Energy Staffing and Recruitment: 3 Hiring Mistakes to Avoid

Need to recruit in the energy industry? Don’t fall victim to these 3 common hiring mistakes managers tend to make. In today’s tight talent market, it’s essential to tighten your hiring process to make sure you don’t lose out on top talent in the energy industry.

#1 Long hiring process

Chances are, top prospects in the energy industry are juggling multiple offers or holding out for just the right one. Before you launch your next energy staffing search, put systems in place to move through the process efficiently. Update your job descriptions to ensure it’s accurate for the open position and use language to entice people to apply. If multiple decision-makers are involved, check to see they will be available throughout the process. There is nothing more frustrating to a candidate than having to wait until a stakeholder gets home from vacation or a conference to find out where they stand.

Keep in mind that when a candidate submits a resume to the time it takes to review, interview, and assess, you could be looking at weeks before you make an offer.

According to a Glassdoor Economic Research report, the average hiring process in the US takes 23 days. At the same time, the energy market, on average, takes 28.8 days. Make a hiring decision promptly so the candidate doesn’t move on to other opportunities.

#2 Not communicating with your recruiter

Your recruiter is your lifeline to the energy staffing talent pool, so it’s essential to stay in touch. Let them know if the candidates they send are not entirely up to par and why you need to tweak the job description to make a more accurate match or how you are doing in the decision-making process. The advantage of working with a recruiter is they can handle the legwork and remove some of the stress from the hiring process. The only way to have a truly effective partnership is to have frank conversations and keep up a steady conversation stream.

#3 Not seeking passive candidates

Let’s be honest. With unemployment at record lows, the people you want to hire are already working for someone else. According to LinkedIn, 70 percent of the global workforce is made up of passive talent. You may feel uncomfortable “poaching” employees or not know where to look to find people with the specific skills you need. However, your recruiter can reach out to “passive” energy candidates and know where to find them. Recruiters spend years building up a network of contacts because they know many candidates can be placed more than once throughout their careers, and often, today’s job seeker is tomorrow’s hiring manager.

It’s in an energy recruiter’s best interest to stay in touch, especially since 94 percent of candidates say being contacted by their prospective manager can make them accept a job offer faster.

Doing so gives you an advantage when your energy job postings are going unanswered or attracting the wrong people.

At the FootBridge Company, our experienced recruiters specialize in acquiring top energy talent. Trust them to guide the process, and they will help you remain ahead of the competition and avoid hiring mistakes. Contact us today to learn more about our energy staffing solutions.