07/22/2016  //  By deanna kane  //  Recruiter Best Practices
[socialwrap][socialicon name=”linkedin”][socialicon name=”twitter”][/socialwrap]Summer vacation is about decompressing. But if you have a daunting workload that looms ahead, prepare in advance so you can enjoy your vacation and return to the office ready to take on the fall recruiting season. Follow the below pre-vacation recruiting tips to prepare for a successful post-vacation return.

Book career fair travel arrangements

With all the diversity events, campus career fairs and HR industry events scheduled for the fall, book your flights and hotel accommodations now to avoid expensive airfare and sold-out hotels as you approach the events. If your company does not offer a product that organizes your online travel, consider downloading an app like TripIt before you leave to ensure all of your recruiting arrangements are in one location, easy to navigate when you shift back into work mode.

Up the referral ante

Prior to your departure, remind employees of your company’s referral program. Send out an email that details the structure of your organization’s program, and the incentives you offer. Consider upping the referral bonus structure for a short time frame during your absence, to encourage more employees to refer top talent from their networks. Upon your return, you should have an exciting pipeline of candidates to review.

Share your career fair schedule

Let candidates in your talent community know your company’s upcoming career fair schedule. Send them the list of diversity and campus career fairs on your fall agenda, so you can book meetings with top candidates in advance. Use scheduling software to enable candidates to sign up for interviews and lessen your administrative workload.

Warm up your talent community

Create a candidate communication calendar now, for publication in September and October that includes touch points to warm up candidates in your talent community. Create emails and newsletters that include the benefits of your organization, thought leadership pieces, company updates and interviewing tips, to keep your organization top of mind and help convert these passive candidates into new hires. Send to the correct stakeholders at the company for edits while you are away, and tackle the final approvals upon your return. You will be ready to hit the ground running in September.

Download the necessary apps

If leaving the office for an extended period of time makes your heart beat a little faster and stomach a little queasy, download apps prior to your vacation departure to help you work efficiently while away from the office.

Put on your out of office message

Following these pre-vacation steps should make you feel comfortable that you have proactively prepared for your time away and ready to face a successful fall recruiting season, upon your return.

Are you looking for ways to prepare for a successful fall recruiting season? Learn how our recruiting software can help you do just that.