Optimizing Candidate Sourcing: 10 Strategies for SMB Success (Part 2)

In the competitive landscape of talent acquisition, we’ve gathered twenty-one unique strategies from CEOs, Founders, and HR professionals to help your SMB attract top candidates.

From partnering with specialized recruiters to providing relocation assistance packages, discover how these leaders tailor their recruitment efforts to bring in the best talent.

• Target Fresh College Graduates
• Engage Local Expat Communities
• Optimize Job Listings for SEO
• Create an Employee-Employer Charter
• Host Virtual Open House Events
• Sponsor Local Project Contests
• Publish Free Listings on LinkedIn
• Market Company Culture on Social Media
• Showcase Company and Candidate Value Alignment
• Provide Relocation Assistance Packages

Target Fresh College Graduates

At KIS, we’ve been looking for fresh college graduates who are willing to work. These young, enthusiastic people may lack certain skills, but with a willingness to learn and educate themselves, they can quickly catch up on the hard skills.

We are as transparent as it can be with how we work and what our core values are. We have realized that many Gen Z employees care much more than older people about DEI, about the company culture, approach to modern problems, and it’s something we find extremely valuable. Candidates who do their research, candidates who know what they want, and what they expect from the company, show great dedication towards their work hygiene.

Susan Andrews, HR Consultant, KIS Finance

Engage Local Expat Communities

A small yet widely international business like mine is always a bit tricky when it comes to recruitment, simply because the needs are diverse enough to make having one single source of talent not feasible, especially without a massive recruitment budget.

Something that has worked quite well in the past for me, however, has been turning to the local expat communities on various social media and local meetup platforms. These groups are usually absolutely packed with experts in various fields who are receptive to being snapped up for the right offer, since they’re in the country to develop their careers. This isn’t a very formal process, and you do need to spend time chasing people, but it is an excellent way to find rare skill sets in my experience.

Dragos Badea, CEO, Yarooms

Optimize Job Listings for SEO

We attempt to rank for job titles related to our open positions on Google. Localized SEO also offers the option for targeting potential candidates close to your area of business.

For example, our job descriptions are SEO-optimized and show up on Google for things like “Email Marketing Strategist” near me. SEO can be a free way to garner talent that is localized and niche-specific as well.

Erin Siemek, CEO, Forge Digital Marketing, LLC

Create an Employee-Employer Charter

We created an employee-employer charter, signed by myself as the CEO. It has two sides: for every promise we make as an employer, there is a reciprocal side we expect from employees. What that does is it takes away this idea that employers get to make all the demands.

In fact, it’s a two-way street. We say, ‘We create a workplace where you can be your authentic self,’ and your obligation, as an employee, is to simply ‘be yourself.’ We say, ‘We don’t tolerate bullying, in any form, for any reason,’ and the other half of that promise is, ‘You are kind, avoiding the pitfalls of office politics, cliques, or ganging up. This is a grown-up workplace, not a playground.’ We send this charter in emails to prospective candidates, and we have it linked on our website. It also forms part of our onboarding, in case people missed it the first time around.

This attracts the type of candidates who are willing to engage beyond the paycheck and who want to make the absolute most of their time at Articulate.

Matthew Stibbe, CEO, Articulate Marketing

Host Virtual Open House Events

One effective strategy we’ve employed is hosting virtual open houses that showcase our studio’s culture, projects, and career growth opportunities in 3D animation, game art, and character design. These events not only provide a transparent view of our creative environment but also allow potential candidates to engage directly with our team and understand our commitment to pushing creative boundaries.

We tailor these events by incorporating interactive demonstrations of our latest work and offering insights into upcoming projects. This approach not only attracts top talent but also fosters a community of passionate artists eager to contribute to our innovative storytelling ventures at Pixune.

Mohammad Goodarzi, Co-Founder, Pixune Studios

Sponsor Local Project Contests

Running a small locksmith business isn’t exactly known for attracting a massive pool of applicants. Most folks wouldn’t think of it as a hotbed for talent! But you know, security is a growing concern, and keeping up with the latest technology in locks and access control systems is pretty darn important. So, we’ve got to get creative to find the right people.

One thing that’s worked wonders for Keyzoo is sponsoring local tinkering contests. These events bring together tech enthusiasts, inventors, and just plain curious folks who love taking things apart and putting them back together—sometimes in really ingenious ways. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who are naturally handy and have a knack for problem-solving.

Now, these contests aren’t exactly filled with applicants with ‘Locksmith’ on their resumes. But what they do have are passionate, quick learners who are eager to get their hands dirty. We can train the technical aspects of lock repair and key cutting, but that tinkering spirit and dedication? That’s hard to teach.

So, we set up a booth at these events, show off some of the higher-tech locks we work with, and chat with folks about the challenges they love tackling. We even offer a special prize—a paid internship at Keyzoo, where they can learn from our experienced locksmiths and see if this path is a good fit.

It’s a win-win. We get to meet some truly talented folks who might not have otherwise considered a career in locksmithing, and they get a chance to explore a new field with a growing company. We’ve found some absolute gems this way, people who bring fresh ideas and a whole lot of enthusiasm to the team. It’s not your typical recruiting strategy, but for us, it’s unlocked a treasure trove of top talent.

Eli Itzhaki, CEO, Keyzoo

Publish Free Listings on LinkedIn

We were surprised to see how many skilled candidates applied to our opening published on LinkedIn. We didn’t pay a single penny for the listings and averaged 73 candidates across five different positions, with the most—183—applying for a junior marketing specialist.

Since a big part of our team is remote, we were open to candidates from across the entire country, which I believe made the biggest difference. LinkedIn has this cool feature where you can automatically reject candidates if they do not meet the criteria. Although we reviewed all the instant rejections manually, because sometimes it was a difference of two months of experience, the vast majority of them were indeed people who had absolutely no chance of progressing in the recruitment process.

Since our employees are one of our biggest ambassadors, they have published these openings and gained thousands of impressions on their posts. Although it was only the first step of the recruitment, we’ve sourced tens of great candidates this way and hired the top of the talent pool, while not spending a single dollar on the promotion of these positions.

Martin Kanaan, Head of Marketing and Business Development, Makolab

Market Company Culture on Social Media

Marketing isn’t just for external users—it’s a great way to attract top talent and viable candidates. One of the best ways to do so authentically is through social media because it gives prospective candidates a genuine peek behind the curtain while attracting even more great people your way. We like to share our team ‘in the wild,’ like candid shots during a team happy hour or product offsite. Highly talented people have plenty of options, so we like to showcase our culture so they can see everything they’ll experience as a part of our team, including camaraderie, fun events, and more.

We also like to use word-of-mouth advertising and let employees advocate for the company, sharing their positive experiences through their own lenses.

Elisa Montanari, Head of Organic Growth, Wrike

Showcase Company and Candidate Value Alignment

One effective strategy that we’ve utilized at Or & Zon to source candidates is direct outreach to individual artisans and studios globally. Given the nature of our business, focusing on luxury handcrafted goods, it’s essential for us to partner with individuals who are masters of their craft. To attract top talent, we tailor this approach by aligning it with our commitment to sustainability and ethical business practices.

I believe potential employees or partners are more likely to be interested if they see that their values align with the company’s. For instance, we discovered a family-owned ceramic studio in the heart of Tuscany using an age-old technique that was at risk of dying out. By directly reaching out and partnering with them, we gained unique products for our lineup, while they received support to continue their craft. This win-win model has not only helped us source top talent but also to preserve traditional crafts and techniques.

Guillaume Drew, Founder & CEO, Or & Zon

Provide Relocation Assistance Packages

To attract candidates from a broader geographic area, we provide comprehensive relocation-assistance packages. This includes covering moving expenses, temporary housing, and helping with the transition to a new city.

By removing the barriers associated with relocation, we attract top talent who might otherwise be hesitant to consider opportunities outside their current location. This commitment to support and ease their transition demonstrates our dedication to employee well-being.

Roman Zrazhevskiy, Founder & CEO, MIRA Safety