How Telling Your Company’s Story Can Attract Job Candidates

In today’s tight labor market, simply posting a job listing on a job board isn’t sufficient to attract top talent. Successful recruiting requires a multi-tiered approach, including the technology you use, the mechanics of your website, and the way your company empowers employee-based referrals.

To reach the people you want to hire, you need to create a compelling narrative that showcases what makes your open job positions rewarding, and brings to life what it’s like to work for your organization. In essence, you need to tell your company’s story, and answer two key questions: why should people want to work for your company and how does your company add value to the community, the industry, or to your employees’ lives.

Showcase your benefits package

One of the most important considerations impacting an employee’s decision to accept a job offer is your benefits package. Obviously, a competitive salary is a factor, but it’s not the only one. Focus on the benefits that are most important to your target demographic.

Flexible hours, PTO or provided healthcare

Research shows that, after employer-provided healthcare, flexible-hour arrangements and additional paid leave are the most sought-after benefits, particularly with parents and millennials.

Community service or ability to work remotely

You don’t always need to spend money to provide attractive perks. The option of working remotely is important to many candidates, in addition to wellness programs and the possibility of doing community service are also valuable benefits to many job seekers.

Demonstrate your company culture

Gone are the days when employees merely expected a paycheck in return for their time and service. Company culture is incredibly important to current job seekers. Candidates want to know if they will be a good fit, if they will find the work rewarding, and if your organization is a place where they can grow and thrive. To self-select the best-fitting applicants, you need to present a clear, transparent, and authentic picture of your company’s culture.

What is your company’s personality?

First, you need to know what contributes to your organization’s personality. What are your vision, mission, beliefs? What are your company values? What is the social vibe of your organization? What is it that makes you unique?

Tell your team’s story

The most important aspect of your culture is the living breathing workforce. You need to let that human element shine through.

Shout-out your employees’ accomplishments

Do you value employees’ input and ideas? Do you recognize their accomplishments? Let their contributions feature prominently in all the places you talk about company culture.

• Employee testimonials

Create brand ambassadors who want to share your story. Employee videos, quotes, and blog posts can be a fun, creative, and powerful way to give a glimpse into the daily life of your organization.

• Monitor your message

What does your social media presence say about you? Do you influence your brand with podcasts and other fresh online content? Do you publish articles where your ideal employee is reading? Do you monitor career sites to see if employee feedback is positive?

Share your community impact

For many job seekers, the chance to be part of something larger than themselves is an important factor in choosing where to apply and where to work. Community engagement is one way you can separate yourself from other organizations in the eyes of candidates.

What organizations can you partner with that align with the people you want to reach? What values do you want to communicate through your outreach work?

Specifically, think about how you can make a positive contribution to your neighborhood. Blood drives, holiday toy collections, fundraisers for natural disaster relief, employee volunteer days, are just a few ways your company can actively give back to the community.

Revamp your job descriptions

Most prospective candidates learn about your business first through a job description. If your job listings don’t tell your company’s story in a compelling way, you’re missing a huge opportunity to connect with that potential applicant. Give them a reason to click “Apply now!”

Consider your job descriptions as an introduction to your brand.

Use the same voice to describe the job as you use in the language that permeates your website, blog posts, articles, social media posts, and every other communication created by your organization. If your company has a casual, informal culture, for example, make sure that comes across in your job descriptions.

Look at your job descriptions from the candidate’s point of view.

From the job seeker’s perspective, how does your organization’s story come through? Why should he or she apply to your company to work in this position? In addition to listing job requirements, consider describing how the employee will benefit.

When done strategically and thoughtfully, storytelling is a way for organizations to attract, engage, and retain talent who will thrive in their workplaces. It offers you the opportunity to say, “This is why you should work for us.”

So take a good look around – at your benefits, your culture, your employees, and your community involvement. The makings of a great story are right in front of you, now it’s up to you to tell it to your candidates!