Every company puts careful thought into how they appear to customers, but few give the same consideration to prospective employees. How you communicate with the talent pool is known as your company’s hiring brand. A third-party recruiter can help in building, boosting, and disseminating this brand. Here’s why and how to choose a recruiter that will maximize the impact of your hiring brand and move your business forward.
Why Does Employer Branding Matter?
Most job descriptions and hiring ads are poorly written, full of industry jargon and vague skill requirements. Instead, there will be a greater return on your efforts if you focus on helping potential candidates envision who they could become as part of your team. Job descriptions that paint a well-rounded picture of your company can attract workers who truly resonate with your culture.
However, effective employer branding does not end with improved JDs. This messaging needs to be shared with your market on an ongoing basis, not just when you have an urgent need for new talent. That’s where a great recruiter comes in.
Who Builds a Hiring Brand?
Establishing a hiring brand is the responsibility of both the recruiter and the employer. A recruiter with deep knowledge of a given market understands the power of a well-developed brand to attract and retain talent. Since they speak with top candidates in the space every day, they have insight into exactly what the talent pool is looking for. This perspective is critical.
While a third-party recruiter may not create a company’s employer branding assets from scratch, they can support them in developing a compelling brand that will resonate with top talent. This provides an opportunity for their talent access partner to step in and ensure their messaging engages the widest audience possible.
Finding a Recruiter Who Will Boost Your Brand
Your choice of recruiter will help define your brand’s reach, traction, and staying power. Try asking yourself these questions as you look.
- What Is Their Domain Experience? Recruiters with deep, niche expertise understand not only where their market is today, but where it’s headed in the future.
- What Are Their Recent Searches? Look carefully at the roles they recruited for. This can help you identify how current their knowledge of their market is, and whether they have the access to top performers and force multipliers in their domain.
- How Will They Deliver Your Message? Their communication style is important — are they speaking about your company in a way that feels on-brand, authentic, and professional? Recruiters who are using the right language and most up-to-date methods are more likely to gain access to the top tier of potential candidates.
An Ongoing Process
The World of Work is evolving faster than ever. Your employer brand will need to evolve too. Ensure that both your company and the recruiter you choose to work with are keeping pace with current knowledge, tactics, and tools and testing new ways to connect with top players in your niche.
Remember, the goal of employer branding is to make hiring easier, faster, and more effective. If your company hasn’t yet focused on your employer brand, it might feel overwhelming to start. But you can build and strengthen a powerful hiring brand. Partnering with a knowledgeable talent access professional will make doing so even more attainable.