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Your employees are undoubtedly your most important asset. They are not only what keeps your business running but equally what drives it forward.
Finding the right talent can be difficult, especially as companies are broadening their scope, looking for candidates who not only have the right qualifications but also fit into the company culture. Having just one employee who doesn’t work out well can hurt your company in the moment and even in the long run.
In fact, finding the right talent is one of the top challenges CEOs face today.
The good news, however, is that we live in such a time where it is easier than ever to have the best possible talent on our side with social media connecting us to more potential candidates than ever and with the rise of freelance work.
There are many different ways that business leaders can recruit the top talent, and one of those ways is through a job ad. However, a job ad is much more than a generic description of the duties.
If you are receiving a lot of generic applications or perhaps few applications at all, this could be a sign that your job ads need a little extra attention. If you want to attract top talent, you have to attract them with an equally inspiring job ad.
1. Emphasize Your Company’s Values
Great talent always wants to have a deeper understanding of your company’s values before making the decision to join your team. What are your products or services and what are your values?
Today’s talent is much more interested in positions that have a purpose behind what they are doing that suggests what they are doing matters. On average, nearly 80% of people prefer to work for a company known for its commitment to social responsibilities.
Remember that not only are you assessing whether a given candidate would fit in with your company culture but the top candidates are also assessing whether they would be the right fit.
2. Explain Why the Candidate Would Want To Work For You
A good job ad is one that makes potential candidates want to work for your company. Not only are you choosing your employees, but these potential candidates are also choosing you. Think of it like this: what can you offer that will benefit them? How can you challenge them?
Just like your CTAs on your homepage, your job ads should be benefit driven. This should be communicated very early on, ideally in the very beginning of the job ad.
Some of the best benefits that potential candidates are looking for? On the job training and the ability to learn new skills. Always remember that top talent is going to be interested in what a position can do for their career, how it will add to their skill set and how it will challenge them.
The top talent is driven to exceed, which means that you should structure your ads to reflect this very notion, that is, creating a job ad that gives them the possibility to expand their career and learn new skills.
If you are willing to teach a potential candidate something and it is not a skill they are required to know, then include that in your job description. Many recruiters tend to create long lists of skills or requirements that they are looking for it, but this is the wrong approach.
Your job ad should be a delicate balance between what you absolutely need and also what you can offer your potential employees.
In short, craft your job ad around specific benefits of the position and/or your company. Other benefits to include, although perhaps not as inspiring but still equally important in attracting top talent, include:
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- Competitive pay
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- Health insurance
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- Pay raises and/or performance bonuses
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- Flexible hours, opportunities to telecommute
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- The ability to be promoted
- Other perks like a company car
A quick word about whether you should disclose, upfront, how much you are going to pay for the position. While there are conflicting ideas, studies have shown that you should include it. This study found that those who included such information got 30 percent more applications.
3. Tell the Candidate Why You’re Hiring
Including phrases such as “Due to increased growth, our company is hiring...” communicates to candidates that you are a company that is experiencing success – success that they undoubtedly will want to be a part of.
Use this as a means to craft an inspiring title that will grab attention. Your job title is highly important, so ensure that you don’t gloss over it.
Replace the generic, run-of-the-mill “Sales Representative” with “Sales Representative Needed At Quickly Growing Startup” or something to that effect.
In closing, don’t overlook the importance of your job ad when it comes to finding top talent. In order to craft inspiring ads that the best candidates will be drawn to, make your company values known.
Also, be sure to ensure that your job ad is easily scannable via bullet points and short paragraphs and that you optimize it for mobile. This will make it more likely that potential applicants who get to your ad, actually get through it and perhaps submit their application.
Lastly, instead of emphasizing a long list of requirements, sell your company and the position itself. If you can do that, you will be able to create a strong team around you and increase your growth.
After you have collected resumes from that top talent and the time for the interviews actually comes around, here are the five best interview questions to ask.
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