By Aimee Woodall
When making decisions on a new hire at a small business, many times it comes down to a future employee being the right fit. Finding the right skill set is only half the battle. Sure, you can find a candidate that is capable of doing the work, but how well do they adapt to company culture? Are they willing to go the extra mile it often takes when working on a small team? Are they trustworthy?
Since most small business owners don’t have a dedicated Human Resources Department to take care of scouting new talent and finding the perfect fit for their company, they have to take the hiring process into their own hands. Implementing just a few creative marketing tactics is easy and could mean the difference between finding your next star employee or a resume to add to File 86.
Here are 5 marketing techniques you should consider when hiring:
- Show off your company culture
The best way to make sure a new hire will fit in is to make your company culture a forward-facing part of your brand. As with many small businesses, those team members who are dedicated to your mission often foster a unique company culture—one different apple entering the bunch could drastically change that.
You can market your company culture through regular blogging and activity on social media. Does your company have an office pet, half-day on Fridays during the summer, or a unique way to operate meetings? Let candidates know! You can help candidates by showing them before they even hit the “apply” button if a position at your company is a right fit.
- Find the best places to post the job description
There are dozens of online portals to post a job description, from “Idealist to Indeed and everything in-between”, but you should think about more strategic places to market a position.
Many cities have industry-specific job Facebook pages that will narrow your search and target to hungry job-seekers. For entry-level positions, most universities have portals that you can target with job descriptions. And most schools within a university have their own job boards for specific majors and interests.
- Reach out to personal contacts
Sometimes it is all about who you know. Direct outreach is one of the most effective ways to market a job but one of the most overlooked. I believe in collaboration within my industry. I might compete with some agencies for business but I’ve gotten just as much business from referrals by so-called “competitors.”
The same can be true for seeking out a new employee. Reach out to your industry peers and ask them if they have seen any great candidates come across their desk they weren’t able to hire. Who knows, they might be the perfect candidate for your company!
- Mobilize your social network
If you are a socially connected business owner, you have a network of impassioned fans wanting you to succeed. When marketing a new position at your business, let these fans do the heavy lifting. Send an email to your database and let them know you are hiring. Draft some Tweets and Facebook posts for them to post about the position on their own social networks. Heck, if they are big enough fans, they might even be the right fit themselves.
- Get creative
Finally, don’t be afraid to get creative and have fun when marketing for a new position. Some companies are introducing “gamification” into their recruitment process. Marriott created an online game called “My Marriott Hotel” that encouraged job seekers to create their own virtual hotel restaurant kitchen, according to HRMorning.com.
A small business would probably not have the resources to design and launch an application of this size but there are other ways to get creative. Run a social media contest, have candidates submit video applications, the choice is up to you and what best fits in your company culture.
As 2015 begins and new graduates and older talent seek out job opportunities, doing these five things will insure your candidate pool is full of strong swimmers.
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Aimee Woodall is the owner of the Black Sheep Agency, a Houston-based strategic branding agency specializing in cause-driven marketing, public relations, social media, and community outreach. You can contact Amy by phone at 832-971-7725, by email at aimee@theblacksheepagency.com, or visit the website at www.theblacksheepagency.com.
