I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – recruiting is a marketing exercise.  Actually it’s probably the most important marketing exercise you’ll ever have.  Because, if you don’t have the right people on your team – your business will really be hard going.

OK, so we all know it’s better to be in a position of attracting the talented candidate.  And then once you get them you have to keep them – which is easier said than done these days.  But it is possible.  Yes, of course you want to position your business so you are an attractive company to work for – an employer of choice.

But you can execute on all the strategies you want: enhance the benefits, up level compensation, prepare development plans, introduce work hours flexibility – really, you can do all the things, and they may not do you any good.  Why, because if an employer falls in the woods, does anybody hear it?

If you are doing all these great things, in a vacuum, then you aren’t getting any bang for your buck.  You’ve got to promote what you’re doing and who you are, you’ve got to market to potential candidates.

Alright, so we agree – you have to market to candidates as effectively as you market to potential clients.  And the building blocks are the same.

Every piece of content you put out in the world, becomes part of your brand.  So, what does your website say.  Is it a dry list of open positions, or do you have a real career page that sure, lists openings, but talks about who you are as a company, and what you stand for.  Have you included the voices of your current team members – nothing works better than testimonials.  Remember, for the job seeker, nothing is better than hearing from their potential future colleagues.