The day after college graduation, I moved from a small town in Pennsylvania to the bustling Washington, D.C. metro area without so much as a job or a plan. After a few lackluster interviews, I soon found myself working as a recruiter at a staffing agency. With one taste of successfully connecting a candidate with a client—I was hooked. And there I’ve stayed in recruiting, talent acquisition and, finally, employer branding for the past 17 years.
In May 2016, I left a great position with a wonderful team and company to spend time with my daughters. It was not a decision made lightly, but one I needed to make. It was the best four months of my life and I am incredibly thankful for my “radical sabbatical.” However, over the course of the summer, I found myself drawn like a powerful magnet to the latest employer brand research, insight and conversations, and eventually to exaqueo.
Employer branding isn’t just what I do. It brings together pieces of who I am, a/an: analyst, builder, connector, creative, thinker and writer.
(Ok, enough about me.)
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, team exaqueo set out to uncover: Why do employer brand professionals LOVE what they do? Is it the creativity, the people, the impact or something else? So, we asked our teammates and industry pros to tell us—in 140 characters or less—“Why do you love employer brand?”
Here’s what they had to say:
- “Employer branding takes the guesswork out of finding the workplace of your dreams.” - Ashley Cheretes >Click to tweet!
- “I love using best practices in marketing to advance recruitment efforts and strategy.” - Audra Knight >Click to tweet!
- “Employer branding allows me to humanize our business by sharing employee stories and experiences.” - Jen Beyer >Click to tweet!
- “Employer branding provides an opportunity to learn what our employees value and openly share those values with our followers.” - Jennifer Newbill >Click to tweet!
- “Employer branding is the perfect marriage between HR and Marketing. I love that it can have a real impact on people's lives and experiences.” - Kathleen O’Brien >Click to tweet!
- “Employer branding is human: you're talking about changing lives with a new career, culture, and company. And, you're part of this star community.” - Lane Sutton >Click to tweet!
- “Through employer branding, you help tell a company’s story. You provide transparency into the core of a company: it’s culture & values.” - Laurie Brown >Click to tweet!
- “We're using brand and marketing for a good purpose!” - Lexi Gordon >Click to tweet!
- “Employer branding is mutually beneficial & gives companies & job seekers the opportunity to find the perfect fit.” - Linda Konop >Click to tweet!
- “Discover an employee story that shows passion, purpose, and drive that inspires our next great hire to click apply.” - Sarah McAlpine >Click to tweet!
- “Employer branding completes my core purpose to positively impact people’s lives. I sell experiences. What is better than that?!” - Shaunda Zilich >Click to tweet!
- “Deciding to take or stay in a job is life-changing. Employer brand = authenticity in employment so we can all find our best place to work.” - Susan LaMotte >Click to tweet!
Steve Jobs famously said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.” Working in employer branding is great work that many people love to do because of the variety, the people, the impact and the purpose. If you haven’t found great work or feel like you’re settling, visit employerbrandjobs.com today or search Twitter using #EBJobs.
We want to hear from you, too. If you have employer brand or recruitment marketing responsibilities, share why you love your job on Twitter using #EBLove!
Shannon Smedstad (@shannonsmedstad) is a Principal Employer Brand Strategist for exaqueo, an employer brand experience firm building employer brands and the talent strategies that drive them through research, consulting and creative and digital execution. Contact exaqueo to learn more about our employer brand innovation, workforce research and recruiting strategy offerings.