How to Attract Great Employees for Full-Time and Direct-Hire Jobs in 2025

When you’re hiring a full-time, direct-hire employee, it pays off to put a little more effort into attracting the right candidate. A top-performing employee will have a lasting impact on your company.

It makes sense to appeal to workers’ concerns and take care with how you advertise your job openings. Here are some tips for attracting better employees in today’s economy.

The Top Employee Concerns Today

The WTW 2024 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey found that workers are increasingly worried about their financial security. Here are their top concerns:

1. Cost of Living

Nearly nine in 10 surveyed U.S. workers said they were worried about being able to pay for basic necessities. Three in 10 workers worldwide say they are worse off than they were a year ago and have financial issues that are negatively impacting their lives.

2. Retirement Savings

Three in four employees say they are not saving enough for retirement. Employees expect to stay in the workforce longer than past generations, but it’s not because they want to.

3. Mental Health

The mental health crisis doesn’t loom quite as large as it did during the pandemic, but it hasn’t gone away. About half of younger workers show signs of depression, anxiety, or both.

4. Access to Care

In many places, wait times for healthcare appointments have lengthened since the pandemic. Four in 10 workers say they are worried about wait times in the future.

5. Benefits

While pay is most important, workers are also looking for jobs that offer great benefits. Since 2017, there has been a 50% increase in the number of employees saying the benefits package was an important reason they decided to work for their current employer. Employees also increasingly say that benefits are an important reason why they stay with their employer.

6. Remote Work

Let’s face it: many jobs can easily be done remotely, and working from home makes many employees’ lives easier. Requiring office time is a big turnoff for many job seekers. When employers don’t meet employees’ desire for remote work, those employees are 50% more likely to seek a new job and 30% more likely to be disengaged.

How to Attract Excellent Job Candidates

If you want to attract top performers, you need a top job offer. Think about the concerns on the list above. If you can address those concerns for job seekers, you’re likely to be their top choice as an employer. 

That means offering:

• Competitive salaries or wages.
• A retirement savings program that helps employees save more, such as a benefits matching program.
• Great health insurance options with a strong network and thorough mental health coverage.
• Other highly desired benefits, such as life insurance, mandatory paid time off (PTO), and flexible hours.
• Work-from-home options for jobs that can be done remotely, even if managers grumble about an empty office.

It might also help to rework your job descriptions. According to Indeed, 62% of employers today say they get too many applications from unqualified candidates. 

The best way to avoid getting lots of unqualified job applicants is to have a clear list of must-have requirements or minimum qualifications. It also helps to ask employees in related roles for help describing the job duties and required skills.

In most cases, it’s also good to list a specific salary or salary range so you can attract candidates whose expectations match your offer. If you offer any of the benefits we mentioned above, don’t forget to say so in your job postings.

One final tip: consider working with a staffing and recruiting firm to attract better candidates. Many recruiting firms have a large pool of high-caliber candidates in their networks, not to mention extensive expertise in finding the best employees for different types of roles.

Find Your Next Great Employee With LG Resources

LG Resources is a staffing and recruiting firm that can help you find high-caliber candidates for direct-hire roles. We specialize in human resources and light industrial roles, but we’ve also helped thousands of employers find great candidates for technology, healthcare, and many other positions.

We fill 350 positions each week and have 175+ retainer clients. Contact us today to see why thousands of companies love working with us for hiring.