Effectively Sell Your Company to Attract and Hire Top Talent
By Barb Bruno, CPC, CTS
Barbara Bruno, President, Good as Gold Training, HRSearch Inc.
As the economy and job market continue to recover, the competition to attract and retain top talent will dramatically increase. Too often interviews are a series of questions and answers. It is important that the individuals conducting interviews share their company’s story. One would need to communicate why someone would want to work for your company.
Everyone involved in the hiring process should have a clear picture of what differentiates not only your company, but your company’s culture, benefits, and reputation from your competition. The story should be consistent with the exception of why each individual began working for your company as well as their reasons for staying.
If you utilize recruiters to identify top talent, they need to know your company’s story as well. It is just as important to sell your company as it is to sell the opportunity you are presenting. What are those top three reasons someone should work for your company vs. your top competitor?
The candidate must feel that your company is their best option and provides an opportunity that is in their best interest. Everyone needs to be on the same page or the entire interview process could be compromised. If your goal is to become known as an employer of choice, remember the following suggestions:
- Remember you are NOT just selling to the candidate. It is important that your candidate has a clear understanding of how your opportunity will also benefit the people they love.
- Discuss the potential of advancement. If you promote from within, provide the candidate with specific examples of individuals who are currently still employed by your company. Encourage them to envision working for you long term and show them what options would be available.
- Never underestimate your competition. The Internet and Job Boards have simplified the process for candidates to interview and obtain multiple job offers. Stay informed of the compensation, benefits and other perks offered by your competition. You must be competitive if you are going to fight for top talent.
- Using a recruiter doesn’t relieve you of the responsibility. Selling and promoting your company must become part of your interview process and company culture. Selling your company and your opportunities in a strategic and consistent fashion will dramatically increase your chances of attracting and hiring top talent.
Suggested action item: Ask everyone, especially those involved in your hiring process, to provide you with the top three reasons someone should work for your company. Take the time to review these reasons and compare their answers. If they are NOT all on the same page, it is conceivable that top talent could be lost and subsequently hired by your competition.
Deliver a consistent company story that explains why someone should want to work for you. This will help you earn the reputation of a Preferred Company.
Barb Bruno, CPC, CTS is one of the most trusted experts, speakers and trainers in the Staffing and Recruiting Professions. If you want to receive FREE training articles from Barb, sign up for her NO BS Newsletter! Barb Bruno, CPC, CTS has spent the last twenty years focused on helping Owners, Managers and Recruiters INCREASE their Sales, Profits and Income! Her Top Producer Tutor web-based training program jumps starts new hires and takes experienced recruiters to their next level of production. Barb just released her cutting edge program Candidate Next Step (CNS) which provides you with a Customized Career Portal in less than 10 minutes. CNS turns the 95% of Candidate you Don’t Place into Passive Income and eliminates the Greatest Time Waster in your Business. If you’d like to contact Barb, call 219.663.9609 or Email support@staffingandrecruiting.com.
Posted by Barbara Bruno
on March 24, 2010. Filed under Recruiting, Thought Leadership.
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Exceptional Article Barb! I couldn’t agree more. You’re a pro.
GREAT article … must read if you want to recruit effectively and grow your company with people who will perpepuate your culture!!!
I like your point about selling to the people they love. Especially in the industry I recruit for (public accounting), I find that spouses, children and family are seriously impacted by the employer. What a great reminder!
Excellent piece Barb. I posted link on Ere.Net for the thousands of recruiter members who will likely click through ;-)
Great article Barb. The one thing I would add to this is to make sure recruiters and hiring managers do not just sell why they think the candidate wants, but they actually ask questions to determine what the candidate is really looking for. We often make the mistake of drilling product knowledge into our recruiters head without teaching them to ask questions. Its important to remember that recruiting is selling and there are 5 steps to the recruiting process:
* Develop a relationship
* Develop/uncover the need
* Overcome objections
* Fill the need
* Close the sale
When we focus on selling only what we think the candidate wants, we are really missing step 2 – uncovering or developing the need. Understanding the selling points of our organizations in important, however knowing what the candidate wants and needs cannot be replaced.
[...] recently read an article posted on RecruitingTrends.com by Barbara Bruno titled “Effectively Sell Your Company to Attract and Hire Top Talent”. Barbara made a great point that everyone involved in the hiring process, from the recruiter to [...]