This document discusses 6 unconventional hiring strategies to attract top talent. It begins by introducing social recruiting, video interviewing and gamification as new strategies. It then discusses using creative job ads that draw attention through fun imagery. Another strategy is mass auditions, where candidates are invited to mimic company operations. Puzzles, brainteasers and case studies are also suggested to evaluate problem solving skills. Companies are advised to have candidates spend time with multiple hiring managers through short interviews and tasks. The final strategy recommends attending meetups and events in fields related to open positions and implementing referral rewards for employee and non-employee referrals.

1. 6 Unconventional
Hiring Strategies to
attract and hire
top talent

2. Introduction
 In this changing economy and job market, you’ll have to do things differently if you
always want best employees for your organization or startup.
 Social recruiting, video interviewing and gamification are some of the newest
hiring strategies in the war for talent.
 They change the way we communicate, free us from old school telephone and
paper processes, cutting through the time-sucking traditional hiring strategies and
cost savings in a changing economy and job market.

3. Introduction
 There are too many strategies but one thing companies need to keep in mind is
they have to make themselves attractive to the candidates.
 Put your creative challenges where your ideal candidates will see them, including
job ads, billboards, websites, wrap on company cars or whatever – then enjoy the
flow of quality qualified candidates they generate.
 Let’s take a look at some other out-of-box hiring strategies that are showing up in
the war for talent.

4. It all starts
with the Job
Ads
Creative and catchy ads can be a
game changer for the hiring
companies.
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5. It all starts with the Job
Ads
 Make the imagery fun and catchy job ads which can draw people’s attention.
 They get the more attention than classic job ads and get shared across
social media because of the emotions they cause.
 Looking at these job ads, candidates think that the interview will be
interesting and enjoyable.
 Creative job ads also build your employer brand, making your companies cooler
places to work for.

6. See this job ad by Microsoft; they know
how to target the high demand group.
And this one is way challenging.
Sure, bar work is a challenge.

7. Mass
Auditions
Invite candidates for mass
auditions.
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8. Mass Auditions
 Invite candidates for mass auditions. Ask them to mimic the company’s operation.
 Set them to work on a task and ask your existing employees to observe and takes
notes on each candidate.
 Look for collaboration, confidence, and skills. After the candidates have gone,
discuss with entire staff what they have seen.
 The good thing about mass auditions is the team makes all the decision and it is
fast.

9. Pose Puzzles &
Brainteasers
Does your company uses puzzles
and brainteasers?
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10. Pose Puzzles &
Brainteasers
Puzzles
 Start by giving basic puzzles to the candidates that you’re pretty sure the
candidate can solve.
 Discuss why the solution works, how the candidate found the
solution and what other approaches might have been worth try.
 Watching an interviewee solve a puzzle gives the employer a
chance to see how an interviewee approaches problem-solving.
 Then try giving difficult puzzles to the candidates and see if the
candidate understands the constraints.

11. Pose Puzzles &
Brainteasers contd..
Brainteasers
 Brain teasers don’t measure just intelligence but other attributes as well, like how
people behave under pressure, what kinds of assumptions they make and how well
they apply judgment.
 Although brain teaser questions are now being phased out by some companies,
some organizations still use them as a way to test your skills and to throw
something unexpected into the interview process.
 Often used as a method of filtering candidates, brain teaser questions can take a
number of different forms, from riddles to those which are based on a story or
situation.

12. Pose Puzzles &
Brainteasers contd..
Case studies
 Apart from puzzles and brainteasers, a better approach is to describe a situation
that resembles the one you might encounter in your business.
 You can propose strange twists and ask the candidate what might go wrong under
different circumstances to see how creatively he or she handles unexpected
problems.
 Evaluate how the candidates would think and perform in a real-life situation
similar to the kind that they would face on the job if you hired them.

13. Pose Puzzles &
Brainteasers contd..
Pre-Employment assessments
 Pre-employment assessments tests help companies by identifying the candidates
most likely to perform well on the job.
 Pre-employment skill testing can lead to additional benefits, such as saving time
and cost in the selection process, cutting off the irrelevant candidates and even
decreasing turnover.
 Moreover, pre-employment testing helps companies to increase their
productivity.
 Does your company use pre-employment assessments?

14. Date with
Candidates
Spend time with Candidates
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15. Date with Candidates
 Of course, not literally! Ask the candidate to spend a short amount of
time with four or more hiring managers and potential supervisors or
coworkers.
 The hiring manager can ask the candidate to perform a task.
 How the candidates perform, behaves when asked to bounce from one
short interview or task to another can give you the advantage of gathering a
greater number of opinions from the people who will be most involved with
the hire.

16. Attend
Meetups &
Events
Search for forums, meetups and
group events
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17. Attend Meetups & Events
 Forget Job fairs and try looking great talent at other events that aren’t
traditionally recruiting-related.
 It also gives you a chance to informally meet lots of different types of designers
and developers that will give you a better idea of what you are looking for
regardless of a CV.
 Search forums such as Meetup for group events that are likely to be attended by
people qualified for your open position.
 You’ll already know they’re passionate about what they do, and you’ll be able to
get a feel for what they’re like in person.

18. Referral
Rewards
Ask for referrals from
employees and non-employees
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19. Referral Rewards
 Hubspot is offering $10,000 to anyone that refers an ‘awesome’ developer that
they go on to hire. Yes, $10,000.
 All those organizations and startups that are looking for an extraordinary
developer or designer put in place a similar scheme to encourage referrals.
 Create a ‘Refer a friend’ page on your website using two examples above for
inspiration. It is easy to set up.
 For startups, you can either pay to who recommends a friend or just offer them a
one day treat in a five-star hotel.

20. Final Thoughts
 These days, finding the right talent requires a little creativity. Invite applicants for
a contest in your organization, or in a golf course to know more about them or
maybe just call them to play games in your organization.
 What could be more important than attracting and retaining the talent you need
to keep your company going? Nothing, right!
 If you are feeling the burn of competition, have openings that are going unfilled,
and are running out of places to look for the candidates you need, it’s time for
innovative hiring strategies.

21. About Interview Mocha
Interview Mocha is a leading provider of online assessment software for pre-
employment skill testing. Interview Mocha offers a pre-employment testing solution to
recruit quality candidates and reduce administrative hassles in recruitment.
You can get in touch with us at support@interviewmocha.com
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