Modern Recruiter: Marketer, Sales or Both?

There are undeniable similarities between marketing and sales, but even less deniable similarities among recruiting, marketing and sales.

Today’s recruiter must fire on all cylinders. In most every case, they are the face of the company for candidates, the first stopping point of sorts, and the steward for the organization. These collective efforts combine to deliver a company’s employment brand, and they are arguably the most powerful form of marketing and sales today.

Recruitment Marketing

Fact: You can't successfully recruit in 2018 without a little marketing know-how to grease the applicant pipeline.

Think about it this way: How can a recruiter possibly attract candidates without enforcing and contributing to a recognizable brand? Job seekers are inundated with countless listings and points at which to access them on. In order to attract and organize this scattered level of interest, you have to differentiate your company as a brand they want to work for, and in the case of staffing and recruiting firms, to be represented by.

Employment branding includes an actionable recruitment marketing strategy, and these:

• Goal Setting: Never start anything without a goal, especially in recruiting. Write down what you'd like your recruiting efforts to accomplish. What jobs are you having a difficult time filling? What talent are you having a difficult time engaging with? Identify your challenges and set goals to overcome them.
• Social Media Management: You should be socializing your brand, the positions available through your company, your events and everything that is unique to what it is you do and how you do it. We live in the era of the ‘swipe and scroll,’ so it’s important to share engaging content – and consistently. When executed on correctly, social media can be extremely powerful – for the overall well-being of your brand but also for your recruiting efforts.
• Referrals: If you’re like most organizations, your employees might be your most underutilized asset in your recruiting arsenal. Getting your employees aligned with your recruiting message is essential. How well do your employees know how to pitch your organization? What makes your company a great place to work? Recruit your managers and high performing employees into your recruiting efforts – it will pay dividends. Those of us running a successful recruitment marketing strategy know the best recruiting pipeline is chock-full of referrals.

Sales and Recruiting

If you think you can continue succeeding in 2018 and beyond based solely on your current pipeline, you’re wrong. We are currently in one of the most competitive job markets in history. Which means, candidates have more options than ever before when it comes to job opportunities.

Recruiting, like dating, takes effort and repetition – especially for highly sought-after talent with multiple companies bidding for their attention at any given time. Sure, you may have had a few interviews, or dates, but have you sold them enough? Have you explained how you are their best source? Have you demonstrated you deserve their undivided attention? If candidates are not falling in love with you the same way you’re falling in love with them, it might be because your sales pitch is weak.

3 Tips to Improve Your Sales Pitch When Recruiting

• Applicant Experience: This is where it all starts. The candidate applies to a job, or you send them a message because you like their profile on LinkedIn. What does that message say? How do you follow-up? If you send a generic note with no follow through, are you any different than any of the other recruiters that candidate is being solicited by? Candidates are judging your outreach and your follow-up and deciding whether or not they see a value in you and your company. This is sales 101! What can you do to improve your candidate applicant messaging and follow-up?
• Interview Process: A lengthy and convoluted interview process can be the kiss of death in recruiting, especially for great people with niche skill sets. Your inability to schedule quickly and provide feedback, is a turn-off that does irreparable harm. When a candidate is interviewing, especially when multiple opportunities are involved, every little detail counts. Modern-day recruiting is a little bit like a Western duel: The person who draws quicker and shoots first wins. Similar to sales, it’s all about your timing.
• The Job Offer: An issue I have been seeing lately is a lack of continuity when it comes to compensation. As a company, if you offer a candidate a different rate than what was discussed during the interview, you will lose them to your competitors. I promise you. If you love them, chances are someone else does, too. As is true in sales, your word is your bond, and when it comes to salary, nothing is more important. Never go lower than the number you quoted or advertised and always make your best offer first.

Closing Thoughts

Marketing and sales tactics are critical for an effective recruitment strategy. If you don’t have a strong pipeline full of great candidates, you most likely have a recruiting marketing problem. If you are losing candidates after you've gotten their attention, you’re probably suffering from a lack of a good sales pitch.

Do you have a recruiting challenge you need help identifying or resolving? Email me: asterling@naglergroup.com.

Andrew Sterling is the Managing Director of The Nagler Group, a MA- and NH-based staffing firm that focuses on recruiting local Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Legal and Administrative professionals on a contract, contract-to-hire, and permanent basis.