What is recruitment marketing?
Before getting into the merits of recruitment marketing, we should define exactly what it is…or what it is not. It is not employer branding. However, it does go hand in hand with it. In fact, the first step is to define your employer brand – your candidate persona, your values, your culture. Once that is set, recruitment marketing is what helps you get it out there via social media, job boards, recruiting events and other different channels.
So, to put it simply, it is taking a marketing approach to your recruitment process. It uses all the traditional marketing practices not to attract clients, but to attract potential hires. The job application is not the first step for the candidate as it is in the usual recruiting process. No. With recruitment marketing, creating awareness about the company comes well before that. This is why employer branding is key. By the time the candidate gets to the job description, they know quite a bit about the company and that they will be a good fit.
Stand out
Investing in recruitment marketing is becoming more and more important, especially in a small country like Malta. As always, most employers are competing to get the strongest candidates but at the same time, the talent pool is not as big as it might be in other countries. The pandemic has brought significant disruption to the workforce in Malta. Many have left the island; others have changed jobs or even switched careers. Employers, (especially from certain industries like catering or hospitality), say that finding candidates has become almost impossible. In fact, quite a few establishments cannot operate as per their usual schedule.
In this competitive environment recruitment marketing is definitely a way to stand out and attract the best and brightest candidates.
The benefits (some of)
Recruitment marketing is not just a buzz-word. There are countless benefits and here are just a few of them:
- Showcase your employer brand. It gives you the opportunity to build and promote your employer brand, targeting specific audiences across different channels. Most importantly, it will allow you to measure how well it’s being received, which in turn means that you can manage it better.
- Give candidates a good experience. It enables you to create a feel-good factor for candidates from the moment they hear about your company, well before they apply. During this crucial time, the candidate is evaluating whether they would want to work with you or not. It is the time to ‘court’ the candidate, so to speak, by showing them who you are and why you’re a good employer, possibly even personalising content that reaches them. All this helps to convert leads to applicants. It’s easier for the candidate to press that ‘Apply’ button when there is a process that has led up to that. Once they apply make sure that you keep up the positive experience by giving feedback and being transparent.
- It reaches quality candidates. Many quality candidates are not actively job searching and the passive but perfect candidate might not be looking at job posts. However, by being proactive and getting your employer brand out there, you could jolt them out of their chairs and trigger their interest. Interest leads to consideration, which can lead to an application.
- It’s double-pronged. Even though it is aimed at candidates, it is still reaching your customers and clients.
A candidate’s world
Attracting the right talent has got to be one of the biggest challenges for HR. The best talent has many options and just as a hiring manager discards an unattractive CV in seconds, quality candidates may do the same to employers. “It’s a candidate’s world”, many recruiters say. This is exactly why companies need to reach out and connect to potential hires in different ways, spreading the right kind of message about their company.
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