In today’s talent driven job-market, companies aren’t just selling goods and services, they’re selling their brand to potential job candidates. In order to attract the best and brightest, you have to stand out. We’re sharing four tips on how to up your company’s applicant appeal and enhance your employer brand:
1. Don’t Be Afraid of Social Media
Potential candidates can’t be excited to work for a company if they don’t know anything about it. A cheap and easy way to share your company’s name and its message with job seekers is to cultivate brand awareness on social media. In fact, 74% of Glassdoor users are more likely to apply to a job if the employer actively manages its employer brand on the website. Post pictures and updates from company events and milestones. It shows that you’re engaged with what’s happening in your organization and provides insight into what it’s like to work there. Applicants will feel more comfortable about working at a company that’s enthusiastic about what they do, and regularly updating your profile sends that message. This also includes posting updates on more job-related sites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor.
2. Accept More Social Responsibility
Job seekers hold their potential workplace to higher standards of social obligation than ever before, which means that being socially conscious as an employer is a huge part of attracting fresh talent. One survey found that 35% of workers would be willing to take a 15% pay cut to work for a company committed to corporate social responsibility. Millennials now make up the largest section of the labor force and are particularly concerned with social responsibility.
If you want to attract socially-conscious applicants, get a little creative. Consider providing benefits like charity gift matching for employees. It’s an attractive perk you can offer your staff that reflects your overall social responsibility by empowering employees to donate to the causes they feel strongly about as individuals. Another excellent way to give back and promote team building among your employees is to organize and participate in company volunteer events. And back to point #1, don’t forget to post about your volunteer activities on social media. It lets potential applicants know about your charitable efforts while raising awareness for the causes that are important to you and your employees.
3. Cultivate Your Culture
A recent survey found that 69% of people would not take a job with a company that had a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed. How your company is perceived is clearly critical to attracting top talent. To improve and maintain your company’s reputation, you should start by cultivating your company culture. Corporate culture is one of the biggest factors that job seekers use to decide where to work, and your culture is showcased through everything from dress code and office layout to management style and work-life balance. And things like competitive benefits, perks, and a comfortable work environment aren’t just superficial pros; they reveal how much you value the people who work for you. Show appropriate appreciation and respect to your current staff. It reflects on your company and its leadership in a profound way and is a strong indicator to potential applicants that your organization might be a place they’d want to work.
If you think your present company culture is lacking, start by listening to your current employees. They are the ones who are the most in tune to customer feedback, office dynamics, and how your company operates at every level. Your staff build the foundation of your corporate culture and they can be a wealth of information on how to improve that culture. Give your employees a platform to discuss any ideas or problems they may have and take their input to heart. By taking steps to engage your employees, you’re also more likely to generate some positive reviews on company review websites like Glassdoor, which are invaluable to improving your brand.
4. Focus on Candidate Experience
Candidate experience is an extremely important factor in your employer brand. Your hiring process can affect the number and quality of applicants reaching out to you. Do your best to ensure it’s as smooth and organized as possible. It’s a great way to show that you respect your candidates’ time and resources. Just like current employees, applicants can spread the word about the quality of their experience by word of mouth and online reviews. Be sure to communicate with your candidates at every step of the screening process, and try to keep the hiring process as efficient and transparent as possible. You don’t need to make them jump through hoops by putting them through unnecessarily lengthy interviews, asking for a lot of labor intensive work samples, or administering hours of rigorous testing unless you truly believe that it’s necessary. These kinds of superfluous requests can deter candidates from applying because they may feel that they’re being taken advantage of or that their time isn’t being respected. Focus on transparent communication and efficiency in your hiring process and job seekers will take notice.
Candidates can afford to be choosy in this job market, and these four tips all stem from the same idea: provide and promote the kinds of benefits, culture, space, and experiences that job seekers crave, and you’ll send a strong signal that your organization is somewhere top talent will want to work.
