Much has been written about content marketing. It’s nothing new if I say “content needs to be relevant to the audience.” In fact, most experts in the content space will roll their eyes at yet another piece that talks about how we need to write with specific audiences in mind.
Yet, have you ever looked at job postings? They all sound the same. They all have the same rhetoric. The same verbiage. For a bit of fun, I looked at roughly 40 job postings in various industries and different job functions. Below are some phrases I saw across multiple job listings from different companies:
“We’re looking for an experienced leader…”
“Excellent time management…”
"Proven ability…”
“Hard worker,” “A-Player,” “Flexible, “Fast-paced environment…”
Are the above important? No question. But are they written with a specific audience in mind? Here's secret #1 for you: job postings are content marketing. Job postings are you...selling...your company.
Go spend some time with your content marketing team. They are creating audience personas and profiles. They have a laundry list of keywords that are important to your company's buying audience and they take readers and buyers on a journey in which they are the hero.
Except in recruiting. In recruiting? Virtually no job postings write “for the audience.” We write for ourselves. Our needs. To cover our asses. For the mid-level manager to be able to say “hey look senior management, I’m being a good middle-manager and demanding a ‘hard-worker’ for this role!” We have so much ego in our job postings. We think our company is so amazing that we don't need to sell potential employees on the opportunity. They (the candidate) should be thanking us for even allowing them to submit their resume, right?
Sigh.
But sure...the problem is the "candidate pool." Or, wrong skillsets. Here are your real problems.
You Aren’t Google
There’s an enormous lack of awareness that takes place in most companies. We believe our company is so star-spangled amazing that people are banging down our doors to work for us. I don't doubt that you are getting hundreds of resumes, but are they the A-Players? Out of the 200 resumes you receive, how many do you automatically kick-out? 90%? More? Are you getting the right candidates?
We don’t dare ask that question because it’s far easier to continue to place blame on the candidate pool. Or blame a skills-gap or the “war-for-talent.” Asking if we're getting the right candidate would mean that the problem is....us.
And that is indeed the real problem; we drank our own Kool-Aid. Look, I get that your marketing SaaS platform, which is 1 of 7,000 mini-me-platforms…is “way better” than your competitors, but the reality is? It’s not. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. You aren’t Google. You aren’t some kick-ass, stealth startup that everyone is begging to be a part. And, secret #2: there’s nothing wrong with that!
There’s nothing wrong with being a solid, but not-so-exciting company. However, step 1 to solving your recruiting problem? Admit you have a problem. And your problem is lack of awareness.
If A-Players aren’t banging on your door, ask yourself why. Two answers: You aren’t Google. And? Content Marketing!
Write For Your Audience
A-Players aren’t looking for keywords like “hard working” or “proven ability.” Those filler words are for you. Your ego. Your “CYA” (cover-your-ass). Are A-Players going to be hard-working? Of course. So, why insert that into your “content” piece (the recruitment ad)?
We have to remove the excuse of “well, if I don’t…then I’m not setting expectations.” Wrong. Wrong. Wrong! A-Players expect to come into an environment that demands a solid work ethic and rewards it. If that’s not your organization? Then putting it in the recruitment ad is a lie. And if it is your organization? A-Players will sniff that out.
Let me share secret #3: what employees are looking for. Employees are looking for:
The WIIFM (what’s-in-it-for-me).
They want autonomy while having the support of a team. They want the opportunity to learn new skills while applying their current skillset. They want growth opportunities and challenging problems to solve. They want to contribute to a mission. They want their contributions to matter.
You want the A-Player? Then you need to write your job postings to catch their attention. It’s all about content marketing. Frame up the opportunity. Speak to their wants and needs.
Recruit Them!
We spend so much time, effort and energy on “selling” our product/service to customers and spend exactly zero time, effort and energy on “selling” to potential employees, let alone selling to employees to keep them motivated, but that's another post! We aren’t selling the vision, the dream and the opportunity to candidates.
And this is why you are coming up short in recruiting.
You aren’t selling them on it.
And your company isn’t so amazing that it can just sell itself…otherwise, you wouldn’t have budget in your sales and marketing organization. See? Awareness!
Not a single A-Player is looking for a role where they can apply their “excellent time management” skills. Not one. And we're putting it in job posting after job posting so we can check the box.
The candidate pool isn’t to blame. Our job posting is. We forgot the single most important rule…write to your audience.
You want to recruit the best? Sell them. Tell them the vision. Remove the corporate-mumbo-jumbo so you can impress your boss or cover your ass.
Sell people on the opportunity and they will come.
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