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Recruitment

Damage control: Recruiting talent when your brand has been tarnished

Culture, Employer Branding, Recruitment

Damage control: Recruiting talent when your brand has been tarnished

In an ever-increasing war for talent, recruiters are working hard to sell employers’ brands. A company’s reputation can affect whether candidates accept job offers, or even apply in the first place. In fact, 69% of job seekers say they won’t apply to a company with a bad reputation, even if they’re currently unemployed.

 

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4 Ways to Lead with Mission and Purpose to Attract Informed Candidates

Culture, Employer Branding, Recruitment

4 Ways to Lead with Mission and Purpose to Attract Informed Candidates

Searching for a job can be exhausting. Candidates have to screen through hundreds of job postings, hoping to find that perfect job that matches their skill sets and their values, giving them a sense of purpose beyond just making ends meet. The tasks of work are simply more enjoyable when one knows they’re contributing to a higher purpose.

 

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candidate experience

The Forgotten Internal Candidate

Recruitment

These days candidate experience optimization is getting a lot of much needed attention. With more and more companies investing in their employer brand (59% of employers are investing more this year- LinkedIn), organizations are evaluating the candidate journey to help ensure it does not erode their investment in brand.

Sadly, there is a forgotten population, the internal candidate. This population has been deemed “safe” by some who like to drag their feet. Planning to promote someone or move them to a juicy new mandate? “Don’t worry, they are internal and not going anywhere”. Thus, the process takes much longer and likely with limited communication.

Savvy employers don’t make this mistake, especially after investing in their employer brand strategy. They are committed more than ever to a great candidate experience for internal and external candidates alike. They know their internal candidates matter and that unless they move with urgency, as well as have a focus on candidate experience, their brand investment is eroded and their employee flight risk status is elevated.

I recall having dinner with friends one evening and discussing this very issue. My friend, a high-potential leader in her organization, was told she would move into her former boss’s role. What came next? Crickets. Weeks turned to months before she finally got any word on next steps.

What some employers may not realize is that internal candidates have options and impact your employer brand, as well as your reputation. They may have been wooed by a competitor in the past. This courting may be ongoing. Their loyalty can only last for so long before they question the commitment on the other side, their company.

Pop the question already! You know they can do the job or you would not have discussed the new position with them. You know they are a cultural fit as their service pattern validates it.

So why do some employers dawdle? Because they have other burning priorities and do not see the silent risk sitting in front of them.

As I continue my mission to build community at work, it’s great to see an increased emphasis on a humanized talent brand and enriched candidate experience, but don’t forget about the internal candidate sitting in front of you. They deserve the same first-rate journey as everyone else.

No candidate left behind…especially your internal talent. #HumanBeforeResources

 

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candidate experience

The Three Cs To An Enhanced Candidate Journey

Recruitment

In today’s highly competitive talent market, failing to pay attention to the candidate experience will cost you in more ways than one. For starters, there is your reputation that feeds your employer brand. There is the diminished pool of referrals thus leading to other potentially more expensive sourcing methods. There is also the inability to compete with multiple offers. If a few similar offers come in around the same time, may the best candidate experience win! We at Powerhouse Talent also like to consider what is the right thing to do as a human being. Karma baby…we live by doing good.

We look at the candidate experience from the perspective of the head and the heart. What do they need to know and feel to have an outstanding candidate journey?

  • COMMUNICATION- Stay connected! Even if things have started to stall, communicate, communicate, communicate! Explain the process or what may be happening in the organization (a big conference, deliverable or exercise). A quick LinkedIn message, text or call can mean so much. Radio silence is not the answer.
  • CONNECTION- Move over robots or drones… this is a human experience! Treat others the way you wish to be treated. Real connection builds interest. Are those involved in the talent attraction process building real relationships with talent or is your process like an assembly line? Candidates can feel the difference and will walk away.
  • COMMUNITY- Be different and help them visualize life at your company! If your process is a multi-stage one, let one interview be more casual. Perhaps a walk around the neighborhood, grabbing a coffee or checking out the new employee lounge. Let the candidate experience life at your company, meet the team and see themselves working there. We all want to belong. Taking a break from a typical interview venue such as a boardroom helps breathe life into the process.

Keep the three Cs top of mind and you will differentiate yourself from others who have forgotten the importance of being human in such a vulnerable experience.

Looking to being a better candidate experience and employer brand? Check out our employer branding training program with lots of great insight into the candidate journey. LAND YOUR BRAND- Your employer branding training and blueprint.

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