While traditional recruiting strategies continue to evolve over time and new sources of hire are developed each year, some roles take an unconventional approach in order attract top talent. The demand for certain candidates, like developers who code a specific language, continues to increase as supply goes down. Post and pray is no longer a viable option, job boards are being sold off and are no longer effective for specific requisitions, and recruiters are being asked to do more and more daily. So what do recruiters who are overworked, sometimes underpaid, and under constant pressure to fill reqs do? They start thinking outside the box.
While it may seem difficult being overworked and not having money to do unconventional things, there are a few companies that have convinced their decision makers to invest in some clever strategies with incredible ROI.
When I think unconventional, my mind reverts back to Dice and its naked programmers billboard. Developers stripped down to basically nothing, posed for an ad, and the story blew up overnight. While a billboard isn’t necessarily the most unconventional marketing tactic, the way it is executed shows just how unconventional Dice went in order to hire programmers. To target potential recruiting professionals and companies, Dice’s campaign features three different engineers posing as models wearing nothing but their boxers, and right next them reads “Dice has the hottest tech talent” or “Find the hottest tech talent,” with a link to its website.
Other unconventional tactics (like this) include writing billboards in programmer-speak, gamifying the recruiting process, and using employee referral program competitions as a way to build a culture of recruiting. These various tactics are helpful when you’re struggling to reach candidates for a difficult-to-fill requisition. Before you go to your boss and talk about these different tactics, come with data showing that current methods aren’t yielding any results. Partner up with your marketing to team to turn it into not only a recruiting drive, but also an employer brand strategy that helps your company holistically.
On March 1, 2017, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, Will Staney, CEO & founder of Proactive Talent Strategies, will show a few low cost marketing tactics that will help boost those employees you’re putting in the funnel. We’ll talk job descriptions, video, and gamification.
