Government hiring is known for being slow and outdated – but you can flip the script. These hiring tips will separate your recruitment strategy from the crowd.
Article Highlights
7 Recruiting Tips to Revamp Recruitment in the Public Sector
- Optimize job descriptions
- Develop a proactive recruitment strategy
- Lengthy hiring process
- Reinforce your employer brand everywhere
- Advertise on multiple job boards
- Automate candidate communication
- Centralize hiring in one system
If you read our breakdown of the most common challenges in government hiring, these will sound familiar: paper-based processes, inefficient candidate sourcing, and slow hiring timelines that can’t keep up with today’s competitive job market.
Now that you know what your hiring problems are, let’s talk about solutions. Explore 7 simple, effective strategies to modernize your recruitment strategy and strengthen your approach to government hiring.
7 Recruiting Tips to Revamp Recruitment in the Public Sector
Every stage of the recruitment process is an opportunity for improvement. From the first job post to the last interview, each step plays a role in how quickly you can bring the right candidate on board.
With a few key changes, you can reduce time-to-hire, enhance the candidate experience, and streamline internal processes for your team.
Whether you’re looking for simple tweaks or complete tech overhauls, these hiring tips explore ways to revamp all aspects of public sector recruitment.
1. Optimize job descriptions
When was the last time you updated your job descriptions template? If it’s been a while, you’re not alone. Many public sector job postings are extremely long, filled with jargon, and deeply impersonal.
That just won’t cut it today when candidates are more intentional – and critical – than ever in their search for a new role. Job seekers are scanning postings and deciding quickly if the job is worth their time. Your job descriptions should help applicants see themselves in the role and encourage the right people to click ‘Apply’.
Here are a few ways to optimize your job descriptions:
- Speak directly to the candidate. Start by thinking about your ideal candidate. What skills are they bringing? What are they looking for in a role? What language will resonate with them? Write your job description with them in mind. Bonus tip: Use second person pronouns, like “you will” or “you’ll be responsible for”, to make it feel more personal.
- Ditch the jargon. Use clear, widely recognized terms and position titles that most candidates are familiar with. For example, job seekers are more likely to search for “Public Relations Specialist” versus “PR & Mktg Spec III”.
- Include three types of responsibilities in every post:
- Strategic: The big picture goals the role supports
- Specific: The day-to-day tasks and expectations of the role
- Experimental: Areas where the candidates have some creative freedom to explore new ideas or shape the role based on their strengths
When candidates see themselves contributing to your organization just by reading a job description – you’re doing it right.
2. Develop a proactive recruitment strategy
Too often, recruitment isn’t triggered until a position becomes vacant, creating more complexity and increasing time-to-hire. Shifting to a proactive recruitment strategy keeps you one step ahead of hiring needs.
When you proactively recruit, you’re identifying and engaging with qualified professionals and past applicants on a continual basis. Tools that allow you to tag, categorize, and track candidate interactions make this much easier, so when a role opens up, – you already have a shortlist of qualified candidates.
Consider using CRM software to keep you organized and in-touch with talent year-round. A CRM can help you manage candidate outreach, source qualified candidates, and nurture relationships over time. By following a proactive recruitment strategy powered by a CRM, you’ll never have to start from zero again.
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3. Lengthy hiring process
Manually reviewing every application just isn’t feasible. It’s slow and tedious – and in this competitive job market, that lag can cost you great candidates. When you’re moving fast and pulled in different directions, you need a screening process that can quickly find the best candidates without sacrificing quality.
By automating the first round of screening, you can filter applicants in minutes based on certain skills, required certifications, or preferred qualifications. You’re left with a list of the most qualified applicants and more time to connect with them.
An applicant tracking system makes this process easy. Look for recruiting software built to handle the complexities of public sector hiring that allow custom screening questions, auto-flag qualified candidates, and manage eligible lists without extra effort.
4. Reinforce your employer brand everywhere
When searching for a new job, candidates want to know who they’ll be working for. A strong employer brand connects the dots between your mission, culture, and values – and their experience as an employee.
Employer branding starts by sharing employee stories, unsung perks and benefits, and pictures of your workspaces in job ads and landing pages. Showcase what makes your agency a great place to work on every platform and at every candidate touchpoint.
With a CRM like NEOGOV’s Attract, you can personalize the candidate experience by creating branded career pages for specific departments, agencies, and job types. Adding your logo, brand colors, and details about the hiring process ensures your employer branding strategy creates a clear and consistent candidate experience.
5. Advertise on multiple job boards
If you’re only posting jobs on your agency website or a single online job board, you’re likely missing out on qualified candidates. In a competitive job market, especially for specialized or hard-to-fill roles, the more visibility your post has, the better.
A strong recruitment marketing strategy includes posting across a variety of job boards to attract candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Plus, posting your open jobs far and wide increases the chances you’ll attract more perfect-fit candidates.
Recruiting tools, like NEOGOV’s JobTarget integration, allow you to distribute your job ads to over 25,000 job boards with just a few clicks – including primary networks like LinkedIn and Indeed, niche industry sites, and regional networks. You can also manage your recruitment marketing budget, streamline invoicing, and track which candidate sources are delivering the best results.
6. Automate candidate communication
Nobody likes being ghosted – especially job seekers. Clear and timely communication is key to a great candidate experience, but following up manually isn’t always realistic.
Automating some of your communication with candidates can keep them engaged throughout the hiring process. Use email templates and personalized messaging to follow up with candidates at key points in the process, whether you’re confirming an interview, providing status updates, or inviting them to apply for a new role.
With the right CRM, you can set up automated email campaigns for specific roles. Better yet, NEOGOV's Attract CRM comes with a Virtual Recruiter that will automatically send personalized messages to qualified candidates inviting them to apply for roles they’re perfect for.
7. Centralize hiring in one system
When your recruitment data is spread across email, spreadsheets, paper files, and disconnected tools, it’s impossible to measure success, track progress, or pinpoint where to make improvements.
By centralizing your hiring processes into a single system, you’re also centralizing your hiring data. The best way to do this? An applicant tracking system (ATS).
With an ATS, you gain the ability to track hiring in real-time, create instant reports, and show progress towards your goals. This makes it easier to manage all your hiring processes from start to finish and leverage comprehensive reporting tools that gives you a clear view of what’s working well and what’s not.
For help choosing the right system, check out The Best Recruiting Software in the Public Sector.
Agencies Like Yours Have Already Transformed Hiring
From writing clearer job descriptions to automating candidate outreach, revamping your recruitment process is well within your reach. With the right tools and a proactive approach, government hiring can be more efficient, strategic, and candidate-friendly.
Agencies are already seeing success by putting these strategies into action. Want proof? Read How 7 Local & State Governments Used Recruiting Software to Transform Hiring.
