Just some initial thoughts on this topic before going into an in-depth dive in a later post.
I once worked at an unnamed company that had a great presence in social media and online from a business perspective, as well as a fantastic overall perception in their industry. (Perception is a loaded word here as we will discover.) Yet somehow, they still managed to have job postings that were open and unfilled for years… Yes, you read that right, years!! Other requisitions/postings were open for months and longer, with maybe a couple of applicants, some with NOT A SINGLE APPLICANT, and no hires, and no talent pool in sight.
After a search into why this was, I discovered that there was no Recruiting Brand at all for this company. Or I should say, at least no effort into making one, there may have been a couple of half-hearted posts or random, weak attempts, but no strategy and certainly no champions for the topic.
Okay, so how do we think a candidate learns about a company that they are considering working for? Step one: Google them. Step two, (in this case) move on to the next company that has results that speak to a quality culture, a company that shows days in the life of an employee, a company that has positive employee reviews, current and former, and finally just has a presence beyond,” hey this is what we do here”……While details about your company are important, and what you do is critical to my search…. I sort of already know what you do, or I wouldn’t be looking to apply… I want to know the intangibles and the general feeling of your company before I submit my application, go through the process, and ultimately commit my time and energy to working for you.
This post is just to get the juices flowing and make us think about how we get quality candidates for our open roles. In an upcoming post, I will share some strategies that have been used to do this successfully. Looking forward to hearing from you all as well. Please leave a comment and/or reach out to share your stories