Knowing Your Audience and Avoiding Three Big Deal Breakers in Recruiting

Job postings are one of the most effective tools recruiters have to reach out to top talent, but how this is done depends on a set of philosophies and techniques that can help bring in top-tier candidates.

One big step forward is to think about the talented individuals who are out there, and who will be receptive, as career activists – most of them are already employed, or not wanting to make a transition at the moment, in other words, they’re not actively looking, but the thing about career activists is that they are always striving, always looking for opportunity, and as such, they are more likely to respond to an attractive offer.

Three Pitfalls of Poor Technique

The plain and simple fact is that too many conventional recruiting messages aren’t communicating the right way. In other words, they are using the outdated methods and vocabulary of times past. Learn three ways to renovate campaigns to produce modern results, and to speak to the top tier of people who may be receptive to what a corporate client has to say.

1. Address the Spam Filter

One of the biggest disconnects in the modern recruiting world comes down to a simple feature of e-mail technology: the spam filter.

In a nutshell, applicants are complaining they never heard back from an employer, while employers are swearing that they are dedicated to contacting all applicants. What’s happening? Many of these replies are being dropped into a spam folder, which leads to a fundamental lack of understanding about the employer’s intentions and how to build relationships with recruiters. Address this pitfall in order to avoid any confusion.

2. Don’t Use Outdated Words

Referring to the audience as ‘job seekers’ or asking them to submit a resume are almost always big red flags. Simply put, they turn off those special audiences that recruiters want to reach. Those who are at the top of their game often know that they are valuable, and they expect to be treated with respect. They won’t engage with the traditional kind of verbiage that talks down to a job applicant, making it seem as if they are preparing to pound on the doors of a potential employer.

3. Ditch the Long Applications

Another issue essential for attracting the best people has to do with the value of an individual’s time. Throughout the recruitment world, long applications are the bane of the practical human resources process. Long applications derail more positive relationships between workers and employers than most of us realize.

In the past, these detailed applications helped to weed out the chaff to deliver the top people for employer review. Nowadays, the best people are more likely to refuse to fill out the forms, and hiring offices that use them are left with the truly desperate, or those with a lot of free time on their hands.

Long detailed applications asking for 10 or 20 years of career and lifestyle history fail to serve a practical purpose, and waste everybody’s time. Whether they’re digital or on paper, an application with more than one page deserves to be consigned to the dustbin of history. In our next blog we’ll discuss how to make your job postings more engaging.

 BROKERHUNTER is the premier leader in digital advertising recruiting solutions within the financial services industry. In a sentence, we are experts at bringing financial services professionals and employers together…it’s what we do! Please call 1-888-955-6795, ext. 202 or 203 to have one of our recruiting experts customize a plan for you to win the war on talent.