Hiring for a lending business

Financial industry jobs are anticipated to grow by 10% by the year 2026. This means it will soon become more important than ever for financial services recruiters to know how to find, hire, and retain talent. 

Lending service hiring is a very specific process. It has challenges that make it more difficult to find the right people to fill open roles than other industries may have. Your company’s financial services recruitment strategies need to be on point if you want to land the most qualified candidates.

What Are the Challenges of Financial Services Recruitment?

Every industry is unique when it comes to best practices in recruiting new candidates. However, many would argue that the financial industry is the most difficult. A large reason for this is simply a lack of suitable talent. In fact, 76% of accountancy and finance employers said a shortage of suitable applicants is the biggest obstacle they face when it comes to hiring. When you add the fact that financial industry jobs often require niche skill sets, navigating a small pool of candidates is even more challenging. Finally, financial employers are often competing with many other sectors for new talent. Many young employees today are pursuing jobs in fields like tech over finance. So, you’re not only competing against your direct competitors but companies in other industries as well.

How Can You Improve Your Lending Service Hiring Strategy?

Despite these challenges facing the industry, there are ways you can position your company ahead of the competition to land some impressive new hires.

Improve Your Employer Branding

If you want to get the attention of quality candidates, you will need to invest in your employer’s brand. You should begin by researching how potential candidates perceive your brand and the things they really want to know about you. Then, you can analyze how those expectations differ from what you’re actually showing them. How can you influence potential candidates’ perceptions about you to appeal to even more people?

For example, you’ll likely be competing with new, fintech companies that have a youthful, engaging brand. If that is something many candidates are looking for, they will skip applying to your traditional, conservative brand. In order to be competitive, you’ll need to make sure your company comes across in a way that resonates with the people you consider to be your ideal candidates. 

Use Recruitment Marketing Strategies

Lending service hiring really is a form of marketing and it doesn’t end with your company branding. You’ll also want to consider how you can employ strategies that will help you build an extensive pool of qualified candidates. This pool can be used for both current and future job openings. 

You’ll want to use digital tools such as programmatic advertising to help get your open positions in front of the right candidates. Another effective strategy is to create ideal candidate profiles for any job openings. This will help you identify the attributes that are most essential to success on the job. It will also help you employ programmatic advertising that targets the candidates with the skills you’re looking for.

Expand Your Sourcing Strategy

Are you looking in the right places to find new hires? Your open positions should be posted in relevant places like social media platforms and online job boards. Online job boards are one of the best places to advertise your openings since 71% of finance professionals said they look for work through these platforms. You can utilize general job boards such as LinkedIn or Indeed and specialist lending service hiring boards.

College job fairs and other recruiting events are another great way to expand your sourcing strategy. These are especially effective in meeting entry-level candidates. If the results of these strategies aren’t satisfactory, utilizing a recruiting agency like Brightwing is an excellent option. We can help you create a more effective sourcing strategy and even take some of the work off of your hands.

Make Growth and Inclusion Part of Your Employee Value Proposition

Today, employees are looking for more than a place to earn a salary. They want to work for a company that encourages their personal growth and prioritizes inclusion. Candidates should hear your employee value proposition (EVP) and immediately know there’s nowhere else they’d rather work. Can you offer training opportunities that your competitors can’t or won’t? Are there clear paths for advancement within the company? Do you hire people of all backgrounds? These are all things that should be an integral part of your EVP. 

Connect Through Email and Social Media

Email and social media are highly effective ways to reach the younger generations of applicants. Consider utilizing email as a way to stay in touch with candidates who didn’t make the cut. You can maintain a relationship and nurture them to keep them in the loop for future job openings using email.

Professional social media sites like LinkedIn are also useful for connecting with candidates. If you’re not convinced it’s a place to spend your time and money, consider that 49% of professionals follow relevant organizations on social media to keep up with their recruitment processes. You already know they are looking there, so why not reach them where they’re already active?

Start An Employee Referral Program

There is no one better to vouch for your company than someone who already works there. Inevitably, your employees will know people who work in similar industries or at other companies. Getting employee referrals is an extremely easy and efficient way to reach new talent. 

You can start a referral program by rewarding employees for recommending employees they think would make great candidates. Employee referral programs lower the time to hire and also help save on recruiting costs so you are not sourcing. In addition, you already know these candidates have a good relationship with your current employees, which is a win-win.

Lending Service Hiring is Hard

There’s no denying that recruiting in the financial industry is hard. Talent is in short supply and the competition is fierce. That’s why lending service hiring and recruiting has to be an active process, not a passive activity. You need to show potential employees why working for you will be the best choice for them. That means marketing to job seekers in a similar way to how you market to your customers.

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