When it’s time to hire, your job posting says everything about your company. Are you a dynamic, cutting edge company? Socially conscious? A digital dinosaur? Every communication is an opportunity to promote your organization, its culture, and values. Job postings can either attract top talent or send them yawning on to the next ad.
Like any marketing tool (and yes, you are marketing your company to the talent community) you’ll want to generate interest and even excitement. You know what’s great about working for you – you should be boasting it at every opportunity in the modern hiring process.
In today’s “unemployment is so low it’s making headlines” market, you need job postings that pull triple-duty: boosting your employer brand, finding the best applicant, and illustrating why that job seeker should look no further than your ad.
What’s in it for me?
Messaging must include what you have to offer as an employer as well as what you want from the candidate you hire. Get attention and interest by defining your company, the job and the candidate. Rather than looking for keywords that refine a job search, focus on “key” language that top talent associates with their skill set. Post for those to find the best match.
Keying in on key language
You know the qualifications and experience level you need. But you also know they’re not always predictors of success. Soft skills, emotional intelligence, and potential to learn and grow are important. They are often as important, if not more, than what’s on a candidate’s resume. Identifying the traits of top performers can help you search for those traits in candidates. And it goes both ways: highlighting key characteristics of your company can increase interest. Data suggests three quarters of workers would consider a pay cut to work for a responsible company. Your posting must key in on your corporate social responsibility.
When you quantify the shared characteristics of top performers, you know what to post for, what to interview for, and what to hire for. Is your company driven by innovative thinkers? Are meticulous, detail-oriented staffers your top performers? Whatever characteristics make for a successful employee, using those key terms can help you target the best applicants for a successful hire.
Focus on core values
Carefully choosing the wording of your posting speaks to the right candidate at the right time. Research shows some language dissuades candidates from applying. In the same way some language discourages candidates from applying, a strong job posting includes terms that encourage job seekers to see themselves in the role and quickly submit their resume. And seeing themselves in your company is important: one survey revealed the number one reason a candidate chooses one job over another is organizational culture. Recognizing traits as valuable to the organization as any other skill shows job seekers you’re a well-rounded company, looking to hire individuals, not just resumes.
Weighing your options
It’s easier to teach someone to code than to be a leader. When you know what soft skills are needed, it’s easier to make the right hire. You may even find a diamond in the rough. This would mean a candidate with all the characteristics you need who could be your next rock star. It all begins with a job posting that appeals to personality as much as qualifications.
Sprockets’ cost-effective Applicant Matching System (AMS) uncovers the traits that drive success for the top performers in your company. A great job posting, with these traits top-of-mind, optimizes your interview and hiring processes for the best chance of success. Contact us today.