In today’s world (a world where Google is a verb used daily), recruiters can’t just rely on job boards to find top talent. When you look at the Global Talent Spectrum, you can see that the talent you want to recruit is at high end of the spectrum - these are “passive job candidates.” (Or, as we like to call them, the sophisticated job seekers.) You won’t find many of these candidates scouring the job boards. These highly qualified candidates are happy in their current jobs but (lucky for recruiters) if the right opportunity presented itself, they would be interested in making a job change. Unfortunately for recruiters, they’re not going to leave for just any ol’ job. Instead of desperately scouring the job boards each day, sophisticated job seekers take time to figure out what they’re looking for and monitor companies they’re interested in. A recent study by LinkedIn shows 70% of the professionals following your Company Pages are interested in working for you. As this study shows, sophisticated job seekers don’t waste their time applying to jobs they don’t think are a good fit for them. And why would they? Since they’re reasonably happy with their current jobs, they can afford to be extra picky about finding new opportunities. That means recruiters have to go the extra mile to snag them. If you want to recruit these elusive sophisticated job seekers, you’ve got to play their game. You have to intrigue them somehow - get their attention, get them interested. But how?
Storytelling Is The Key To Snatching Top Talent
Showcasing a story about your company and its employees is your “hook” for your target job candidates. This is called a “Tribal Story.” It makes a candidate feel part of something special and important. For the right candidate, this story will not only make them feel more connected to your company - feel like they share something with it - but it will also make them feel inspired to apply and excel in it. Funny enough, savvy recruiters have been using this technique for years. During every email, phone call, and conversation they’ve had with potential candidates, they’ve told them stories about the company to help pique their interest. Here’s the good news: Now every recruiter can learn to use this same strategy to attract top talent.Crowdsource Your Tribal Story
The first thing you need to do is figure out which Tribal Story will evoke the right emotions and inspire top talent to apply. How can you determine this? Crowdsource! DIY Method – Survey your existing staff and ask them to share what parts of the business inspire them to work for the company. Outsourcing Method – Hire a specialist to help you define your talent brand and identify the story that will resonate best with the talent you seek. Either method works, the important thing is to find that emotional connection between your employees and their work - It makes it easy to create a genuine story to share with potential candidates. “Fostering the bond between the two sides is what makes the Tribal Story powerful,” wrote J.T. O’Donnell, CEO and founder of CAREEREALISM. “The more you can showcase real examples of how employees feel aligned with your talent brand, the better.”
EXAMPLE: The Grommet shares what makes great team players
The Grommet, a company based in the Boston area, understands the importance of sharing their Tribal Story. The post “5 Key Characteristics Of The Best Team Players” gives potential candidates an inside look at the company and the employees. Not only that, but gives readers an honest idea of what the company is looking for in their employees. Through this story, the company is able to reveal their REAL culture to those sophisticated job seekers. If you’re not honest about who you are as a company, you’re going to attract job candidates who aren’t a good fit, which can result in them quitting and costing you money. Or worse, they could cause problems within your existing culture, which can result in the following:- Poor performance
- Workplace conflict
- Loss of existing employees
And here’s another reason NOT to lie about your culture...
Before you start thinking about “creating” a great brand to attract the “right” talent, let me stop you with this fact: Sophisticated job seekers can spot a fake fast. In fact, 50% of professionals in this survey claim they can tell when a company is lying about its culture. That’s not exactly a great start to your professional relationship. You might think it’s okay to bend the truth a little bit in order to appeal to a certain type of professional, but when that professional gets to work and doesn’t see what was promised, they will likely leave - frustrated and resentful of your company. Not only that, but an inauthentic Tribal Story will make it impossible for your recruiters to snag talent effectively. The best talent brands aren’t created, they’re revealed… You can’t manufacture a corporate culture because it already exists. (If you can’t identify compelling aspects about working for your company for your Tribal Story, it might be time to take a closer look at what can be done to elevate the culture.) You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be accurate about who you are as an employer and convey it effectively. Otherwise, you’ll waste time and money on those ill-fitting candidates.FACT: A good Tribal Story can improve application rates by 25%
The best part about having Tribal Stories is that you can share them with all of those sophisticated job seekers on social media to strengthen your inbound recruiting strategy. A LinkedIn study shows posting talent-related articles (like your Tribal Story!) each week on your Company Page can increase applications to your job postings by as much as 25%. (For more tips on how to build an inbound recruiting strategy, download this free e-book!)All it takes is one story to start recruiting smarter.
Recruiting can be a tough job. And with the talent shortage on it’s way, it’s going to get even more challenging. The best thing you can do to help them succeed is to give them the tools and resources they need to recruit smarter, not harder. Savvy recruiters are the future, and Tribal Stories are a great way to showcase the talent brand they’re selling to those sophisticated job seekers. These stories give recruiters the support they need to recruit more efficiently. But they can’t do it alone! They need internal support to get these inbound recruiting strategies started. I hope this article inspires you to engage your HR team in a discussion around creating your Tribal Story!
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