How to Attract Top Candidates by Talent Experts

By Lorenz V. Esposito | September 11th, 2019

As thought leaders in the field of Talent Communication since 2002, Potentialpark strives to bring the voice of the candidates to the table, because we believe that no one should miss the opportunity to find work where they belong. 

As it is true in all industries, competition between employers leads to better products and better offers for the end consumer. Well, the same goes for recruiting candidates. When employers compete amongst each other for top talent,  they must create better offers to attract candidates. As early career professionals and college graduates are recognizing that today’s market is candidate-driven, the pressure is on the employers to start going the extra mile to stand out amongst their competitors. 

At Potentialpark, one of the the best ways we help clients attract top-tier candidates and stand out  is by simply differentiating your brand from your competitors. It’s imperative to show top talent your brand-differentiating features right away. This will give candidates insight into your company and show them how they will grow and evolve in their career. The strongest tactic  you have as an employer is by making an offer that candidates can’t find anywhere else 

We have collected 10 tips from experienced employer branders and talent experts to understand what their focuses are when recruiting top candidates and what they recommend! 

Let’s check them out!

Tip #1 - Use Social Media to Showcase Life At Your Company

Lorenz V. Esposito, Digital Marketing Specialist at Potentialpark

The best way to attract top talent is by being present on the channels your desired candidates are on. With the bulk of the workforce being Millennials and Gen Z, being present on relevant social media channels is a must. According to Potentialpark’s research, candidates are checking company’s social media pages before applying to see how the company culture is. They want to know how they will fit into the company. There is no reason not to be producing content that candidates want! 

Tip #2 - Have Transparency throughout the Candidate Experience

Melissa Willis, Talent Acquisition Operations & Employment Brand Manager at Esurance

In today’s day everyone researches everything before making a decision. That research goes beyond purchasing an item and feeds into applying for a position. Candidates want to know what it’s like to work for a company, so train your hiring managers of interview best practices, encourage your employees to leave reviews on review sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed, encourage associates to share their stories on social channels, outline your hiring process on your careers page, have constant communication throughout the process, and don’t be afraid to give feedback if a candidate wasn’t chosen.

Tip #3 - Get Personal

Maryann Lee Mathew, Head of Research at Potentialpark

Rather than limiting your employer brand to corporate-level communication, your business leaders and colleagues can instantly make your brand more personal and relatable through employee advocacy. With the rise of digital word-of-mouth, employees can collectively increase a company’s reach and credibility through their extensive networks. As an added bonus for building the company’s employer brand, they are also building their personal brands online. 

Tip #4 - Nurture Passive Candidates

 Alexandre Zagrame, Sales and Business Developer at Teamtailor

An optimized career website and social media page will serve the purpose of filtering the right candidates to your company. It is important that as an employer you are present on all the channels your ideal candidates might be on. By being present in the same space, this will give potential applicants a chance to connect with you without having to apply for a specific job and a specific deadline. It will in-fact help employers because they are having potential applicants enter the candidate funnel without actually realizing it. Nurturing these talents with occasional reminders that they are missing out by not working for you will in fact reduce hiring costs when you finally decide to put a job ad out.

Tip #5 - Manage your Online Brand Sentiment

Leonie Deisel, Brand Strategy Manager at Potentialpark

All of us consume information all day everyday. In this oversupply and overstimulation of information it is crucial to reach talent, where they are. To get attention in the online sphere is becoming more complex as well, so make sure you know what channels your target group uses most and delivery content that engages them continuously. A new channel that has gained popularity amongst job seekers is review platforms. The challenge with this is, that as a company, you are on those platforms whether you want it or not, and candidates regard the written comments as very credible. Yet companies are slow in adopting a strategy to manage their reputation on those channels. Set your company apart and use review platforms as a new means of communicating with your future candidates. This will definitely pay off.

Tip #6 - Personalize the Candidate Experience with Storytelling

Nate Guggia, Talent Brand and Candidate Experience Expert at JobPortraits

Candidates want a personalized experience. That means giving them a look inside the micro-culture they'd be working in. Create culture-focused content that speaks to your candidate personas to show candidates the work they’d be doing, the unique problems they’d be solving and the people and leaders they’d be working with. Storytelling also builds internal moral in addition to serving as a retention tool. Teams and team members whose stories are shared feel a strong sense of pride and accomplishment in their work and a bond with their company. 

Tip #7 - Build a Great Company Culture

Karthik Bosan, Backend Developer at Potentialpark

Build an amazing company culture where employees love going to work every day. An unattractive company culture can impact a company’s ability to recruit and retain the talent it needs to thrive. Poor company culture always spread through multiple channels fast and easily, making the talent reluctant to work for the organization. A great company culture makes employees feel like they are a part of a community or big family. So not only will it help to attract the right talent but also retain them in the long run.

Tip #8 - Empower Your Front Lines

James Hornick, Partner at HireWell

Referrals are the best way to hire, period. And thus, talent acquisition is not just the job of your recruiters, but your whole company. Anyone who interacts with talent, i.e. literally everyone at the company, has to be given the tools they need, from the very top, to make your organization successful: -How to 'pitch' your company to get people interested -Understanding of what skill sets are in demand -Who they should make introductions to internally when they meet someone who is interested Good referrals can happen at the least expected times/places, and if you're team isn't prepared, you'll miss out.

Tip #9 - Employee Ambassadors and Micro-Branding

Julian Ziesing, Partner and Head of Innovation at Potentialpark

Trust your employees to tell the street-level story. Be it with a weekly Instatakeover on Instagram or by bringing experts to career events or even creating ambassador profiles on your career website. Candidates want to hear from the people they will work with and work for. Let your employees talk on social media and your career website. But go deeper than the typical testimonials. What projects are they working on? What does their day look like? How is the work place? Show don't tell. Culture is not a fancy slogan, it's what people actually do every day at your company. But also micro-branding different work areas makes it more likely candidates will self-identify with a specific career and apply.

Tip #10 - Get Your Stakeholders Onboard

Stephan van Calker, Sales Development Specialist at Tink

We often hear about the biggest employers launching campaigns and prepping for the country's biggest career events to showcase the strong brand of them as an employer. I believe that is a fantastic thing and definitely leads to a stronger pool of quality hires. But employer branding is more than just a campaign - people are the most important asset of a company and if you want that continuous flow of talent coming in, a continuous investment in your employer brand is needed as well. Therefore it is more important than ever to pursue a data driven talent attraction strategy. A strong career site is great, attending dozens of career fairs adds lots of value, but where do you stand compared to the rest of the market? Show internally where you stand among your benchmarks, so that your manager also gets a stronger feel for the importance of your employer brand.