Introduction

Your brand-new role has been posted, you and your team are thrilled and can’t wait to see who will apply. As the days go by, you check the posting and zero applicants have applied. A week goes by and still only a few applicants have applied. This doesn’t make any sense you cry; The role pays well, it’s exciting, and it’s a chance to join a great company culture, so why is no one applying? The answer is all too simple, your role, although exciting, is hidden among a crowd.
 

Job postings are sometimes all too much like a game of ‘Where’s Waldo’. The popular game, where children look for the awkwardly striped-dressed man in a sea full of crowded faces and blending colors. You know he’s there but he’s just impossible to find.

Likewise, for many people, your job just can’t be found amongst the crowded room of other jobs. So, what’s the solution?

You Need to Stand Out of the Crowd

This is no easy task but requires a dedicated, intentional effort to market your company and their recruitment efforts. A few key skills and ideas are outlined, which can increase the likelihood of your job postings standing out of the crowd.

Marketing Competitive Compensation
There is a new trend in the workforce, pay transparency. According to a recent ZipRecruiter survey on pay transparency, 72% of employers post pay information on all job postings. The importance of pay transparency is stated by Michelle Cheng, talent director at Notion Capital, stating pay transparency is “the subtext in treating everyone like an adult and establishing a culture of openness.”

Pay transparency establishes authenticity in your job postings; it removes all barriers of false pretenses and prejudices, and, most of all, challenges a company to stay on pace with the current market salary for top talent.

Marketing Company Culture
You may not believe me, but the days of salaries being the end all be all, are definitively over. People want to join a company that not only pays well but treats them well. An article by Forbes in 2022, titled “Understanding The Importance Of Corporate Culture After The Great Resignation”, stated, 35% of American workers wouldn't take a job that was a perfect fit if the organizational culture clashed with their values.

What this demonstrates is that culture is now a motivational factor for workers to join or not join a company. Therefore, the importance of marketing your company culture through social media, job postings and other avenues is crucial. This includes and is not limited to, taking pictures of your team, advertising training and benefits, spotlighting work anniversaries, highlighting work-life balance efforts, and more. If you have a great company culture, don’t hide it but boast about it.

Marketing Growth Opportunities
One question I get asked every time I interview someone is, “What are the growth opportunities?” I can’t help but wonder, how many potential applicants have walked away because of a lack of awareness of the growth opportunities that come along with a role.

No one wants to get stuck in a dead-end job, but most, if not all, have goals and aspirations to grow. To encourage potential applicants, it’s time for companies to show potential career progression in their recruitment efforts. This could be as simple as including a career progression chart in a job posting or testimonials of employees who have climbed through the ranks. People love testimonials!

Where Do I Start?

Now the question remains where do I start? What tools should I utilize or invest in to market my brand and by virtue my recruitment efforts? A one-size-fits-all approach will not be possible due to the plethora of options. Each will need to decide upon a strategy that works best for their brand. Strategies include:

Utilizing Social Media
Social media is by and far the most popular avenue for recruitment marketing. Platforms like LinkedIn have become popular for companies to market their brand. LinkedIn serves as a professional networking platform which can assist in finding top talent in several different industries. LinkedIn has 238 million registered users in North America, which makes it a top tier platform for finding great talent.

Furthermore, educated talent is easily accessible through LinkedIn, according to Pew Research Center, "roughly half of adults who have a bachelor’s or advanced degree (51%) say they use LinkedIn.”

Along with LinkedIn, other social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook and YouTube have also become popular tools for companies to utilize for building a recruitment marketing strategy.

Whatever tool you use, the most important aspect when using social media recruitment is to stay current. Trends change daily and you mustn’t be left in the whirlpool of past trends. The most viral trends will increase your reach and pool of potential talent.

Attending Conferences
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, in-person events have become scarce and almost extinct for many. However, there is still tremendous value in attending in-person conferences and events that can help build brand awareness.

One such outreach idea is attending college career fairs. Career fairs are a chance to speak to a variety of incoming talent about your company and future opportunities. It’s important that when attending career fairs you must have resources that can help build brand awareness and help you stand out from the crowd. This can include, shirts, hats, business cards, water bottles and pamphlets.

Panel discussions at industry events are great avenues for creating buzz around your brand. Sharing expertise and knowledge are indicators of great leadership and a company devoted to cultivating top talent. These in-person events create pathways for networking opportunities that couldn’t be gained through social media.

Charity Events
Lastly, charity events are another great way to build brand awareness. More than ever, job seekers want to help contribute to the betterment of society. One report found, “70% of Canadians are more likely to purchase from companies that support charities, with 81% agreeing that all companies should give back, and 68% saying they would be more loyal to companies with a corporate giving mandate.” Further, a company that gives back will have a higher company morale and a deep sense of community. This can result in current employees referring other top talent to apply for specific job postings.

Conclusion

Whatever steps you take in recruitment marketing, keep the goal in mind, standing out from the crowd.

The answer to recruitment marketing is not to be like everyone else but to be different, to showcase your unique workplace culture and create a competitive edge for attracting top talent. There are far too many Waldos hiding waiting to be found, and through recruitment marketing, we can remove the blending colors, abstract designs, confusing layouts, and instead, make it easy for top talent to discover our brand and metaphorically say, “There’s Waldo!”

Author Bio

Dakota Sheppard's talent for nurturing and developing potential led to his current position as a Program Supervisor in Wolseley’s Learning and Training team. He oversees two sales programs designed for new graduates, guiding them from recruitment to completion of their 1-2-year programs.

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