You’re spending on job advertising. Can you afford to be paying zero attention to your Employer Brand?
If you want the best talent, the short answer is no.
Here are 5 ways your job advertising might be hurting your overall recruitment brand:
- Last minute, slapdash job adverts make you look bad
A sure way to make sure people don’t apply on your job adverts is to leave advertising to the last minute, don’t proof read the advert, write something uninspiring or not specify contact details.
Your job advert is at the heart of your recruitment process. An effective job advert makes an elevator pitch for why someone should want to work with you. An ineffective job advert not only affects recruitment for that role, it affects the overall perception of your company as an employer.
Think about your formatting, check how the ad looks when you’ve posted it. Think about how it reads if someone who has never heard of your organisation reads it for the first time.
2. A never ending application form will discourage potential job candidates
Every step you add to your application process makes it more difficult to keep your audience engaged. For each page they have to navigate to apply, you lose a proportion of candidates. Endless questions, aggressive screening and clicking through a maze of pages makes people assess how much time they are investing and contemplate whether it is worth continuing.
What this means for your employment brand, is that you are seen as 'difficult' to work for: before they've even been interviewed!
Think about making the application experience as quick and painless for the candidate. Treat them as individuals, show you respect their time and interest in your company. Assume they’ve never applied with you before and make it an easy and enjoyable experience, reminding applicants why it’s important they are applying to work with you. The first touch point with you should set the tone for how you like to manage your employee relationships.
- 'Only successful applicants will be contacted' is at best seen as lazy. At worst, it's disrespectful
Think of candidates like your customers. They can go two ways; become advocates of your brand or become vocal critics. The best way to manage this is to make sure you communicate with everyone who applies. A recent study by Indeed found that waiting to hear back from a potential employer is the #1 pain point for 48% of job seekers. Telling them in the job advert that you have no intention of contacting them if you don't like their resume is not an excuse.
Most candidates appreciate some feedback on why their application was unsuccessful. At the very least, thank all applicants for taking the time to apply with your organisation. Taking the time to do this may not only change someone’s day, and hopefully maintain a favourable impression of your employment brand.
This doesn't have to be a chore: a good ATS system or tools like Talent Propeller's candidate management system take the leg work out of organising and communicating with candidates.
- "Everyone listens to Radio WIFM" - What’s it in for me?
“What’s in it for me” is at the core of any good job advert and forms the backbone of an Employer Brand strategy. If you want to encourage top talent to apply, it will take more than throwing them a job description (unless the role is professional wine taster or astronaut, then just the JD should suffice!) We recommend you talk about your company culture, perks of the job, free parking, career opportunities etc, just like Best Friends Pets do on their careers site.
Thinking about what it is that makes your organisation different is the first step in building your Employer Brand Value Proposition (EBVP) and keeping this in mind will help your job adverts stand out against the competitors that are next to you on the job board.
- Advertising in all the wrong places
Lastly, think about which media you are using to reach your job candidates. If everyone is advertising on the same job board, how do you stand out? In this day and age, it's competitive to find good talent in most industries so a great job ad and solid Employer Brand reputation are your secret weapons for success.
Take a step back and think about where your audience may be engaged. Job seekers aren’t just active on job boards, they all over the place! Take Facebook for example, more than 10% of job seekers who found Talent Propeller clients' job application forms came from Facebook in 2017. Dramatic growth in social media advertising spend across the board in 2017 is providing terrific opportunities for savvy recruiters and Hiring Managers.
If you love the idea of employment adverts that actually work, or are keen to explore some Employer Branding options, let's chat.
Or, if you have a sneaky suspicion your recruitment process could be more efficient, check out our quick quiz and find answers.
