Think of your career site as your recruitment storefront.
It’s often the first thing candidates see when they begin searching your company – and you want them to do more than just gaze through the window. You haven’t succeeded until the right candidate finds the job you’ve targeted them for and has been converted from a window shopper to a satisfied customer. In other words, an applicant. Just like the person leaving your store with a nice big, full shopping bag, your goal is to convert a potential customer into the real deal.
What is the best way to do this? Make it all about them.
Start by defining your candidate persona.
Developing a candidate persona – the characteristics, skills, and traits that make up the perfect hire – is the starting point to gaining an in-depth understanding of what a target candidate wants in a job.
- Candidate personas help you create more relevant job titles and descriptions, as well as optimize career site content. They also paint a clearer picture of which recruitment channels candidates prefer.
- Conduct research for candidate personas via a thorough analysis of your current high-performing employees, as well as prospects. Your findings will help you optimize your content, market your employer brand, and deepen your talent pool.
Differentiate yourself from the competition.
To be an employer of choice, you must spark individual candidates’ interest by differentiating yourself from your competition. Do so by defining your employee value proposition (EVP) in a way that gives desired candidates that “aha moment” when they feel as though you’re speaking directly to and about them and their careers.
- Your EVP is that unique set of values you offer to your employees. It encompasses everything they get in return for working for you. More than just a checklist of compensation and benefits, your EVP is a balance of tangible and intangible rewards, such as challenging projects to work on, a great company culture, and flexible working hours.
Keep everything candidate-centric.
As you define personas and optimize your EVP, remember to keep everything focused on your desired candidates. Make sure they have the best possible experience throughout your hiring process.
- Have a short, mobile-friendly application.
- Ask for personal information only after someone has been hired.
- Follow up with everyone who applies, regardless of whether or not you hire them, in a timely fashion.
The benefits will be increases in applicant flow due to the ease involved, as well as application completion rates and last but not least, chances that top talent will choose your company – because you not only found them, but you listened to them and treated them like the A-list customers they are.
Turn to Haley Marketing as you design, update, and perfect your career site for optimal results. Founded in 1996, we’re the largest website development, social and content marketing firm serving the temporary staffing and executive recruiting industries. Contact us today to set up a free, 30-minute focus call.
