Create the perfect candidate pool: Proven Techniques & Tips

Imagine: a space where each recruited profile is a precise and personalized response to the changing needs of your position to be filled; a tool where each application, even if not selected, is a potential future collaborator preciously preserved, ready to be mobilized. This is called an application pool.

From student talent to former colleagues, each person is a valuable resource, meticulously collected and maintained, feeding a rich network of skills that can propel your recruitment strategy to new horizons. Thanks to optimized management and innovative methods, recruiters are no longer in a search, but in a selection of qualified profiles, guaranteeing undeniable responsiveness in the face of each new job need.

Immerse yourself in the world of the application pool to discover each step and advice to build, manage and maintain your talent pool, thus ensuring a rapid, relevant and effective response to your future recruitment challenges.

1 - What is an application pool?

It is a strategic pool of professionals who have already shown an interest in your business, or who may do so in the future. This is the pool from which you can draw your future talents.

2 - Understand the challenges of a candidate pool

2.1 - Strategic and operational challenges

Your pool is not just a list of names, it is a key strategic asset. This is why it is necessary to engage in the constitution, management, and development of this pool of candidates with a vision that exceeds immediate needs and also meets the future goals of your organization.

2.2 - The importance of a pool in a competitive context

In our digital and ultra-competitive age, every company seeks to win the talent race. Each time a position is vacated or created, the race starts. But imagine if you already had a head start? What if you already had a set of candidates who were relevant, interested, and possibly ready to join you?

2.3 - The evolution of the breeding ground with the advent of technology

Technology has transformed the way candidate pools are created and managed. Software now makes it possible to centralize information, automate certain tasks, and thus focus on what is crucial: establishing and maintaining quality human relationships with potential candidates.

3 - Establishment of a pool of candidates

3.1 - Application sources

Spontaneous applications : Think of each unsolicited application not as a simple proposal, but as an extended hand to your company, an affirmation of a candidate's interest.

Applications not selected : Never to be overlooked. A candidate not selected today could very well be the rare pearl of tomorrow, as long as their application is managed with consideration and strategy.

Current and former collaborators : Your current alumni and employees are mines of untapped talent and potential ambassadors for your employer brand.

Social networks : While LinkedIn is a must, other networks can hide rare talents.

Job Shows and Fairs : These places of meeting and exchange are a real fruitful playground for sourcing and employer branding.

3.2 - Methodology for creating a relevant base

Building a quality pool requires a meticulous and deliberate methodology.

Sorting and ranking resumes : A well-ranked resume is a candidate who can be found and contacted easily in a timely manner.

Constant update : An updated pool is synonymous with dynamism and relevance in your recruitment strategy.

Interactions with candidates : Do not leave them in the shade. An informed and respected candidate will be more likely to respond positively to your future offers.

4 - Management and optimization of the pool

4.1 - Use of technology

Integrating Artificial Intelligence and exploiting dedicated digital tools means offering yourself the possibility of streamlining and automating time-consuming tasks while remaining precise and effective in your recruitment actions.

• The Contribution of Artificial Intelligence: Create bridges between business needs and the skills available in your pool.
• Pool Management Software and Tools: Centralize and optimize data to gain responsiveness and relevance during your future hires.
• Competency assessment software: Evaluating candidates means making sure you only retain the best.

This is how, after several years of R&D with researchers in Psychology and Neuroscience, we imagined Yuzu : one New Generation Assessment Center, specialized insoft skills assessment (the famous soft skills).

With Yuzu, talents are immersed in scenarios developed with the latest technologies of the Video game.

The evaluations, on the other hand, are accessible to all profiles thanks to simplified orders and cloud technologies (all you need is a computer and an internet connection to be evaluated).
have it evaluated).

Improve your candidate pool with Yuzu by clicking here!

The advantages of our solution:

• One candidate experience exceptional to boost your employer brand ;
• A solution accessible to all to ensure inclusive recruitment ;
• A decision support tool to detect and promote interpersonal skills.

Whether it's for your recruitment process Or of internal mobility, we are transforming the assessment of Soft Skills in a strong and fun moment. Thanks to this, you will then have a very precise vision of the soft skills of your candidates in your application pool.

4.2 - Maintaining a dynamic breeding ground

For your pool to remain a living and productive resource, maintaining a sincere and regular relationship with your candidates is fundamental.

Animate the Database : Don't leave your talents in oblivion.

Regular Update : Ensure the relevance of your data by updating it frequently.

Interaction and Retention of Candidates : Build a relationship of trust, become a recruiter of choice in their mind.

5 - New trends to enrich your pool

A pool of candidates requires dexterity, new trends are emerging as substantial allies in this quest for talent.

5.1 - Talent communities

A clear definition of talent communities could be the union of qualified and interested profiles, grouped together in a structured and organized network. It's a striking example of how human resources are rethinking their strategy to create a deep and useful candidate pool.

Definition and advantages : Talent communities are spaces, often online via a dedicated site or social network, where professionals exchange and develop relationships around a specific profession or expertise. The advantages are numerous, including the sharing of experience and the resulting natural co-option.

Creating an Active Community : To set up such a community, it is necessary to collect and manage relevant and up-to-date contact data. A tool such as Excel can be a starting point, although a more suitable solution is application management software or a specialized CV library. Consider each shared experience, each profile explored, and each contact established during events (physical or virtual) as a valuable asset to enrich your database. Such a practice, regularly fed by quality content and intensive exchanges, will transform this community into a constantly renewed talent pool.

5.2 - Integrating employees into the process

The best ambassador for your company may well be the employee who, week after week, works alongside you.

Why are Collaborators your Best Ambassadors? : Employees experience the company from within, they are in the best position to share their experience and source potential candidates from their network. Encouraging them to participate directly in the recruitment process, through a sponsorship system for example, is a win-win method.

How to Encourage Internal Sponsorship? : Setting up an internal recommendation system can be done by clearly defining the benefits for the sponsoring employee. For example, a reward system for each recommended and recruited candidate, or benefits such as an extra day off, can prove to be effective drivers.

It is important to note that such a process requires clear and regular communication with the teams. It is not necessarily a question of finding the perfect candidate the first time, but of developing a practice where each member of the team becomes an integral part of the recruitment process.

6 - Common mistakes and how to avoid them

One of the first pitfalls when you want to create a pool Is the methodical management of spontaneous applications. Indeed, although each profile received may seem interesting at first glance, it is crucial not to automatically include them all in your talent pool.

Over the last months, you have no doubt had a flow of varied profiles, some of which may seem adequate for a type of position, but without an adequate classification strategy, these resumes can get lost in the meanders of a database poorly organized.

Another common mistake is the use of a spreadsheet to manage this influx. While this solution may seem relevant at the moment, it is often time-consuming and difficult to manage on the long term. Ultimately, a specialized tool, such as a CV library, is necessary to gather, organize, and above all, allow automatic filtering of applications, offering a gain of times not negligible.

Neglect the social networks in your recruitment strategy can also be a barrier. One social network, in the service of recruitment, goes well beyond the status of a jobboard and is proving to be a goldmine of potentially qualified candidates. It is an essential part of building a talent pool, allowing you to see and be seen by specialists in the same sector, to carry out qualitative sourcing and to arouse the interest of potential candidates in your company.

To think that the creation of the pool is the culmination of work is also a common misunderstanding. A breeding ground must be a living organism that breathes, evolves, and renews itself according to the needs and interactions with candidates. One communication regularly with them, by inrush or via your networks, guarantees to maintain their interest in your future offers and to keep them informed of statute of their application.

Also, do not update the coordinates or key candidate information is a mistake that can be costly. A person whose profile was integrated six months or a year ago was able to see their situation evolve: new position, new skills, or change of contact details. Without an update, you may miss out on talent or waste time reaching out to someone who is not available or not interested.

Sometimes recruiters or managers have to face a lack of time, pausing the updating of the pool, which allows valuable information to disappear, and thus create a deficit in the available talent pool. Indeed, if candidates do not immediately see interest in their application or if the positions are not filled quickly, they may think that their profile is not interesting enough for your company and turn to the competition.

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To remember

The final stage of each recruitment process offers a moment to reflect, an opportunity to look to the future and ask ourselves: how can we do better? Creating a pool of candidates is not a task that is done once and for all; it is a commitment to constantly feed and use your database in order to anticipate the needs of tomorrow.

Each spontaneous application, each interaction on a social network, each new qualified profile that integrates your database, must be seen as an investment. An investment in the future of your business so that each candidate shares a positive opinion as would a satisfied customer.

In short, your breeding ground is your ticket to succeed in your recruitment.

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