Show candidates some love this Valentine's Day season

Employers are working harder than ever to attract top talent and since it's Valentine's season, let's talk about adjusting your recruiting approach to attract your perfect candidates. Every recruiter has some idea of what they are looking for in an ideal candidate, but finding and attracting these candidates is becoming more and more difficult.

Step 1 - attracting the right candidates

Just like looking for a date on Valentine's Day, you might want to consider to dare being different. Actively try to stand out to candidates on a regular basis. Whether it's by updating content on your career site or building relationships with candidates, you should always be looking for ways to stand out and engage with potential candidates to create an edge over competition. You don't want to turn candidates off before even applying so pay attention to your employer brand and be true your organization's unique values that make it a desirable place for people to work.

Step 2 - convince them you are the one for them

Show candidates the real you. It's a candidate's world and there are plenty of other fish in the sea so you should be ready to fight to prove your worth to candidates. Be creative when engaging with candidates. Think about what makes you different and use it to help sell your brand.

Step 3 - don't just 'play it cool'

The more social and active you are with candidates, the better chance you have to attract candidates over your competition. Don't just play it cool. Engaging candidates in a personal way makes candidates feel as though their candidate experience is cutting-edge and they are more inspired to search for a job at your company.

Step 4 - let's stay friends

If a candidate ends up not being the right for a position, don't just break up. You likely spent valuable time getting to know candidates so don't just throw your relationship away. Stay friends. You never know when a different position may come up that could be a better fit for the candidate in the future.

Recruiting has a lot to do with building relationships and engaging with other people. You may have to kiss a few frogs before finding the perfect ones but don't let that stop you from showing candidates some love this Valentine's Day season.