As a recruitment marketing writer based in New Jersey, as soon as I realized we're halfway through 2021, I immediately thought of this: 

Jon Bon Jovi might have great success living on a prayer, but recruitment strategies don't.

What should you do if you're not meeting recruitment goals? 

But First, A Job Market Snapshot: 

• The U.S. unemployment rate declined slightly in May to 5.8%.
• There is a record 9.3 million jobs open right now. 
• The number of persons employed part-time for economic reasons is 5.3 million.
• The employment-population ratio, at 58%, is 3.1% lower than at the start of the pandemic.
• The labor force participation rate is 61%. 

Today's Labor Market Conditions are a Mess. 

Labor shortages plague every industry, talent communities (like women and early talent) face record low unemployment, baby boomers are retiring at scale and competition for skilled talent soars.

One of the most commonly felt shortages exists in supply and demand areas like supply chains and restaurants. We continue to see the prices of food and supplies skyrocket while simultaneously see an exorbitant increase in time to receive goods. Many restaurants are closing early or skipping out on days to give their few workers a break and restock pantry items. Construction crews and truck drivers see a major uptick in orders and jobs to complete but are limited in supplies to finish out tasks.

Honestly, it's a mess out there.  

According to Time, "In the U.S., the pandemic may seem to be ending. But the current hiring crunch is very much rooted in the pandemic, stemming from economic shutdowns, industry-specific restrictions and major shifts in consumer spending patterns last year. So as states declare a return to normal, employers find themselves facing a labor pool that is anything but." 

The good news is you're not the only one who may not be seeing the results you'd expect, or even need right now.

But what can you do to mind the gap? 

Recruitment Marketing Tech to Support Labor Pool Gaps. 

If you have a solid recruitment marketing tech stack, then you might not be in such bad shape; but if your tech stack is lacking, then it's likely more difficult to fill open roles.  

While there are numerous reasons top talent may be overlooking current open roles or looking to change roles and industries completely, one reason they may not be applying or joining your talent pools is simply that they don't see them. 

To appeal to today's talent, your recruitment tech needs to meet today's standards. That means an omnichannel approach. An approach that gets seen, where your target audience is. The following are key areas to evaluate to ensure you have the right recruitment marketing tools working in your favor. 

1. Attract talent with stellar career site branding. 
   To showcase your employer brand you'll want to make sure you build robust carer sites with all the right pieces. Beautifully designed career sites are important because they show off your brand colors, culture and vision. But the content within them should be purpose-built to tell your brand story. 
   
   Southern California Edison's (SCE) career site (below) showcases "What It's Like to Work at SCE." This career site shows off corporate values, like diversity and inclusion. By shining a light on these important values and using real-life imagery, SCE is advocating for a culture that each person should feel welcome to be part of. 
   
   
   In addition to corporate values, your career site should include the following elements: 
   - Your employer value proposition (EVP) 
   - Open roles and testimonials from current employees 
   - Talent pool sign ups 
   - A chatbot to answer candidate questions 24/7 
    
2. Target geographics or networks with strategic ad spend. 
   A killer career site isn't going to help if no one is visiting it. Get more interested eyes on your career pages by using programmatic advertising. 
   
   A well-integrated, automated solution runs all of your recruitment advertising from one system. This allows for consolidated billing, automated targeting and budgeting and eliminates vendor negotiations. 
   
   In regards to job visibility, programmatic ads use machine learning to automatically scan open jobs, suggest keywords and channels and then bid on ad space to meet your goals. In other words, the solution gives you total peace of mind and works to get in front of the target audiences you need without putting more work on your teams. 
   
   
   
   
   (Learn even more about programmatic advertising here.) 
   
   
3. Build personalized candidate relationships.
   Your recruitment CRM experience affects your talent experience. Here’s how.
   
   - CAPTURE: Evan wants to work for Company X, but sees no jobs that fit on the career site. He sees he can quickly submit his email and job interest so Company X can stay in touch.
   
   - NURTURE: Now that Evan is in the Sales pipeline, the CRM workflow triggers an email to ask him a few extra questions about his experience.
   
   - SCREEN: Evan clicks to return to the career site, where an AI chat assistant says hello. He asks a question about hiring veterans, then answers a few screening questions and submits his resume via chat. Next, he receives an email with an employee video.
   
   - REDISCOVER: Two months later, a Sales position opens at Company X. Smart workflows send this job right to Evan’s inbox, and a recruiter uses Pipeline Intelligence to prioritize a list of candidates. Evan’s on it.
   
   - ENGAGE: Evan receives an email from the recruiter to schedule an interview since the recruiter has already seen his resume in his CRM profile. Evan appreciated that the recruiter thanked him for his military service.
   
   - TRACK: Evan didn’t get this job, but his every interaction is tracked to his profile in the CRM, as well as any progress in the ATS. As a silver medalist, veteran and talent network member, he is primed for another potential opportunity.
   

(Learn more about today's labor shortage and how recruitment tech can help here). 

To dive into more recruitment marketing strategies, check out our Joy Roadshow. We'll be stopping across the country and meeting up with top brands to chat about recruitment marketing strategies, recruitment marketing technologies, workplace trends and more!