Are you struggling with finding applicants for your job postings? The reason many candidates aren't applying to certain job postings is because they are searching for careers that connect with them personally.
Too frequently, organizations complain that they are struggling to get candidates to apply to their job postings. These are often simply a posting on social media or a sign outside a building that says “WE’RE HIRING”. You know what candidates think when they see postings like these: “SO WHAT?”
Yes, people will know you are hiring, but they will have no idea what you represent as a workplace and whether this aligns with them. In order to attract the right kind of candidates, you need to amplify your marketing message continuously, so that people can recall your brand as a great place to work.
Often, when looking for a job, people are not primarily attracted to careers that suit just their skills; they are actually more attracted to workplaces that align with their personal and professional values. People want to feel an emotional connection to specific companies and what they represent.
This is why you should regularly assess your recruitment marketing and attraction strategies, and how well your career brand story is positioned. Remember, your brand story may not be aligned with everyone in the marketplace and it is not supposed to be; it should instead let the market know what you believe in and what your promises to employees are.
Before jumping into our favourite techniques for effective job postings, let’s talk about what should be at the foundation of your job posting process.
YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION: WHAT PROMISES ARE YOU MAKING TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY APPLY?
An employee value proposition is very important when you recruit; it represents the promises you are making to those who apply to your company and what they can expect if they are hired. Your marketing strategy should be associated with people who have the same mission and beliefs that everyone else does in the company. Remember, you are not trying to hire just anyone, you want to replicate the successful employees who have already made it a great place to work. Being able to attract and hire people who line up with your value proposition is the first ingredient to building a trusting relationship with your company.
HOW YOU MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES FEEL
No one wants to work somewhere where they feel like they don't belong. Put yourself in the candidates’ position and ask yourself: would you want to work somewhere that didn’t feel like the right place? I don’t think so!
“Candidates are searching more than ever for careers that feel right to them.”
When people are looking for jobs, they tend to be looking specifically at what companies they would like to work for, and what type of work environment they would work best in. These are the types of candidates who are really putting in the effort. For sure, there are serial applicants who apply anywhere without any real thought, and these are likely not your top matches you want to go after. However, the ones who are looking for something special will gravitate towards your marketing message, and these are the people you are trying to attract.
MAKING YOUR RECRUITING EFFORTS ON-GOING
I must sound like a broken record because I tell companies this all the time that recruiting is not an event, but rather something you do all the time.
Recruiting has many similarities to sales, and I know for a fact that sales is not something you can just do every now and then—otherwise you wouldn’t be successful. Recruiting is no different; you need to stay in front of your ideal types of candidates all the time, even when you are not actively hiring.
When it comes to hiring, many people focus their energy on attraction strategies, such as job boards, whereas, not as many speak about or do recruitment marketing as a part of the function. To first build a marketing strategy, you need to understand the ideal personas and characteristics of your ideal recruits. Remember, personas are the key traits you are looking to attract to your company, because they are directly linked to on-the-job performance and employee retention—these are the people you want to apply!
A marketing strategy is all about getting people to remember you, so you can build a specific target audience. And they’ll certainly remember you if you continuously put out recruitment marketing material that connects with them. When you build a following, and then let people know you are hiring, more people are guaranteed to apply. In sales, if you try and sell someone on the first meeting it usually doesn’t happen. However, if you keep following up and sharing marketing materials, eventually you will pique your audience’s curiosity.
As Simon Sinek once said, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” For this very reason, you need to stay on top of your recruitment marketing strategies and campaigns in various digital channels.
BE PROUD OF YOUR BRAND AND TALK ABOUT IT
Be proud of where you work and create advocacy about where you work with others that you know. Let others become evidence of your organization being a great place to work. Ultimately, the more people you tell or share your story about your company, the more likely your brand will become recalled and recognized especially when you are hiring.
Amplify your message through various digital channels and don’t be shy to do so. Oftentimes, employers won’t use social media to amplify their brand because they’re afraid of how they’ll personally be perceived by others. However, if you are proud of where you work, then you should share that with others—there is no embarrassment in that!
OUR TOP TECHNIQUES FOR YOUR NEXT JOB POSTING
Now that you have a good foundation for your hiring practices, let’s talk about how to combine all of the above to best showcase all you can offer when recruiting. Some of our favourite tips include sharing the following:
Information about your current employees and why they like your company
Pictures showing how your organization is a fun place to work
Examples of how you care for your employees
Stories of diversity, equity and inclusion in your company
Your value proposition (your promise to employees)
So, the next time you are feeling like you are not getting enough applicants, I want you to think about how well your recruitment marketing strategy is working in order to create a following to amplify your message. If it’s not working well, then maybe it is time to start building out a recruitment marketing plan. It all comes down to how RAD do you want to be? We make your hiring more effective, and don’t be shy to visit our amazing company website at: radpotential.com.
CHECK OUT OUR RECRUITMENT MARKETING TRAINING PROGRAM; IT HAS BECOME OUR MOST POPULAR OFFERING!
