After 20 years in executive recruiting, my experience has been that 95% of companies have either a completely uninspiring recruiting story or message, or none at all. Boring pitches leads to lower response rates which makes it harder to attract A-players. Top talent can go wherever they want. Making the perfect pitch is your first chance to make a coveted candidate sit up and take notice of your company.
Job descriptions often feel like the “kitchen sink”. They are just boring HR documents with a long list of role activities and duties. This comes across to the reader as “Here are 25 soul-sucking tasks you can do, but you don’t know why. Interested?”
Apply the same sales and marketing mindset used in selling your product/service to recruiting talent. A potential candidate should be approached in the same way you’d approach a potential customer.
If you had to self-assess your company’s recruiting “pitch” today, would you say it is:
INSPIRING – Does it deliver the extra “sizzle?” After all, top-level candidates care about more than just “more money”. What is your company’s mission beyond making money? Why do people love working at your company? How can this individual become a hero in your organization?
DIFFERENT – Is your job description high-level HR fluff, or does it proactively address the questions a candidate is going to want to know. What makes your company’s product or service unique? What is making your company successful?
AUTHENTIC – Does the description sound like it’s coming from a real person? Here’s a test: read one of current company job descriptions out loud. Now, would you say the same thing to someone in-person sitting across the table?
NEXT article: “Dashboard Metrics”
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