5 Tips On Building A Talent Pipeline Before You Need To Fill Positions

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We’re sorry to say that in today’s fast-moving job market, reactive hiring just won’t cut it anymore. By the time a position opens on your team, competition is fierce, timelines are short, and your other employees are already feeling the pressure. That’s why smart employers are shifting their focus from hiring when needed, to building a proactive talent pipeline well before any role becomes available.

By staying ahead of the hiring curve, you get a major advantage by shortening how long it takes to hire and reducing recruitment costs. But perhaps most importantly of all, building your talent network will connect you to higher-quality candidates before your competitors even know they’re looking. 

But trust us when we say that building a talent pipeline isn’t just for big corporations with robust HR teams. Thanks to platforms like ZipRecruiter, even small and mid-sized businesses can access the tools they need to create a future-ready hiring strategy. Here’s five tips on how to build your talent pipeline by leveraging the platform’s smart tools, such as their robust resume database and smart matching technology. Remember that the employers winning in today’s hiring landscape aren’t waiting around for top talent to come knocking, but actively building networks and shaping a reputation that makes the top qualified job seekers want to work for them.

1. Make Your Employer Brand Stand Out

Before you can build a talent pipeline, you want to make sure your employer brand stands out from the crowd and speaks to what modern job seekers want: transparency. Remember to go beyond just having a flashy logo or catchy mission statement (although those are important, too) — sharing the honest story about what it’s like to work for you will help you attract the right kind of candidates.

Think about what your business is known for: are you releasing cutting-edge, innovative products? Are you known for providing flexibility in the workplace? Is your leadership a standout in your industry? Whatever sets you apart, make sure it’s reflected everywhere potential candidates interact with your brand. That means on job descriptions, and even your hiring profiles, such as on ZipRecruiter.

With ZipRecruiter‘s Company Profiles feature, you can highlight your employer brand directly on your job postings. Showcase your values and company culture in a way that makes top talent want to follow your company, even before a job opens up. When candidates recognize your brand as a place they want to work, you’re already a step ahead of the competition.

2. Search Resumes and the Resume Databases to Build a Bench of Talent

Don’t wait for applicants to come to you — a proactive pipeline strategy means sourcing potential candidates long before you post a job, and ZipRecruiter‘s Resume Database can be your secret weapon.

With access to over 53 million resumes¹ and more than 320,000 new profiles added monthly², ZipRecruiter gives you an incredibly large talent pool to draw from. You can use smart filters to search by skills, location, experience level, and more, letting you create shortlists of potential candidates who align with your future hiring needs. ZipRecruiter’s intuitive filters and AI-powered search functions also let you narrow your focus to candidates who meet very specific qualifications for your business, or for the position itself. Save promising profiles, organize candidates into lists, and then revisit them when the right opportunity arises.

3. Build Relationships Before You Need to Hire

That being said, building a talent pipeline isn’t just about having names on a list, but about cultivating relationships over time. Using ZipRecruiter‘s in-platform messaging tools, you can reach out to candidates and schedule meetings in one spot. This tool can keep you connected to your future hires without relying on cold outreach or manual processes.

When you reach out to potential candidates, don’t just copy-paste the same message — engage in meaningful conversations and keep them informed about your company’s growth. You can share updates about your team and future opportunities for your business, or even just industry insights they might find relevant. This way, when you eventually have an open role, you’re not starting from scratch, you’re just reconnecting with candidates who already know and trust your company.

4. Anticipate Your Future Hiring Needs

One common mistake employers make is only planning for current vacancies. Instead, take time to analyze your company’s growth trajectory and identify potential gaps six months, or even a year down the line — are you expanding into new markets? Adding new product lines? Scaling departments?

Having a clear view of your future hiring roadmap lets you source and network candidates before it becomes too urgent, and you have to resort to recruiting someone quickly who may not be the most qualified. This helps you stay on the offensive, and reduces the costly downtime associated with a long drawn-out hiring process. ZipRecruiter‘s Smart Matching Technology continuously works behind the scenes to recommend candidates based on your hiring history and preferences, so that even if you’re not actively hiring today, you can monitor who’s becoming available in the market and adjust your pipeline accordingly.

5. Streamline Your Hiring Process for the Future

Building a pipeline is only effective if your hiring process can keep up. A clunky or disorganized recruiting experience can scare away even the most eager candidates. Start refining your systems now so that when it’s time to make a hire, your process is efficient and candidate-friendly.

One way you can standardize communications is by automating interview scheduling and creating structured interview guides. A consistent, speedy process not only saves you time, but also helps you present your company as organized and professional. With ZipRecruiter‘s ZipIntro feature, you can eliminate the back-and-forth of interview planning entirely. You simply post a job, curate a candidate shortlist and tell ZipIntro when you’re available to meet candidates- especially those considering multiple offers.