When a company advertises a position, they are essentially painting a picture of what the future could look like for the candidates they are trying to attract. More often than not, that picture isn’t a pretty one, and when you put that up against a more skillfully crafted picture, side-by-side, the differences become very apparent.
In a study we conducted, we asked job seekers to which of these two types of job postings they’d be more likely to apply to:
- Example A (below, click to enlarge) represents the way that over 85 percent of jobs are typically posted online — a position description and laundry list of requirements littered with boilerplate language.
- Example B (below, click to enlarge) is not a perfect job posting, but it is written in a manner that details for the job seeker “what’s in it for me.”
Over 95 percent of those surveyed responded that that’d be more likely to respond to Example B, than Example A.
So, why are so many who are recruiting doing so in a way that deters job seekers? And if you are a part of the 85 percent who are recruiting in this manner, how can you painlessly turn your own version of Example A into Example B?
The Considerable Cost of Being an “Example A” Recruiter
What is it costing you and your company, if some of the best candidates are not applying to you, because your ad copy did not motivate them to do so?
What is it costing you and your company if positions are not filled as quickly as they could be?
What is it costing you and your company if you offer a poor customer experience, and your brand image suffers due to the “ghastly advertising” that Liz Miller talks about in “Dear CMO: Your Recruiting Is Killing Your Brand”?
What’s Holding You Back from Being an “Example B” Recruiter?
There are many factors (or as we like to call them, “excuses”) that may be to blame for holding Example A recruiters back from improving. Here are just a few that we have heard:
- They’re too comfortable.
- They’re too set in their ways.
- They have a fear of change.
- They work under policies to post jobs a certain way.
- There’s not enough time to change.
Why Should You Improve?
Not a single factor mentioned above is set in stone. All of those hurdles can easily be overcome, and there are some very convincing reasons as to why they should be. By becoming an Example B recruiter, you can:
- Attract more top-tier candidates, including passive candidates, who require a much stronger effort to be wooed and sold to apply.
- Fill positions faster.
- Improve the brand image of the company you’re recruiting for.
- Feel great pride, knowing your enhanced skills have made a major positive impact for the company you’re recruiting for.
- Enhance your reputation and standing with the company you’re recruiting for.
- Improve your income and potential for promotion.
- Strengthen your value and marketability.
How Do You Improve?
Getting from Example A to Example B isn’t that difficult, if you know what to do. So, how do you do it? It’s simple: let the B in Example B stand for “better”, and let that be a reminder to you as to how you improve. Here are some ideas for how you can better your online recruitment content:
- Ask the manager you’re recruiting for better questions about how to sell their opportunity.
- Provide better descriptions of the positions themselves, and the company the candidate would be working for, including information regarding the brand and culture.
- Give the candidates a better idea of why this company is the one to work for, as opposed to a competitor.
- Tell the candidates what makes this position better than the same position elsewhere.
- Show the candidates how the position can better their life and how they can better the company they’d be working for.
- Include specific salary and benefits, if possible, as that is often an important piece of information candidates want to know.
