The last year was a great one for Oxford Tax Recruiting. In addition to broadening our network of skilled tax professionals, we created new relationships with several successful companies in Colorado. One of the greatest struggles for many of these companies continue to be finding candidates with a strong tax background. If you read our newsletter, you’ll have heard Jay mention that the most in-demand tax professionals are the ones that have big 4 experience,  a CPA, and hopefully even a Masters in Tax or Accounting. So how, as a company competing with other companies in a small market, do you set yourself apart to attract these prize candidates?

Josh Bersin is the founder and Principal at Bersin by Deloitte, a leading provider of research-based information, professional development and talent management. In the Bersin Talent Report for 2015, Josh says the following:

Employers, once in a position of power over employees, are no longer in control. Today, thanks to tremendous transparency in the job market (driven by Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Glassdoor, and dozens of other online professional networks), people with in-demand skills are flooded with targeted job opportunities online. (One recent survey showed that two-thirds of all software engineers believe they could find a better job within 60 days if they just tried.) This means if your company is not a great place to work, then people find out about it fast. Candidates can easily size up a potential employer on Glassdoor or LinkedIn, assess work conditions and management, and even get to know the interviewing style. The concepts of “employment brand” and “employee engagement” have merged into one—employees communicate your brand externally every day, whether you like it or not. As we sometimes say, “the war for talent is over—and talent won.”

I cannot agree enough. If you want to attract savvy employees (and I know you all do), then you must recognize that these are the candidates who are well networked, and they are going to go the extra mile to find out about your company and its reputation. This is the time where, as employers, the best thing you can do to draw in great candidates is to ensure that you are an attractive company to work for.

In our monthly newsletter for employers, we focus on offering advice on how to create great workplaces. We know the market is tight, and now more than ever, it’s a candidates market. Please sent us a quick email if you’d like to be added to our monthly newsletter for employers. If you’ve come to a point where you are considering an outside recruiter, we’d be happy to help.