How to Recruit in a Lockdown: Spotlight on Censia’s ReadyToHire Initiative

How to Recruit in a Lockdown: Spotlight on Censia’s ReadyToHire Initiative

The COVID-19 pandemic is a catastrophe on a global scale. With Centers for Disease and Control estimating that the outbreak could result in the loss of between 200,000 and 1.7 million lives in the United States alone, it is a tragedy of epic proportions.

Until we develop an effective treatment or vaccine, nationwide social distancing measures are crucial to stemming transmission. The cost of protecting fragile health care systems is substantial, creating an economic slowdown across the United States that will be felt for years to come, triggering devastating health consequences in itself.

On April 2, 2020, unemployment claims across the United States jumped to an astounding 6.6 million. Forecasts indicate that unemployment could soon move into double digits, meaning that tens of millions of American citizens will face unemployment. But how is it possible to job hunt during a lockdown? How can recruiters reach out and connect with top talent?

Enter Censia’s ReadyToHire initiative.

About Censia

Censia

Censia uses AI technology to match the most suitable job candidates with open roles. It incorporates thousands of different factors to model ideal role fit, identifying transferrable skills to formulate shortlists of promising candidates from its database of more than 500 million professionals.

Censia effectively takes the leg work out of recruitment. Rather than taking days or weeks to produce a shortlist, as with the manual recruitment process, Censia creates one in a matter of minutes.

Censia’s ReadyToHire Initiative

On April 9, 2020, Censia launched its ReadyToHire initiative, leveraging its cutting-edge intuitive AI technology to match employees displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic with job opportunities at companies experiencing urgent hiring needs. Free to both candidates and hiring companies, Censia’s ReadyToHire platform does not require installation or integration with existing software programs.

The recruitment platform enables organizations facing layoffs to add profiles for displaced workers to Censia’s specialized website, tagging them as “ReadyToHire.” Employees can also add themselves.

Censia effectively leverages AI technology to match ReadyToHire talent with the most promising open roles. According to Censia co-founder and CEO Joanna Riley, the organization launched the initiative in response to rising unemployment countered by surges in critical hiring in other industries. Censia found itself uniquely positioned to help displaced employees straightaway.

ReadyToHire is optimized to provide companies with instant access to the qualified talent currently flooding the market, helping them quickly identify and engage with talented personnel when filling open roles at their organization.

For Jobseekers

To access Censia’s ReadyToHire platform, jobseekers simply sign up via the ReadyToHire module. Once candidates have completed the process, they receive a special software tag. Displaced employees will then be matched to best-fit job searches by companies with urgent hiring needs. Censia also provides displaced employees with resource kits to improve their chances of being hired.

Once a candidate’s name is added to the ReadyToHire database, they receive:

  • An AI-optimized profile highlighting their most transferrable and marketable skills
  • Free access to a selection of career development tools designed to simplify their job search
  • Prioritized ranking in search results returned to companies hiring talent
hiring

For Companies That Are Downsizing

Laying off staff is difficult for any employer. In this time of crisis, Censia’s ReadyToHire program offers companies in the process of downsizing the unique opportunity to take care of outgoing staff, enabling them to submit a list of displaced employees. Censia then adds displaced employee profiles to its global database of professionals, giving referred employees priority in search results. In light of the current crisis, ReadyToHire offers free access to companies hiring from its database.

By submitting a list of displaced employees, companies can:

  • Provide laid-off employees with immediate exposure to organizations with urgent recruitment needs
  • Enrich outgoing employees’ talent profiles through the implementation of AI technologies, expanding their employment opportunities
  • Ensure that the profiles of outgoing employees will be highlighted in Censia search results

For Companies Needing to Hire Quickly

While more than 16 million US employees have been displaced due to COVID-19, many companies are experiencing overwhelming hiring needs. Censia created the ReadyToHire platform to help companies with urgent hiring needs connect with talented candidates in the shortest time possible, allowing them to engage with qualified individuals who are ready to start working immediately.

Companies implementing Censia’s ReadyToHire program to meet their recruitment needs receive:

  • Access to Censia’s ReadyToHire database free of charge (no installation or integrations are necessary)
  • Enriched talent profiles providing insights into potential candidates’ abilities, enabling recruiters to hire with confidence
  • Access to a ranked shortlist of top-tier candidates with proven track records of success
  • The opportunity to receive increased exposure by contributing the most to rehiring displaced workers
  • Additional incentives for recruiting displaced staff

About the Author

Joanna RileyJoanna (Jo) Riley is an entrepreneur, investor, and advocate in technology, and is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Censia. Jo has a highly experienced background in building and scaling companies, which she attributes to her deep passion for people and building technologies that allow people to be their best selves. She brings her wide knowledge of the industry to better transform the way enterprise companies hire talent. You can connect with Joanna Riley at @joannakiddriley on Twitter or on Linkedin. Read her full bio here.