Recruiter as a marketer?

Some of you may remember that some time ago I shared the graphics of “15 Qualities and Great Recruiter Must Have”. Did you wonder why I included even „marketing“?

Today is the perfect time for marketing communication. Advertising is everywhere around us. And literally. On trams, on our most popular social network Facebook, on websites, in newspapers, magazines and books, in films and series, T-shirts, alongside roads, in messages from organizers when we arrive at a concert, in an e-mail newsletter,… simply everywhere. Marketers have used almost all the places and channels where they can sneak in advertising messages. We must acknowledge one think – their work is amazingly creative, thus colors, novel fonts, funny, but also controversial slogans that you remember for months, videos, all of this is a part of a sophisticated chain that should lead to one thing – to conversion. Whatever it means for that segment.

For recruiter and headhunters, a conversion is the signature of the contract by the candidate with a company and that the candidates joins in. This is thanen a win-win. But it is a long way that leads through the marketing battlefield.

Why do I consider marketing communication to be so important? The recruiter must sell himself. Not only in the introductory address, but even after we must unconditionally sell our client as well, and effectively enough to differentiate, impress. He must also not be easily forgotten and provide the candidate a great CX. The key aspect is how to intrigue someone in a clutter of colorful, flashing ads, banners, billboards and thousands of similar job ads, offers, projects,…?

I have written down the most burning points that have personally been burning me lately:

1. Common phrases must go!

The phrase “We offer interesting work in a young team in a dynamically growing international company.” It doesn’t belong to the job description at least for 3 years already. Write specifically, humorously and honestly (every lie eventually comes to the surface and is likely to harm you/the company):

“If you are looking for peaceful monotonous work, you won’t find here at a Project Manager position! We need someone about whom her/his friends say is „fast as a lightening“ and at the same time multitasking is not a swear word for her/him.”

2. Do not tell, prove!

Are you screaming from advertising company materials, how great is to work for you? Okay, so please show a proof instead of promises! Photos on Facebook page from everyday life in the company, authentic employee references ideally with photos, video from remote office is a great (and necessary) start!

3. Don’t keep the extraordinary to yourself!

Are you (resp. company) going to sign a contract of a decade? That is excellent! So just tell it to the candidates = sell an upcoming (unique, exceptional, innovative, progressive, futuristic, multidisciplinary,…) project. No one else will do it for you.

Confidentiality and trade secrets can be easily handled by signing the NDA.

4. Background and visualization

If you are a start-up and have a strong investor and background, just say so. There are people who are skeptical or more number-oriented. And be honest, how many start-ups are in black numbers a few months after the start? It’s great to know there’s something to lean on. Now and in the future.

Have the links to the web, videos, but also customer logos, distribution networks, etc. prepared = visualize. To some extent this is of course interrelated with the point 2 above.

5. Remind them

For marketers, remarketing is a very powerful tool that has a high conversion rate, so put it into your daily practice. If the candidate is indecisive, do not leave him at the stage “So let me know if you are interested”.

You can remind them in several ways. A nice way might be one of the following, for example:

• send a link to the company’s Facebook page (he/she can look at his future colleagues, a laughing boss or a pretty assistant),
• references from your customers (for him/her to make sure he/she goes on a speeding train),
• a network of businesses you work with (let him/her know there’s something to build on) and more. Everyone is interested in something different.

6. Personalize and show that you know

You probably expected that, didn’t you? Of course it’s better to write: “Hello, Philip/a” than just “Hello.” Show confidence that he/she is a good candidate because:

• now he/she holds a similar position,
• he/she has the necessary experience, …

But don’t go too far – looking for photos on a private Facebook profile to find out his interests and talk about them is really over the line.

Recently, the advertisemnt is also personalized and works great. You just need to know what the target is (do you know your “Sample Sally” = persona?). After all, you would rather look for a range of news from Michael Kors/Jaguar/Apple/Avon (please fill in as you wish) rather than garden hoses.

Final facts:

The average Facebook user scrolls around 90 meters (!) of new posts per day, 70 % of users open Facebook “on the go” (= in motion, such as in public transport), you have an average of 4 seconds to engage.

From this we can simply get an idea of how people are now taught to perceive = a lot of content in a short period of time with poor levels of retention in memory. So even such a small point number 7 – speed is essential. Don’t wait for 2 weeks with invitation to a personal meeting; give the final bid as soon as possible after the last round and please, do not make the selection process 6 rounds long.

HR and marketing simply belong together.