Recruiting
Happy Friday,
More effective recruiting:
1. Recruiting is everything your organization does to win the hearts and minds of top talent. It’s all the ingredients of ‘why your organization’ – its values, mission, and culture, its website, the tone of internal communications, social media posts, and casual interactions with leadership (the employee experience).
Recruiting isn’t just something an organization does; it’s who it is. At least, that’s how the people you’re after increasingly see it. The foundation of successful recruiting (and retention) is built by viewing your organization as the recruiting machine it is.
2. Your leaders are the best recruiters. The ability to recruit should be a strength of every leader and a fundamental part of their job. Leaders have the vision and passion, the credibility and authority, the best networks, the ability to sell the vision, a good understanding of the culture, and the authority to make decisions. Don’t let your leaders entirely off the hook by delegating recruiting.
3. Recruiting is a continuous investment in your future workforce. Don’t wait for a need to arise, then post a banal, overly prescriptive ad on LinkedIn and interview the desperate. Rushing to fill positions is a recipe for hiring mistakes. Invest the time to cultivate a high-quality talent pipeline, aka—your organization's lifeblood.
Job ads are read by your own staff, current and potential clients, and competitors' staff, so craft your ad to indirectly shape their view of your organization. It's powerful free marketing.
Don’t rely on salary and benefits as the main attractant. You don’t want people who just work for your money.
Cast a wide net that intrigues bright minds. Prescriptive ads limit the field, severely limiting your opportunity to be entrepreneurial. Less specificity invites broader interest, and that’s where some of the most impactful and unexpected new hires show up. Imagine posting something like this:
“If you think you’re exceptional, you should contact us. This organization is a platform for talented people to discover what they're actually capable of. It’s simple: the more you grow and advance as a professional, the more we grow and advance as a team. We question convention, think for ourselves, and operate from first principles: no mere jobs here, just unlimited opportunities for excellence and impact. If your work and character earn and sustain trust, then we should talk. Ours is the world’s most important profession, so our expectations are appropriately high. If yours are too, call or email me directly, Dave Bennett, CEO."
No matter who reads this, you win. Even if no one responds right away, the impression was made. Keep it up. Conveying what your organization believes widens your recruitment funnel and fuels it with people who believe the same, i.e., the right kind of folks.
4. Finally, find out who to hire by name by asking the clients you most want to work for who they trust the most. There ya go.
Good luck! And enjoy another lovely weekend,
Dave
Tryin' this out. Probably should have shaved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIUVHhLPnDg
Feedback and blowback are always welcome: dave@goodnewsfriday.com
All past topics are still available at @goodnewsfriday.com
Written by me, not ChatGPT, with valuable speed assist and grammatical enhancements graciously provided by Grammarly.
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