Take your recruitment efforts from ho-hum to oh-wow! Finding the perfect candidate may be more art than science. This week on ProjectHR, Matt Self of Conklin Media talks with us about recruitment strategy and how to find the perfect job candidate prospect. We discuss the following recruitment strategy topics:
Matt Self
Recruitment Strategy
“Like ‘a sale is always made’ — either you’re selling them on why they should come work for you, or they’re selling you on why they should stay where they’re at.”
For more information on recruitment strategy, check out The Best New Hire Orientation Round-Up.
If you prefer to read along while you listen, we’ve done all the hard work for you! We listened back to this episode and took notes below, and access is free! What is Recruitment Marketing? * The term “recruitment marketing” refers to the strategies and tactics a company uses to find, attract, engage and nurture talent before they apply for a job. * The marketing aspect refers to promoting your brand in a way that will help you attract the candidates that you’re most interested in attracting & hiring.
Why it’s Challenging to Find Talent Today * Low unemployment rate * Job candidates have more choices than ever * Entrepreneurship is high * Higher education is having a difficult time keeping up with the demands of the job market * So many companies have embraced recruitment marketing that those who don’t employ these strategies find themselves at a disadvantage.
How HR and Marketing Intersect * HR and marketing intersect continuously, regarding: * Hiring; * Training; * Post-employment; * Candidates who DON’T get hired; * The accurate and positive portrayal of the company * Both areas also understand and strive to treat candidates with respect at every level of interaction, because it’s the right thing to do, but also because you should never underestimate the power of word of mouth.
Marketing to Prospective Candidates * Marketing to candidates for the purpose of growth and hiring has to be a top-down, agreed-upon plan * It’s a combined effort of HR and Marketing * The effort shouldn’t be strictly HR, nor should it be strictly Internal Marketing – it should be both, initially, and expand to involve all the stakeholders in the company. * The effort does START with HR, because they are on the front lines of working with department managers to understand the needs of the position, they’re on the front lines of speaking with candidates and employees, so they should have the greatest understanding of what sentiments are toward the job and the company * HR relays this information to Internal Marketing, who massages that message and captures it into various assets, such as a Careers Page. * Internal Marketing “massages the messages” by * Synthesizing company-specific questions; * Crafting answers to those questions in a way that will be well-received by the candidates; * Determining the appropriate platforms and methods in which this will be shared.
Is it Common for HR and Marketing to be so Integrated? * They’re going to need to be in order to grow. * The number one limiter of growth for companies in America today is having the people to be able to perform the work.
Recruitment Marketing Campaign Strategy: A Walk-Through * Demonstrate consistency from Pre-Hire to Hire to Post-Hire * Develop Content Game Plan * Initial Content (a.k.a “First Date Content”): Nurturing content that showcases high-level areas of interest to candidate, and may include: * Cultural content, such as corporate outing pics or videos * Content that highlights job stability and advancement opportunities within the company, such as promotion announcements * Post-Engagement Content (a.k.a. “Second Date Content”): Once a candidate has engaged in content, based on how they engaged and their level of engagement, they’re ready for the Second Date Content: * Video that helps the candidate visualize the workplace, perhaps “A Day in the Life Of“ type video * Client testimonial specifically highlighting some corporate achievement, perhaps something showing that the company is purpose-driven * Next Level Content (a.k.a. “Third Date Content”): You’ve nurtured them for a while, they’ve engaged, you’ve retargeted them, you’ve evaluated how they’ve behaved and how they’ve responded to the retargeting. Now you’re ready to ask them “to get married”, which could mean: * Driving them to a dedicated landing page * Delivering a strong call to action (“Click to Chat” or “Click to Call” type actions) * Interactions with Third Date Content candidates should be made by those who are passionate about the company! * “Like ‘a sale is always made’, either you’re selling them on why they should come work for you, or they’re selling you on why they should stay where they’re at.”
Specific Recruitment Marketing Tactics * Develop your content * Diversify format in which you deliver content * Videos * White Papers * Infographics * Build out content plan * Build out career page * Build out job site profiles for company and solicit reviews from employees * Corporate identity video
The Role of Job Boards * They are important areas outside the company where: * Awareness can be generated * Interest can be nurtured * Action can be requested (calling, chatting, submitting a resume) * Posting organically on job boards is not sufficient anymore – you must have a budget to promote your postings * Passive Candidates may be found on: + LinkedIn + Facebook + Instagram + Pinterest + TikTok * Active Candidates are likely found on job boards * Your budget should be balanced to engage both types of candidates. Mr. Self generally suggests spending 25% of your budget go towards engaging active candidates, and 75% go towards engaging passive candidates.
How to Measure the Success of a Recruitment Marketing Campaign * Number of qualified candidates (and subsequent hires) * Micrometrics count as well!
Matt Self: Backstory * B.A. in Health and Physical Education from East Carolina University * M.A. in Sports Management from East Carolina University * Began marketing career in a variety of digital marketing and sales positions * Served as Partner and Chief Recruitment Officer for Shyft Careers
Contact * Matt Self: matt@conklinmedia.com * Conklin Media website
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