The Words That Matter Most When Sourcing Top Talent

How to increase your company’s odds of being considered

 
For example, labour shortages continue to be an issue. Canada's unemployment rate is currently at its lowest level since Statistics Canada began collecting comparable data in 1976. That number is the national average. When it comes to the most popular cities and industries, that rate drops to full-employment levels.
 
As a result, the talent pool of qualified leadership candidates is all but dried up, making recruitment all that much more difficult. Adding to the challenge is that traditional recruitment methods and standard job postings are simply no longer effective.
 
When it comes to the most sought-after talent, organizations can’t recruit them as they would a job seeker or candidate in a time of high unemployment and few opportunities. For candidates in a saturated market, the drawing cards won’t be salary, job title, or benefits packages, although they continue to play a minor role in the decision.
 
What candidates truly want is the opportunity to lead. Organizations in the hunt for talent therefore need to speak their language. In other words, pitch their organization as one that goes beyond job descriptors to one that offers leadership opportunities in keeping with their aspirations.
 
Much of that boils down to language. A good analogy might be keywords used in search engine optimization (SEO), in which certain words and phrases will create better rankings with a target audience. The reason they are important is simple: the more relevant the word, the higher the ranking with intended audiences.
 
The same holds true for the language used in recruiting – especially at the leadership level. Key words or phrases can play an integral part in increasing a company’s odds of being considered. First consider the fact that most in-demand leadership candidates are not looking for a job. Given that is the case, speaking to them about the job functions and qualifications will not resonate with them. That language simply won’t be relevant enough to convince them to join a new organization.
 
My team has recruited top people for companies of all sizes across industries. What we have found is that leaders share a common desire to find opportunities that fit with their values, their ambitions, and their mission.
 
Of course, all job candidates want these to some extent. But that aspect is particularly important at the leadership level. These are people who consider a role as an investment of their time, energy, and ability to make the organization they work for successful. That in turn will make themselves successful. The most compelling question many of today’s potential candidates will ask of employers is: will there be a return on my investment?
 
That can mean a very different type of conversation and language than hiring organizations have used in the past. The words and phrases that resonate with leaders is not the language of recruitment, but investment. This could mean dialogues around market share, the competitive landscape, current challenges, and strategies for overcoming them.
 
Some organizations may feel uncomfortable ‘baring their company’s soul” to an outside prospect. But when one considers that a smart investor will demand all of the facts to make an informed decision, the same will hold true in the mind of a leadership candidate. An employer must be frank and transparent about the current state and the future of their business, their plans and potential, and the role that the new hire can play in guiding their future success.
 
Keep in mind that the ‘best of the best’ leaders want to join a company that is scalable, has growth potential, and is leveraging the latest technologies and tools. If one were to consider this in light of financial management, no investor would put their money in a company that was stagnant and stalled; and no leader is going to sign on to an organization that is outdated and resistant to change.
 
Investors want to know how their money will be used and what the results will be. Leaders are equally interested in knowing how their investment can benefit the company and what they can hope to achieve from a career standpoint.
 
None of this information can be found in a job posting. Even if it was, leaders don’t spend their time looking at them. The only way to capture their attention is by having frank and honest conversations with a select group of top level candidates to hopefully convince them to invest their time and effort in helping the organization take on a leadership role in the market.
 
Hiring the right talent at the top is a hard-fought battle that is becoming increasingly challenging in an economy where qualified candidates are in short supply. But if an employer can understand what it is that potential leaders are seeking, and can speak to them on their terms aligned with their way of thinking, they can increase the odds of success.

Author Bio

Jamie Hoobanoff is the Founder and CEO of The Leadership Agency. As a professional recruiter with more than a decade of experience sourcing talent and hiring leaders for some of the country's biggest companies, Jamie has interviewed more than 10,000 people, and placed over 3,000 people in the Canadian workforce. Visit www.leadershipagency.com Connect Jamie Hoobanoff