Have job boards become your comfort crutch?
Recruitment teams have long been expected to do more with less, but it’s meant their feet stay stuck on the hamster wheel reacting to org-wide demands for talent (like, yesterday!) because the only strategy people make time for is job boards.
Because everybody loves job ads, right?
Job ads are famously SO WELL WRITTEN, they inspire a flurry of quality applications that hiring managers are paralysed by choice. [chortle]
If your industry is still struggling in a candidate’s market, then this habit of dumping job ads on job boards as the only “recruitment advertising” strategy is hurting your chances of finding your “one” because your “one” probably isn’t even there looking for work… isn’t anywhere work-y looking for work… isn’t looking for work (?).
Instead, try these 3 smart recruitment strategies to attract dream-fit candidates
Whether it’s an employer’s or candidate's market, these tips will save you a lot of heartache in the long run because they’ll enable you to hyper focus on the core channels and mediums where your ideal candidates are exploring opportunities.
1. Survey your candidates and recent new hires to learn HOW they search for and consider jobs.
This is as simple as it sounds. Pull together a short questionnaire for recent candidates (including unsuccessful ones), new hires, and top performing employees within your organisation to discover *how* they search for and consider opportunities. Even for existing, happy-to-stick-around employees, you can ask them things like, “what would make you consider leaving?” and, “If you were to consider leaving, how would you find your next opportunity?”
Use their responses to guide your marketing approach.
For example, you’re chasing in-demand skilled professionals and you’re only posting on job boards these candidates have no need of perusing. [Why would they bother when their Inbox is bombarded with 20 cold recruiter emails every day?]
Instead, you discover these candidates prefer to read case studies and do background research on your clients and quality of work and operations (true story). And if they like the sound of you (often you’re already an aspirational brand for them or friends have referred them to your company based on positive experiences), they’ll then reach out to a team manager /director / CEO level contact to explore opportunities directly.
OUTCOME: No job board touched.
Focus on creating captivating content these professionals prefer to consume along their candidate journey (throughout research and decision making). Have a job ad ready as a complimentary resource to share more about the role they’re interested in AFTER they’ve reached out.
2. Implement a content and communication plan for your employer brand
Employer brand-ING is not; having an EVP, re-writing your dull job ad to make it more conversational, or posting a few snaps of your employees with a caption like, “Bree loves the work-life balance she gets working at ACME Corp! Come join us today!”
Successful employer brand-ING needs a content strategy, and that strategy begins with these questions:
Who is your audience?
Where are they online?
How do they consume information?
How do they search for, consider, and apply for jobs?
What are their motivators, desires, fears and painpoints about their profession, industry, and the recruitment process?
Why should they care about you?
What will you provide them that makes their life and career better according to their *individual* needs?
Who are you, what do you stand for, and how do you want candidates to feel when interacting with your brand?
These are only a few questions you’ll need to answer before putting a strategy (and then plan) together. Otherwise, you’re spitting into the wind.
For example, if you have an unknown brand (and poorly written, dull, convoluted, light on detail job ad copy), high quality candidates likely won't bother wasting their time and energy - they'll look upon you with suspicion. If something sparks their interest, they may do some employer recon, checking out your careersite (any good?), social media profiles (vibrant career content?), blog / newsletter / email list (umm?), and/or check out employee reviews on Seek / Indeed / Glassdoor (do you even exist, man?).
But the real benefit in having a strategic content marketing plan in play is that you can be reaching your ideal candidates with targeted messaging that connects with and educates them for months (and years!) before they’re ready to apply / before you’re even recruiting for the role. In that time, they’ve learned more about you and what you stand for, and how their life and career will improve in your employ.
They have no questions; they just want to hit apply. Dreamy, yes?
Outcome: Turn an unknown brand with zero appeal into a desirable employment opportunity BEFORE you’re ready to recruit = your brand recruits on your behalf 24/7.
*Please mind the gap as you step off the hamster wheel*
3. Celebrate and amplify employee advocates and subject matter experts
Whether you’re able to go all in and implement a structured and financially rewarding employee advocacy program or not – celebrating and amplifying your employees’ voices is hands down the easiest way to reach your ideal candidates, as they likely belong to the same professional networks.
In-demand skilled talent, graduates, and leaders especially, will be the sort of knowledge workers who have an appetite for learning from their peers, and who value their honest experiences more than your polished corporate bs.
But this doesn’t mean only getting your employees to jump on LinkedIn sharing their welcome packs and gushing over lunchroom perks. That’s akin to wanky polished corporate bs.
The better way to do this is with subject matter experts who already ENJOY sharing their professional insights and experiences using whichever medium is natural to them. For example, a software engineer and their YouTube tutorials, or the graduate environmental scientist sharing daily adventures on Instagram, or the marketing officer sharing e-commerce case studies, or the team leader sharing their empathetic leadership insights on LinkedIn.
Subject matter experts magnetize folks with similar skills, values, and interests because of the interesting stuff they ENJOY sharing.
Outcome: Capitalise on the strong personal brands of individual employees by encouraging, celebrating and amplifying their voices across relevant platforms and communication mediums so you can organically tap into their networks and build employer brand awareness by association [all year round!].
Use content marketing to reach more dream-fit candidates than your crumby job ad on a job board
While well-written job ads AND job boards have their place in the recruitment process, it’s only once you understand your target candidates and how they search for, consider, and apply for jobs that you’ll figure out if they have a place in *your* recruitment process.
And if they don’t?
Invest your time and budget in more strategic recruitment activities that provide a desired return on your investment.
Want to *do* employer branding but NFI where to start?
Check out my free on-demand Masterclass - How to Build a Talent-Catching Employer Brand.