Feeling burnt out trying to hire in this competitive job market? Find out how to win top talent despite today’s public sector HR challenges.

Finding quality candidates is a hard enough job on its own, but too often, HR professionals and hiring managers make the job even harder by grading applicants and candidates on the wrong things. Making job listing requirements highly specific or strenuous may actually be too prohibitive, discouraging eligible candidates who are more than capable of learning on the job or who have relevant experience that substitutes for a specific degree. On the flip side, using an unstructured interview process is only about 20% successful in predicting the future success of a candidate, according to Harvard Business Review. Then there’s the inevitable presence of unconscious bias, which can lead hiring decision makers to make snap judgments on candidates based on irrelevant information or past experiences, whether positive or negative.

Hiring great talent is part one of HR and the hiring manager’s job when filling vacancies -- the second is ensuring that the onboarding process runs smoothly enough so that they know their role, are integrated into the team, and are familiar with anything they need to know. That goes from the small (“Where’s the bathroom?”) to the large (“How do I navigate this system or technology to get my job done?”). Ensuring the first several weeks and months of a new employee’s role is laid out in depth can be the difference between an employee who is successful or not. 

Recent research by GovernmentJobs.com found that public sector applications are down overall even though hiring is on an upswing. This poses a problem today for agencies who are looking to fill critical vacancies. While offering unique perks and benefits, as well as a more stable work-life balance compared to the private sector, are great things you should be highlighting in your job postings, you should also consider what may be turning job applicants off early on in the hiring process. Doing everything you can to shine a light on what makes working for your organization special will help you get the best talent. Let’s take a look at nine red flags in job listings that prevent candidates from applying to a job.

The job market is hot right now, with many people not only job searching in the wake of the pandemic, but also being more selective about which jobs they apply to. This is likely to increase even further in the new year, when job applications are traditionally at their highest anyway. That’s why it’s so important that your organization has a careers site that stands out and is engaging to job seekers. You might have some of the best perks and opportunities for professional growth out there, but if your careers page doesn’t catch someone’s attention, they would never know it. 

While many public sector organizations attempt to up their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, how many of them are actually facilitating a welcoming environment for diverse employees? 

Even if your workplace is diverse, diverse employees may not feel understood, valued, and represented at every level of the organization -- and they may not feel like there are as many opportunities for growth. Beyond mission statements, there’s likely plenty of room for improvement throughout every stage of your hiring and retention processes.

Keep reading for actionable steps your team can take to foster a more welcoming environment for employees of diverse backgrounds. 

Workplace culture has become increasingly important for public sector organizations to develop and put into action. From attracting prospective employees to enjoying higher retention and productivity levels among existing employees, establishing a well-defined and positive workplace culture has a multitude of benefits. 

If you feel your time-to-hire and/or quality of candidates are not up to par, you should take a look at where you’re sourcing your candidates. This includes everywhere you post your jobs: online job boards, career pages, social networks, job fairs, traditional media like newspapers or magazines, and via referrals. This will allow you to determine where you get the best job candidates from.

It’s a question that seems obvious, but can be used to gain critical insight into your recruiting and hiring processes: how attractive is this job I posted to job seekers?Determining a job posting conversion rate will allow you to see which job postings are doing well and which could use some help to attract more applicants.

Now more than ever, the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion has become a hot topic in organizations across the country. Oftentimes when we think of DEI, however, thoughts of Equal Opportunity Employer statements or a Diversity page on the organization website are evoked, at best.