Part 2 - Field Guide

Ten Tips to Recruiting Better Applicants and Hiring Better Employees

Indeed really does get it! So do Zip Recruiter, Career Builder, Monster, and a host of other online recruitment sites. 

While these sites are extremely valuable in a business’ recruitment efforts, they understand that it takes broadcast media to attract the passive job seeker. 

As a business owner, you recognize the value of great employees. After all, it’s your employees who largely deliver the customer experience that keeps your customers coming back for more and telling their friends about you. A company is never any better than its employees, so attracting the best applicants and ultimately the best employees should be one of your highest priorities.

As we mention in the article, finding applicants isn’t the trick to recruiting better applicants. Applicants in most parts of the country are everywhere; the trick is finding the “good” applicants. 

#1. Stop Recruiting Where the Job Hoppers Are. The job boards are designed to attract the unemployed and the job hoppers looking for their “next job”.  This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t ever consider utilizing job boards, just don’t expect to find the best applicants.  Quantity, not quality, is the real value of job boards.

#2. Tell Your Story. If your message looks like a “help wanted” ad, Who, What, When, Where, and the What Else, you’ll attract applicants that are only looking for a “job”. By adding the sugar and spice to the job, “what makes the job/career attractive”, you will attract the attention of “passive” job seekers. As a business owner, you know what makes your company compelling to work for, so brag about it when recruiting.  Tell your story!  

#3. Utilize Your Current “Good” Employees. Your best employees are oftentimes your best resource. Not only will they share with you what the best parts about working for your company are, but they may also know some other GREAT people that may want to work for you.  Always use your employees as a recruiting tool.  Hopefully, they are your strongest advocate.  

#4.  Timing is Everything.  Among all job seekers, both Passive and Active, you’ll find an array of different lifestyles, personalities, habits, etc. Whether they are a passive or active job seeker, consciously or subconsciously, they dislike their jobs the most on Sunday and Monday. Recruiting early week (S-M-T-W) will attract the good employees far better than later in the week when they feel like they have made it to the weekend. In addition, they are working many different shifts, and advertising only during a specific time of day will guarantee that you are missing many potential applicants. We suggest you advertise over a 24-hour period; this will ensure you reach the tv or radio stations’ total audience. 

#5. Center of Influence.  Most people that are disgruntled with their current employment share this with their friends, family, and co-workers. Reaching out to these people can also serve as a good place to hunt. Do you think friends and co-workers are looking at the classifieds and job boards for their friends? Probably not!  

#6:  Direct Response Advertising. Recruitment advertising is direct response and needs to be treated as such. When you are recruiting, don’t just dip your toe in the pool. Jump in with both feet and attract as many “good” applicants as possible.  Treat it as a “sales event”, shout loud and often. (Note: If your business is constantly recruiting, most of these rules still apply but not all of them. Visit with your Media Rep about the adjustments that need to be made to achieve continual success.) 

#7:  Bad Eggs.  When interviewing prospective applicants, if they claim their last two bosses were jerks, you will likely be a jerk too. This is a tell-tale sign that this one is not the egg you were looking for.

#8:  Change the Message.  Different messages attract different people. You MUST change the message from time to time to continue to attract better prospects. The story or message that attracts one person doesn’t necessarily relate to the other and vice-versa.

#9: Sneak Up on Them - Use the Right Tools. Most passive job seekers, or their centers of influence, are not actively looking.  Using the right recruitment advertising medium, at the right time, with the right amount of effort, and ultimately with the right message is the best way to reach better applicants.

#10:  Bonus – Build Your Brand.  A well-thought-out and executed recruitment program with a GREAT story can and will reach and influence your customers. Commercials that creatively describe the attitudes you look for in an employee can persuade your prospects that those same employees are the type of people they would like to do business with.  GREAT recruitment ads help build your brand!

Note:  Using these suggestions and tips will not automatically eliminate reaching the “Job Hoppers”. They are always out there looking for their next employer victim.

If you would like help in recruiting your next GREAT applicant and employee(s), give your media rep at this station a call.  They have been trained with a proven system on how to create a plan to help you achieve your recruitment goals.