Franchises, restaurants, and businesses of all shapes and sizes are constantly in sales mode- either selling their product to customers, their business idea to investors, or their employment opportunities to candidates.
These days, hiring has become a two-way street. Just as employers evaluate candidates, those same candidates are sizing up potential employers. And some of the same practices that apply to sell products and business ideas are just as effective in persuading your would-be applicants.
Recall the many online purchases you’ve made since the arrival of e-commerce. Chances are, you’ve peeked at customer reviews and compared products side-by-side at some point. Many reviews available today before you purchase a product include photos and videos of the product in use, demographic details about the reviewer, and a lengthy description of the customer’s experience.
Prospective employees are, in essence, searching for a “product.” In this case, it’s a bit bigger than a product – it’s their job. Before investing the time required to apply for a position, candidates want to learn exactly what it could be like to work for your company (and your competitors!)
Every employer has the ability to make a unique impact on a candidate in a variety of ways. However, you only get a short amount of candidates time and attention. You need to convey your corporate culture, company history, perks, and employee experience with a few words, images and videos. Here are a handful of ways to show prospective employees what your company is made of:
1. Authentic Team Photos
Remember when you could just buy a few stock photos, slap them onto a website, and call it a day? Those days are long gone. Today’s candidates are much more tech-savvy than they used to be, they can tell the difference between a stock photo and a real one.
Real photos of actual employees wearing your uniforms, doing the actual job, and having fun, are more likely to resonate with your applicants. It helps them visualize what it would be like to work with and for you. Take a look at the recruiting photo below for Goldfish Swim School. These ladies are clearly real swimming instructors – they even have wet hair to prove it!
2. Visible Values
Accepting a job offer is similar to joining a new group of friends, or even a new family. Employees want to make sure they’ve found a good fit that compliments their personal values – before making the leap and securing employment.
Sharing your corporate mission and values on your careers page gives candidates an idea of what your organization stands for. Is your company fun and casual, employee-driven, community-focused, or maybe all of the above? This type of information doesn’t have to wait until the interview process. Try to find a meaningful way to incorporate your values into your careers page. Sometimes written content about why candidates might want to work there will do the trick, like this example from Logan’s Roadhouse:
Video content is also very effective in describing corporate values, as in this example from Planet Fitness:
Whichever format you use, make sure to spell out your core values so applicants can enter the process with a clear understanding of what makes your organization so great!
3. Active Social Media Presence
Social media use among the general population is staggering. According to figures we found on Social Media Today:
- Teenagers consume nearly 9 hours PER DAY on social media.
- 30% of all online time is used for social media.
- Of that online time, 60 percent of it happens on a mobile device.
If you’re looking to make an impression on your future candidates, it makes sense to be visible where they are spending a huge chunk of their time. Having an active social media presence is a great way to do just that.
Keep in mind, social media management is a busy job. It means posting about your company’s hiring activity, adding employee appreciation, interacting with customers and thanking them for kind comments, and sharing updates to your brand on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Frequent activity on social media will create more ways to interact with and direct candidates straight to your careers page (and right into your hiring funnel). Here’s an employee appreciation Facebook post from Logan’s Roadhouse about their long-time employee, Anna Mason:
Social media also serves as an easy way to share job postings, like this one from Retro Fitness:
Whether you decide to only post job openings, or sprinkle in openings, employee stories, and interesting news, make sure you post regularly. Employees need to see frequent activity on social media to legitimize your organization. Social media icons make it easy for a viewer to reach out to someone in their network who they know might be a good fit.
4. Detailed Employee Testimonials
There’s a treasure trove of data showing that customers are much more likely to purchase products with reviews. Employee testimonials are not much different – but instead of selling a physical product, your employees are selling “the dream experience”.
Connecting prospective candidates with your current employees helps to build confidence and excitement around the possibility of a new job. Candidates will identify with your current staff when your real-life employee explains how your brand has invested in them, launched their career, taught them new skills, and helped them give back to their community.
Written employee testimonials are effective, but there’s nothing quite like listening to someone gush about their job. The optimal format for conveying that excitement online, is video.
Logan’s Roadhouse employee Hollie Sweeden shares her enthusiasm for her role as Division Training Coordinator in this career spotlight video:
5. Captivating Careers Video
The power of video extends beyond your employee testimonials. To capture the true essence of your company culture, consider creating a fun, informative careers video! Seeing employees in action and hearing from corporate leaders (and even founders) can really demonstrate why your business stands out from your competitors.
Don’t just take our word for it… take a look at this careers video from Jersey Mike’s:
Candidates learn that Jersey Mike’s is a business with a celebrated history – a company with integrity that uses fresh ingredients, Jersey Mikes has a consistent and repeatable method, and each employee is invested in the process. What could be better than that? Consider how you might create something similar that highlights your business’s unique attributes.
6. A Well-Defined Career Path
With all the tips we’ve just shared, you’re much better equipped to attract more candidates into your hiring funnel. But you can take it even a step further! Some companies can boast a real career path for candidate growth. If you can find a way to do this too, you’re much more likely to attract rockstar candidates and keep them for the long term.
When creating content for your careers page, make sure prospective employees know that there’s a way to move beyond entry-level openings. Showcase team members who started at the bottom and moved up through the ranks from an hourly employee, to team lead, to manager, to maybe even executive. You never know – employees browsing your careers page today could be with you all the way from entry-level to sitting at your executive table, many years from now.
Here’s a wonderful example from Logan’s Roadhouse:
A defined career path video can show applicants that we all have to start somewhere. Those that start from humble beginnings can get on track for long-term career growth and success.
Today’s Applicants Require Authentic Content That Gives Them a 360-Degree View of Your Company.
In order to attract quality candidates in today’s competitive market, hiring processes must change with the times. Part of your hiring process is how candidates interact with, and their first impression of your Careers Page.
Want to learn more?
Request a free personalized demo of CareerPlug today and one of our certified Hiring Experts will show you how your Careers Page can help make the right hires.
