Do you view recruitment as a marketing opportunity?
With many organizations competing to hire top talent for various roles, it’s important to employ basic marketing practices for landing the best candidate and for maximizing the relationships with other candidates.
Why? Because a lost opportunity for your organization to put its best foot forward could be viewed by your top candidate as a flag, steering them to take another offer. And, when you secure your top candidate, other candidates could be prospects for other roles or they could refer future candidates to you or they may even become customers.
Following are a few tips from The Activ Consulting Group to market your organization to the best candidates. Contact us to learn more.
- Offer a well-written, clear, exciting position description. Include background on the organization and what’s happening now that this specific position needs to be filled.
- Reference the organization’s mission and values and/or culture.
- Be clear about the reporting lines and include an organizational chart.
- Be prepared to discuss why this position is open at this time. If the position is a new one, why was it decided that this position is needed at this time?
- Offer a reasonable outline of the recruitment process and targeted timeline.
- Thank each candidate for his/her interest.
Once candidates are selected to visit, good hospitality is essential to marketing the organization.
- Be sure candidates receive annual reports or other key collateral materials in advance of their visits.
- Give the candidate a complete itinerary including street address, parking instructions, and names and titles of everyone involved in the interview visit.
- Be sure all those involved with the interview are on the same page about the role and the expectations for successful performance. If a candidate hears different stories, that’s a flag.
- Always provide water or offer another beverage to candidates who may welcome that courtesy.
- Always provide parking validation at the beginning or end of the visit; don’t put the candidate in the position of asking for it.
For candidates visiting from out of town and considering a relocation, know that these individuals need to be sold on your organization as well as the community. Schedule a meal at a popular local restaurant with peers who might talk about activities in the community and generate conversation beyond the organization itself.
Once an offer is made and accepted, thank the other finalist candidates for their interest in your organization. Invite them to provide feedback on the recruitment process as a means of continuing to improve your process in other recruitments.