Not All Applicants Want to Work for You

The other day, a member of our marketing team said to me: “Most marketers wrongly assume that everyone is a potential client.” And while he’s absolutely correct from a marketing standpoint, I couldn’t help but think that the same principle applies to employers – most HR professionals wrongly assume that their job openings are a perfect fit for applicants. Or more specifically, that landing a position at their company is a dream come true for applicants. Unfortunately, this little misconception has a big impact on how they market themselves to job candidates (and the impact isn’t a positive one).

Most HR professionals wrongly assume that their job openings are a perfect fit for applicants

This assertion isn’t meant to be an ego deflator. If anything, it should be a relief because you can stop investing so much effort into trying to take on and hire the world, and instead focus on the potential employees who actually want to work for you. Chances are, the more passionate they feel about working for your company, the more likely it is that they will fill the superstar employee role. This is the most favorable outcome because everybody wins. You get an awesome employee that helps substantiate your credibility as an employment specialist, your applicant benefits because he/she gets to work for a company that helps check all the employment boxes, and your organization wins because happier employees produce better results more efficiently.

How do you go about narrowing your focus to target applicants that want to work for a company like yours? The answer is simple: think like a marketer. Marketers know without a shadow of a doubt why their products work for their clients because they understand everything about their product and also everything about their target market. In order for you to design a strategy that will fit both your company and the needs of your applicants, you’re going to have to do some research. Here’s how to get started:

Get to Know Your Company

I’m always surprised by how little people know about the company with which they work. It’s not intentional of course, it’s just that most of us work in a specific department and our days are consumed with information that only impacts us directly. Unfortunately, this can really put a damper on strategic visibility about the organization to applicants because we see problems and solutions that exist in one dimension. Figure out where your company is in its business life cycle. Are you a startup that’s going to be expanding rapidly over the next few years so future employees will have a lot of growth potential, or are you a more established business that can offer applicants consistency and security? The more you know about your company, the more prepared you’ll be to market yourself to applicants as an employer who aligns with your target employee demographic.

The more you know about your company, the more prepared you’ll be to market yourself as an employer who aligns with your target employee demographic

Get to Know Your Top Performers

Your current high quality employees are one of the most valuable, untapped resources available to you. Not only is their input reliable because they produce high quality results, but they’re likely performing well because they’re satisfied to be employed with your company. So, pick their brains. Use their insight about what aspects of your company appealed to them during the hiring process or why they choose to stick around then include that information in your job ads. This actually serves a dual purpose because you’re engaging current employees and reinforcing that their opinions matter to you, plus you’re also gaining a deeper understanding of your company.

This will not only help you scratch the surface for how to design an employer brand that works for you and potential employees, but also attract those applicants who are the perfect fit for your company.

For a more in depth look at this process, please visit our free webinars page, or contact one of our hiring optimization experts here.