I know it sounds cool, but employer branding doesn’t have a quick fix.
A life hack (or life hacking) is any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life [Wikipedia].
Sure, you can search Google for a million different articles on employer branding ‘hacks’. But the solutions aren’t really all that innovative or effective – they’re more like everyday tasks. Like, ‘Use social media’ or ‘Update your careersite’.
The unsexy truthbomb?
Effective talent attraction requires strategy and consistent effort. That’s kinda the opposite of what lifehacking is. But these tips are thrown around the internet like free candy, wrapped up as shortcuts promising to make better use of everyone’s time, leading people into a false belief that doing a half-arsed job of employer branding is going to get them somewhere… anywhere.
It won’t.
The real ‘hack’ behind 3 wildly basic employer branding tips
1. Use social 'media
Social media marketing is a valuable talent attraction and employer branding strategy. When it’s done properly.
Using your personal LinkedIn profile to dump a bunch of job ad links introducing your latest ‘Exciting Opportunity!’ is not a social media hack. Stock photography spliced with a few award announcements once a year doesn’t socialise your feed, either.
I’m also pretty sure that icy outreach InMails that lack context or a gripping WIIFM answer for the people whose inboxes you’re bombarding (with a hundred other recruiters), is not ‘social recruiting’.
Social media only works when you’re social. Social media only works when you’re showing up consistently, telling stories and sharing insights into your workplace, people, and expertise that will interest your target audience. Not once a year only when you want something from them.
Social media can’t be a ‘hack’ because you have to keep showing up, consistently purposefully, and strategically.
The real ‘hack’: Outsource your social media updates to your subject matter experts – employees. Provide some guidelines for them – here are the core values and benefits we’d like celebrated, here’s the hashtag and @brand tag you need to use, but otherwise, go to town. We trust you.
Wanna see this in action? Connect with anyone at Canva (but especially their TA team!)
2. Update your careersite
This one really feels like a no brainer.
If you shudder at the dull wall of corporate jargon flooding your career pages, whaddya reckon candidates are feeling? But aside from COMPLETELY REWRITING your self-indulgent employer demands to make it more human and valuable for your candidates, what else is there?
👉 Candidates are becoming more focused in their job search, with company website being the most common source for people looking for work. And consider that 69% of job seekers wouldn’t take a job with a company with a bad reputation, yet the #1 obstacle candidates face when job searching is not knowing what it’s like to work at an organisation! [Source: LinkedIn]
Which means your careersite should not just be a dumping ground for job ads. You should be showcasing your values, mission, benefits and employee journey stories to convince them of your appeal, like:
Meet Marie, who joined as a grad engineer in 2015 when she couldn’t cut through the industry’s boys’ club, and she’s now leading our new climate change division! Or Paul, who’s taking advantage of our progressive family policy and super flex WFA to spend more time at home with his baby girl (while working as tech lead for our new AI product. Here’s how we make it work…)
Show them what can be expected.
👉 Capture interest when you’re not hiring (and then nurture it). If your brand’s awareness is snowballing and people are checking out your careersite because of word of mouth, or a post by one of your employees, or maybe even a job ad caught their eye even though they’re not yet ready to move on – these are all leads you could be catching and nurturing.
The real ‘hack’: I’d explore Candidate/Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to capture interest and guide potential candidates through a ‘brand education’ funnel (what marketers would call a marketing funnel). Add a simple ‘Join our talent community / Stay in the know’ opt-in button that collects their first name, speciality, career interests, and email address. Then you can send them a fortnightly or monthly e-newsletter personalised and segmented with career advice, employee stories and expert insights, and industry news to educate them about your work, offer and experiences.
Other than your initial welcome & onboarding emails, this requires minimal hands-on care, but is a direct line to talent, so you can educate, engage, filter, and entice all year round (saving you money on job ad spend and reducing time to fill).
Wanna to see this in action? Read this Avature CRM & Philips case study.
3. Write a clear job ad
Ayyyyyyyyy. This emphasis on job ad copy kills me. Don’t get me wrong, they’re mostly terrible lumps of junk that candidates don’t read past the job title.
Job ads have so much potential to support targeted outreach and provide candidates with the details they need to want to interview on the spot. But how to use them for employer branding?
👉 Ditching the demanding 50-point bullet list is a step forward, yes.
👉 Ditching the corporate jargon and industry buzzwords, like Self-starting, go-getting unicorn ninja gurus who can hit the ground running and grab this window of opportunity by the horns, is getting there.
👉 Focusing on sales-like candidate-centric copy that sells the values, benefits and conditions offered is best. But is that really a ‘hack’ or just good copy?
The real ‘hack’: While I am all for writing better job ads so they’re more human, candidate-centric versions, not everyone is a writer and not everyone is going to take a moment to do this properly. Let’s not kid ourselves, ay?
So, tidy up what you can, and introduce video and hyperlinks to give candidates the information they need to make an informed decision.
Got a DITLO for this role or an engaging About Us video? Embed it in the job ad. If you can’t embed, link to your careersite or youtube or tiktok or wherever it is you publish your humanised content and let them feast. Try a tool like Video My Job for ease and authenticity or get help interviewing your CEOs / founders / hiring managers with Dialog.
Wanna see this in action? Check out how Phocas uses video in Seek ads.
Want to write compelling job ads that stand out?
Check out Job Ad Generator: a copywriting course with an employer branding twist.
Employer branding helps you attract people who aren’t yet looking for a job and convinces those who are to apply.
Why would you not do it properly and well?
Unless you plan to bankroll employer branding with your job board advertising dollarydoos and plaster your stories on billboards and computer screens worldwide – you’re going to need to commit time to doing it right.
Organic brand building takes time. It’s the accumulation of employee posts, talent emails, candidate and employee experiences, job ad and careersite content, expert articles, people policies and personal base touches over time that magnify your aura.
Ain’t no ‘hack’ about it.
So, next time you think of talent marketing and employer branding, think not in, “how can we do the bare minimum?” and more,
“How can we drive the strongest ROI?”
Ready to roll up them sleeves and work that brand?
Watch my FREE masterclass: How to Build a Talent-Catching Employer Brand