In this post, I’d like to share tips on how to improve the top of your candidate funnel. Whether you don’t have anybody applying for your job, or it’s just not the right people, I want to provide the tips and tools that you can use to improve the top of the recruiting funnel.
So the first thing you’re gonna wanna do is get crystal clear on who exactly it is that you’re targeting here. Now, I know that you think you might have already done that by writing up a job description / job ad and posting it out online. But what I’m talking about is a little bit different. I want you to really think about who it is that you want applying for this job opening that you have.
What job are they currently in? Why would they be considering looking for a new job? Are they just unsatisfied with where they’re at right now? Are they looking for new opportunities? Are they looking for new challenges? Are they just looking for a change?
So, get crystal clear on what would drive them to be looking for a new opportunity. What do they want in a new job? What do they really need? Where are they spending their time, online and offline? By getting clear on this avatar of who it is that you want applying for your job, you start to get some better ideas about how you might actually reach them. Then I want you to look at your job description. Is the way that you’ve laid it out focused solely on what you need from this person, or is there anything in there about how you might satisfy some of the things that they desire, that they’re looking for in a new opportunity?
You’re also gonna want to really take another look in how you present your organization to candidates. Just like every job description is usually a boring, bullet point list of skills and responsibilities, most company descriptions are yawn-inducing history lessons about how the company was founded, when it was founded, how long you’ve been in business, and how big your team is. These sorts of things aren’t going to appeal to most people, but it is what we naturally go with.
So, now that you know who your candidate is, and what it is they want in an opportunity, what do you think they might want in an organization? What strengths that you have in your organization can you communicate to them? How would you describe your team? Your company culture? Does your company celebrate or embody principles and values that could be attractive to any candidate, especially the one you really, really wanna hire? Is there a way that you can uniquely communicate this to people, before they even consider applying?
You know, there’s a saying that “people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.” And I firmly believe that that is true. That said, it’s also true that people don’t join a company for a paycheck or a list of responsibilities. They join a company because of the people, the leadership, the folks that they meet during the interview process. So, are you truly presenting your leadership — yourself, from the CEO all the way down to the people that your ideal hire’s gonna be working with — are you presenting them to the candidate in any way, shape, or form, before they actually come in for an interview? Introducing a human element into how you present your organization, your leadership, your team, can really go a long way in convincing your ideal candidate to apply and engage in the recruiting process.
Okay, so now you’ve got all this nailed down, you have your ideal candidate avatar. You really understand what they want in an opportunity, and what they’re looking for in an organization, and you’re able to communicate that to them. Now you’re going to want to present all of this using persuasive language. And you might need to hire a copywriter, or use your marketing team, or something, whenever you’re doing this. It will go such a long way in improving the top of your funnel.
Because most job ads are cold and corporate. And as I mentioned, people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers. They also don’t join job descriptions, they join teams of people. So these cold, corporate, formulaic job ads are just really not doing anybody any favors.
So, gather your notes. Go to somebody you trust as a good writer, or a great marketer, and get them to whip something up for you. I think you’ll be presently surprised, even by the first draft, and then you can iterate from there. It doesn’t have to be perfect the first time out, but I can almost guarantee it’s gonna be better than what you’re putting out there right now.
I wanted to keep this brief, and I hope it was helpful for you. I guarantee if you put some of these things into practice, the number and the quality of people that are applying for your role is going to improve exponentially. If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like/clap/share it all over the Interwebz.