive a lower rate of pay, and if they perform at a high standard, you could then up that pay rate. This could be a good compromise for companies that want to know they’re making a good investment. Tips for Candidates During Salary Discussions Applicants may come to an interview wanting more money than initially advertised on the job posting, but not everyone is taking the step to try and negotiate a higher salary. Many don’t feel confident or comfortable asking for more money, particularly women and younger workers . Candidates can try the following tips to gain that confidence and ask the right questions: •           Research current salaries for the role and other data such as bonuses or commission. •           Decide on an absolute minimum salary and refuse to go below that, but don’t lead with this figure during negotiations. •           Create talking points on why this salary is appropriate e.g., achievements at previous company, specific and sought-after skillset, or other differentiators. •           Don’t accept a job offer straight away. Ask for time to think about the role and salary, and be sure to take note of any deadlines. Applicants should know their value and aim high, but not so high that recruitment professionals write them off immediately. Negotiating Non-Monetary Benefits and Perks Benefits can be a vital part of salary negotiation. Health insurance, vacation days, and other standard benefits are great, but will more than likely be similar to what’s offered by competitors. Consider what’s important to your candidates and what sets you apart. Can you guarantee them career progression opportunities and on-the-job learning and development ? According to recent reports , 71% of employees state that development increases job satisfaction, with 61% citing it as a reason to stay with a company.  Flexible working is also a top priority for many candidates, and can benefit businesses by boosting productivity . Creating a working week that matches the needs of applicants could help employers move through salary negotiation faster and with better outcomes for both. Reaching Win-Win Agreements in Salary Negotiations Employers and candidates should both come away from salary negotiation talks feeling satisfied and excited about the next steps in the recruitment process. It’s important for both parties to be flexible and transparent, so there’s no confusion or disagreement later down the line. Successful salary negotiations lead to mutually beneficial outcomes. Businesses gain the added benefit that new hires who are happy with their salaries will tell other top talent in their circles, increasing the chances of hiring more applicants looking for a great place to work.  Follow  MRI Network  for more advice and expertise in hiring top talent.

Forty-nine percent of job seekers have rejected a job offer because of a negative event, such as a slow or disorganized interview process. So, you should prioritize the overall candidate experience for better recruiting outcomes and increase your organization's reputation. Here are some ways to improve workflows when hiring employees, from application to onboarding.  Simplify the Application Process Overly complex job applications can negatively impact a job seeker's experience. In fact, applications that take more than 15 minutes to complete wouldn't receive a response from more than 70% of candidates , according to one study.  That's why it's essential to streamline applications as much as possible. You can do this by asking candidates fewer questions and collecting more detailed information from the most qualified applicants later in the recruiting process. Another way to simplify applications is to make it easier for job seekers to submit information like resumes and cover letters. For example, allow candidates to upload files in different formats rather than just Word documents.  Improve Communication More than half of candidates in the United States, UK, Ireland, and Germany expect to hear back from an employer in one week or less after applying for jobs. Delayed communication — or no communication at all —can frustrate job seekers, increasing the chances of them dropping out of your recruiting process.  Improve communication by keeping candidates informed during every step of their journey. For example, sending a personalized email to confirm you've received someone's application only takes a few seconds and can enhance your organization's reputation.  Provide Feedback and Status Updates Don't ghost a job seeker if they don't make it to the next stage of your hiring process. Instead, send them a quick email with the reasons why you didn't choose them for a role. This transparent feedback might mean a lot to someone finding it difficult to get a job, and they might share their positive experience with your company online. Also, provide information to qualified candidates as they progress through your recruitment workflows. For example, you might want to tell someone to improve their resume before they meet a hiring manager.  Status updates can also enhance the candidate experience. Applicant tracking software will send job seekers notifications as they approach different recruitment milestones, such as attending an interview. You can then view analytics about how long it takes candidates to move through your hiring funnel.  Improve Onboarding  The candidate experience includes onboarding, where you introduce new hires to your organization. At this recruiting stage, applicants are typically nervous about meeting your team, so you'll want to make them feel comfortable. Encourage new employees to reach out if they have a question or problem with their jobs and provide them with HR resources that ease their transition into your company. Employee handbooks, welcome packages, and training sessions can result in seamless and more successful onboarding.  A formal mentorship program can further improve onboarding outcomes. A mentor can help a new hire learn and grow , leading to increased trust and team cohesion. The hire can also ask the mentor questions about their role, freeing up resources and workloads for your HR team .  Collect Feedback From Candidates It's important to gather feedback from candidates at various stages of the recruiting process, including after orientation. That will help you improve the way you hire candidates and welcome them to your organization.  How you collect this information depends on where the candidate is in your workflow. For instance, you can ask someone how easy it was to apply for a role at their interview and use this feedback to streamline future application forms. Alternatively, send new hires a survey a few weeks after orientation to gauge their opinions about your recruitment procedures.  Takeaways Optimizing the candidate experience results in fewer applicants dropping out of your recruiting process, ensuring your organization's reputation. Simplifying applications, enhancing communication, providing feedback and status updates, improving onboarding, and gathering information from candidates can help you achieve this goal. Making life easier for job seekers can also attract more talent and increase offer acceptance rates.  You can further improve hiring outcomes if you work with an expert in talent strategy and recruitment. MRINetwork helps you find the right employees for your unique use case so you can always access the world's top talent. Follow MRINetwork to learn more about the candidate experience, applications, onboarding, and other topics.