Attracting new talent is a piece of cake if your company has a sterling reputation in the industry and is associated with driving innovation or hosting industry leaders. But what happens if that’s not the case? Company reputation plays a key role in recruitment – even in tough economy, many unemployed people would never consider working for someone with a bad reputation. If you find out that your company’s reputation is not exactly great, here are some tips to help you work on it and attract top talent.
Tailor your LinkedIn profile
Revamp your LinekdIn profile with one message in mind – you need to show that you’re a recruiter who specializes in recruiting the type of talent you’re looking for. You can expect talents to vet you as much as you vet them. They will check out your profile to see how influential you are in their industry. If you show yourself as a general recruiter, talents will see that you’re not well-versed in recruiting their skill sets – your connection request will most likely be denied.
Use social media
Take advantage of platforms your employees are using to get in the game. Manage your profile and you’ll gain a degree of control over your reputation. Create an image of the company by sharing company photos, engaging followers and employees, promoting interesting industry content and linking to key resources in your posts. All of this will positively influence your reputation.
Create interesting job stories
Instead of offering typical boring lists of requirements, try to create interesting job stories which help candidates visualize the position and attract them to the opportunity. Sketch their role in the organization, help them imagine the kind of environment they’ll be working in and draw a vision of a fantastic job opportunity. Job stories in place of job descriptions will help you to build a positive image of your employer brand.
Turn your employees into brand ambassadors
Showcase what’s good about your organization by allowing employees, collaborators and customers share their stories and experiences which show your business from a positive side. Their feedback will be far more believable to potential job candidates.
This is especially true for employees – take advantage of this powerful resource and use their help to build your company reputation. Encourage them to share honest opinions about what’s working and what still requires some work at the organization. Ask new hires during their onboarding to leave reviews about their experience. Remember to make your internal brand ambassadors feel appreciated.
Address negative opinions
If you spot a negative opinion on platforms like Glassdoor, as a company you’ll usually have a possibility of responding. Monitor your online presence and as soon as you spot a negative comment, prepare to address it. Ignoring such an opinion means that you don’t care about what others say about you, you cannot defend yourself (because the negative content is actually true) or aren’t smart enough to know that you can respond.
How to respond to negative reviews? Be aware that they often come from employees who didn’t fit the company culture, so the more you display what it takes to succeed at the organization, the better. You can share stories that explain what kind of people are most satisfied working at the company.
Address a wider group of professionals
If you’re still struggling to attract perfect candidates, it might be smart to broaden the scope of your search and take a chance on candidates who wouldn’t be put off by your reputation. They might not have worked in the sector before or have the exact experience the hiring manager asked for – but those candidates might bring a value to your organization.
Recruiting for a company with a bad reputation isn’t easy, but those tips will help you to work on your employer brand and successfully attract talented candidates.
Simone Smith writes for Online Courses Australia, where she shares enriching stories about business development and careers. In her free time, she enjoys reading self-improvement literature.
