What is a recurring job?

A recurring job is a position that is continuously open. This can occur for a number of reasons. In some circumstances, you may need multiple people to do a very similar job. For example hiring multiple construction or child care workers. These roles can require multiple hires either all at once or over time, and because your coverage needs can vary by project or with seasonality, you constantly have an open job post to keep your talent pool fresh. Multi-hire roles can be entry-level jobs that have flexible requirements, or provide on-the-job training. 

These roles impact a company’s products or services in sectors like retail, hospitality and manufacturing. The recurring nature of these roles means you could find that you’re always in recruitment mode. 

You may have a set number of new hires in mind when backfilling a specific role or when your company is headcount planning. This number can be based on projected needs, changes in demand and shift coverages. Businesses use recurring jobs to maintain a pipeline of candidates ready to step in at a moment’s notice. As one HR manager at a construction/manufacturing company explained, “We knew 21 people was what we needed, plus some. We just didn’t know what that plus number was. The team knew initially they needed to get 21 employees hired. They knew that was the number of people they needed in order to meet the deadlines they had committed to.” 

Common traits of recurring jobs

Recurring jobs are high-volume roles that may be low-wage, hourly or shift-based, seasonal, temporary or part-time and require semi-skilled labor. They’re often accessible roles with a low barrier to entry. 

Training for these positions is on-the-job and aimed at quickly equipping new hires with the basics to perform their duty. The turnover rate for these jobs can often be high, so the timeline to hire is usuallyshort. It can range from as little as one day to two weeks. One Executive Director at a non profit shared with Indeed, “If I could find 5 more people, I could stop hiring. But that’s not to say tomorrow somebody is not going to quit on me. Right now, I can tell you that I need 1, 2, 3, about 4 more teachers, if I could find four more teachers right now, but history tells me that’s not going to happen.”

Challenges managing recurring jobs

A recurring or multi-hire job presents unique challenges. Rapid hiring timelines can disrupt operations and continuously maintaining your recurring job post’s visibility can be a struggle. For an HR manager, the nature of high worker turnover and constant recruitment demand is a balancing act. The goal is to get your job post in front of the right candidates. Successful job posts can attract the right candidates to fill the position quickly during a demand spike.

Skills and attributes of the ideal candidate

The ideal candidate for a recurring job has a blend of skills that cater to a dynamic work environment. Key skills include the ability to cope with a fast-paced role, learning quickly, strong soft skills, reliability and composure under pressure.

5 ways to identify candidates for recurring jobs

Identifying reliable candidates for recurring jobs should involve a screening process that assesses the candidate’s experience and how well they meet the requirements of the role. Effective strategies will include a mix of proactivity from employers, commitment from candidates and open communication. Here are a few strategies for identifying reliable candidates for these unique positions:

1. Optimize your job post

Optimize your job post by adding key details that encourage job seekers to apply when they see your job post. A detailed description of the role that clearly defines expectations, responsibilities and daily tasks helps your post appear in relevant search results. 

Next, use strategic keywords and add terms in your post that candidates normally search for, like salary and precise location. This attracts job seekers within your pay range for the role, and provides relevant information to determine commute distance — both of which can improve your visibility in relevant search results. Providing an honest, accurate reflection of the job can help job seekers assess what’s needed before they apply.

2. Screen upfront

Indeed has tools designed to help you screen candidates and find individuals who are qualified for recurring jobs. One of these tools include screener questions to help evaluate a candidate’s qualifications. Screener questions can be formatted to quickly identify if a candidate has specific skills, licenses or certifications that you need. Employers can filter applicants based on their responses to screener questions using the Employer Dashboard. 

3. Conduct in-person, “on the floor” assessments

Putting  a candidate directly “on the floor” during the interview process is one way an employer can observe how a candidate handles the work environment. We spoke with a Director of Talent and Finance at a museum, she said, “We have them come in – as part of the first interview – we walk on the floor when it’s loud and obnoxious and kids are there, and it’s like, ‘this is a normal day,’ like, ‘this has to be okay. And it’s alright if it’s not your thing.’”

4. Maintain honest, clear communication

Good and clear communication is key. An HR manager at a construction/manufacturing company told us, “We’re not wasting a lot of time. It’s more or less let’s get them in here, let’s have a conversation, let them see us, let’s see them, talk face-to-face so we can be very clear on what we’re looking for and also so they’re on-site and can get a tour.”

Hiring managers can also include ways to proactively ask candidates to take action with specific instructions. We spoke with a Depot Manager of a van transportation company who said, “We usually send them a message through Indeed and that includes the instructions to call the office and schedule the interview. It does save time that would be wasted on interviews with people who aren’t a good fit. When they call to schedule the interview, that’s where we try to present the more common reasons why someone might not want to work here.” 

5. Act quickly 

Some employers choose to make immediate offers, based on first impressions, to their ideal candidates. A Director of HR at a private school explained, “What I’m doing now is, if I have a good enough vibe about their experience and match to the position, I just say right then and there – we would love to schedule you…that seems to be more fruitful than saying ‘let me get back to you.”

Tips to improve the performance of your job post over time

Improve the performance of your recurring job post using a few of Indeed’s key features. These features can help attract more quality  candidates and boost your recruitment efforts. Here are some steps to keep your job posts attractive and visible to job seekers over time: 

• Get more visibility on your job post. Sponsored Jobs appear more often and for longer in search results than non-sponsored jobs. In fact, Sponsored Jobs deliver 60% more applicants on average than non-sponsored jobs.^[1] With Sponsored Jobs you can set and adjust your budget as needed and can indicate when you’re urgently hiring. Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed with Urgently Hiring make a hire 5 days faster than non-sponsored jobs.^[2]
• Add detailed information to your job post like salary range, shift details, benefits, and required skills to the job description. Transparency can help attract candidates who are a good fit for the role. According to an Indeed survey, 52% of job seekers say the quality of a job description is very or extremely influential to their decision to apply for a job.
• Create customized ad campaigns on Indeed with objective-based campaigns. By grouping together similar roles or prioritizing the urgent roles, employers can drive more traffic to these listings. You can balance your objectives and optimize your campaign for speed, quantity or cost and keep your spending in check by optimizing for a specific cost per application.
• Optimize your ad campaigns with Indeed performance insights. Indeed provides AI-generated recommendations based on similar jobs to improve your existing job post. When you accept the recommendation, Indeed adds this additional information to your job post, without having to manually edit the post yourself.  
• Quickly hire at scale with Indeed Hiring Events. This tool is an effective way to manage roles where you may need a number of people. Concentrate your efforts by bringing in a large number of candidates and hosting multiple interviews, similar to a job fair for your company. You can add simple screening criteria to determine things like shift availability and use automated communication to keep candidates informed throughout the hiring process

Indeed provides this information as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your recruiting or legal advisor, we are not responsible for the content of your job descriptions, and none of the information provided herein guarantees performance.

 

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