4 Steps Recruiters Can Take From Marketers

As the economy improves and the job market shifts, so too should recruiter tactics. Job seekers these days are all mushy gushy about company culture and career development. It’s no longer realistic to simply post on career pages and job boards and to attract candidates to your company. Recruiters can take tips from marketers to make their strategy stand out and evolve with the changing needs of job seekers.

Step 1: Market Research

Just like selling any other product, it takes research to understand the target market, in this case, quality recruits. The first thing a marketer (recruiter) should to do is determine why the consumer (candidate) needs or wants their product. Recruiters should research to:

• Identify the needs and wants of the job seeker to help recruiters form a value proposition that will captivate worthy candidates. There’s an abundance of resources out there that discuss the current trends and behaviors of job seekers. Comb through any information that can help uncover new opportunities for an employer to appeal to the desired candidate base.
• Examine competitor’s strategies. Find out what other companies are doing to reel candidates in so you can not only compete, but modify your strategy to gain the upper hand.

Step 2: Branding

Once research on the target market and market conditions have been explored, make necessary adjustments to your employer brand. Recent research suggests that job seekers care more about things like company culture, benefits, and growth opportunities. In fact, Glassdoor’s 2015 Top HR and Recruiting Stats revealed that these areas matter most to millennial job seekers. So, when working on branding, employers should be sure to emphasize things like company values and mission, company culture, and opportunities for advancement. Make it a point to let potential candidates know they will be valued and will experience a fulfilling career with the company.

While we’re on this topic, it’s appropriate to mention that 96% of job seekers say that it’s important to work for a company that embraces transparency and 65% of millennials are more skeptical of claims made by employers than they were in 2011. So, employers should always be honest about how they are marketing their brand.

Step 3: Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing involves attracting potential customers (candidates) through various mediums of content marketing such as:

• Social media
• Blogs
• Podcast
• Infographics

A great place for companies to start implementing this step is on the company Careers and About Us pages. This is where all the research that was done in steps 1 and 2 is finally used to create an attractive, well-rounded product offering that, if you did your research, should engage the right audience.

Step 4: Reflect and Adapt

To evolve organically with the market, it’s important for recruiters to monitor the effectiveness of their current branding strategy. Determining which channels of exposure are captivating the most (and best) candidates can provide recruiters with ideas on how to adapt their strategy further. If after revamping employer branding there is still a struggle to bring in the right candidates, it might be time to re-evaluate the employer brand and determine if it is being accurately represented.

Recruiting is a never-ending process that needs to be monitored constantly to keep up with the trends of the market. Taking tips from marketers can help change the mindset of recruiters that have for so long been the one in the driver’s seat. Need some help with your employer branding?

The Branchers

We build the best damn marketing campaigns on the planet. And we do it for industries and companies you might not identify as easy to market (right away). Working here takes a very special kind of person.