You’ve heard of all the same old tactics. Narrow your funnel, speak to the candidate, build trust and rapport, use a CRM. All of these are valuable, but they could be the fodder for any of the articles you see here or any other digital watering hole on the Internet. What I’ve been noticing lately are very cool, very novel tactics used by companies, often those who don’t even have a recruiting function per se. Here are some brand new plays to add to that well-worn playbook you use when approaching new talent.
The Marketing Automation Play
I blogged about one of them the other day but it’s worth going into more detail here. I was looking for information on creating a great user experience via a website, so I took to Google. One of the first results was a great blog post that while a bit basic for my needs, had a call to action at the bottom for an e-book titled:
How to Get (and Stay) Hired in UX Design
The form asked if I was in any form of marketing or design, to which I honestly answered yes. Before I’d finished reading the very jobseeker focused e-book, I had an email in my inbox that said this:
Hi Maren Hogan,
Thank you for downloading our E-Book, How to Get (& Stay) Hired in UX Design. You can access the file here at any time.
Did you know that San Diego is basically heaven on earth? If you’re looking to make a change, DT may have the job you’ve always wanted. Check out our company culture!
Big love from SoCal,
S. XXXXXX (just in case she doesn’t want all her business out there)
Talent Ambassador
That’s it! No big promises, just a quick, flattering burst of interest that let me know someone was paying attention. It’s the best example of content marketing and marketing automation used in recruiting I think I have ever seen.
Since then, I’ve signed up for the newsletter, and read and used several of its materials as source material. In fact, it just had a great team building post that I used for a client whitepaper.
While I am not the perfect candidate for this open position, the company has shown me three things.
- It is open to potential relocation. As a candidate in Omaha, Nebraska, this is wildly attractive.
- It cares about my success in my career whether I work for it or not.
- It is interested in talent and curiosity before skills/education. The only “barrier” was asking if I was interested in a career in design.
The Creative Title Play
It takes a lot to get the community I know and love excited about titles. We spend our time poo-pooing new and creative titles like it’s our job. In case you weren’t aware, rockstar, guru, expert, and ninja are all currently passé. Don’t even try it.
That’s why it was so surprising to see the refreshing response to “Ice Monster,
a job posting for a theme park (probably in Newfoundland or something). The position essentially required Zamboni skills and is the Frozen version of a janitor at a winter wonderland type amusement park. Ice Monster makes it sound pretty darn cool though.
What I know about this company from this play:
- It cares about every position, not just the white collar ones.
- It is creative and interesting and it’s likely fun to work for them.
- It was advertised on LinkedIn, which is an interesting choice for this kind of job. I believe it indicates a desire for the best candidate.
The Radio Announcer Play
Sure, hiring announcements have been on the radio forever, but what about today’s radio stations? Ad-supported radio stations like rdio, Pandora, and spotify can be used to get the word out to incredibly targeted populations.
As I was listening to Pandora just yesterday, I heard an announcement for Robert Half discussing executive positions the company had open. It floored me for a few reasons. One, I had never heard a “hiring now” announcement on Pandora before. Second, I was listening to the Queen station. I was unaware the demographic targeting had gotten that granular. For instance, I am listening to Megan Trainor station today and have yet to hear a repeat of the same commercial.
What I can tell about Robert Half:
- It is open to trying new and innovative ways of recruiting. Since it is a recruitment brand, this bodes well for it if their candidate is in recruiting, placement, or staffing.
- It has a clear idea of who fits into its director-level and above positions and how to reach them.
- It enjoys Freddie Mercury, as should we all.
Have you heard or seen any really creative recruiting tactics lately? While not all of them will land (I’d be interested in seeing the results on that Pandora spend) it’s awesome to see companies at least trying something a little different. Most of them stick in my mind when I encounter them, and I seek out more information. This in turn allows them to market to me over a longer course of time.
image from Starpulse