Benchmark Business Group

Think Of Recruiting As Marketing

March 9, 2021

There’s a key aspect to hiring that most business owners forget… don’t oversell the position and end up with the wrong hire. This is why we warn our business owner clients to not “sell” the position.

The goal is to attract as many qualified candidates as possible before you start interviewing. Therefore, recruiting is more like marketing at this stage. While you should be very selective about your candidates, you want to highlight how your company, and this opportunity, is worth chasing for your ideal candidates.

Notice that in the above paragraph we’ve italicized qualified and ideal. Just because recruiting is marketing doesn’t mean you’re only looking for more candidates. You still want to filter and appeal to qualified and ideal candidates. You are not lowering your standards, you are focusing on positioning the opportunity in a way that will appeal to your ideal and qualified candidates.

Just changing your mindset to see recruiting as marketing will often allow you to see opportunities to strengthen your hiring practices. Here are three steps to help:

  • Understand who your ideal candidate is and have a profile. This profile should summarize who the ideal candidate is and include the experience and education as well as the qualities and characteristics that they need. In addition, your profile should include what excites them in a job opportunity, why they are looking for a new job, what type of job they have now, and even what type of activities or groups they are involved with.
     
  • Look at your ad and compare it to your competition. Your competition should be any job your ideal candidate might apply for, not just the same job title. As you look at it, does your ad stand out? Does the first line or two include a hook that would catch the ideal candidate’s attention? Too often, ads are filled with information about the company when it should be geared to helping the ideal candidate understand why they want to know more. At this point, it’s all about them and why they want to apply. Information about the company should only be included if it’s positioned in a way that will make them want to apply. Make sure you look back to your profile from step one; this will help you come up with language and positioning.
    • Pro Insight – Make sure to address why this opportunity fits in with why they are looking for a new job and what excites them about a new job opportunity.
       
  • Be creative in where you post your job ad. Just because a job site is popular doesn’t mean it’s the best place to post your ad. The best place to post your ad is where your ideal candidate will see it. That might be alumni services for colleges, associations, or other creative avenues. It may also mean cultivating and reaching out to centers of influence that would know your target market. It might be teachers, religious leaders, someone well connected in your community, someone who runs a particular group in your community, etc. Be creative. Make sure you look back to your profile from step one.
    • Pro Insight – As you're receiving resumes, make sure to pay close attention to what type of job they have now and what type of groups and activities they are involved with as these can help you find other avenues to posting ads.

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