Active Recruiting Methods

The E-Myth philosophy states that recruiting is a form of marketing and sales. You are selling not only the position, but the company to potential candidates. Last week we talked about brand and what sets you apart from other companies looking to hire. This week we'll focus on using that brand in strategy to generate candidates. In many companies, the generation of candidates comes down to posting a job ad in the paper, perhaps using the radio, and calling it a day. That can work, but these days when unemployment is once again shrinking you need a more assertive strategy. Here are a few things to consider when creating a strategy for generating candidates:

• Video - A short video about your company and the position you are looking to hire can go a long way to making an introduction. Remember last week when we talked about why a candidate would want to work for you? Video is a great way to show them that your company lives up to those promises. You can post the video online, link to it in job ads, post in online groups, and share on social sites. Remember, people are more likely to share and pay attention to a post if there is video or pictures.
   
• Create a Hot List - Who would be the perfect person for this position? Don't know? That's a problem. Imagine if all your sales leads were cold? It sure would take a lot more effort to find a qualified candidate! Your recruiting methods should mirror your marketing process, which means you need a hot list. You can search by position or job title on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. See below for a brief overview of how to use Facebook for searching! Once you find candidates doing a job you believe would have the experience and knowledge that you are looking for, widen the search in a search engine. Challenge yourself to find at least 10 ideal candidates for the open position. Your next step is to contact them. Of course you could send them a letter, an InMail, or email, but if these are 10 people you'd ideally like to have working for you, perhaps you can find something a little more creative to get their attention. Go back to July's spotlight on lead generation for ideas.
   
• Ask Your Employees to Share - Many companies leverage their employees to find candidates and you might even have a referral bonus program in place, but do you provide your employee with ideas and even the tools to really share an open position? Create language they can post on social sites or through email, ask them to contact old professors or supervisors, or even hold a brainstorming session where they look through their LinkedIn connections.
   
• Go Where they Are - Just like in sales, you need to be able to figure out where your ideal candidates are finding information. This might include a mix of online and in person events. Search for associations, online forums, and LinkedIn groups that the ideal candidate would likely to join. They can be industry based, position based, or even groups such as Young Professionals. To find people in person, look for association events, networking events, and even Meetup groups around a particular subject that your candidate would find interesting.
   
• Form a Relationship with Universities - Many universities have career services for new graduates and alumni services making them a great place to look for candidates. Contact the school's career service department to find out what they offer and how you can foster a relationship with their organization.

Just like lead generation and sales, recruiting is a numbers game. You need to have the right message of course, but the more active you are the more candidates you'll find.

See Also
Why Would Someone Want to Work for You

1. Login to your Facebook page
2. At the very top of the page find the white search box
3. Type or cut and paste the following phrase: People who work in Sales and live in Des Moines, Iowa and went to Drake University
   1. You can replace the city and University with those that are local to you
   2. You can also remove them if you don't want to limit the search
   3. You can also search by job title such as:                          People who live in Des Moines, Iowa and have a job as Sales Representative
4. Hit the Search button or enter
5. Facebook will bring back a list of profiles matching the criteria
6. To the right of the results are other filters that will allow you to continue to narrow the search results if needed
7. Search the list for people that you know or people who have a mutual friend 
8. Add any potential candidate to your hot list