Hiring compared to last year is a completely different ball game. What at one point was an employer-driven market is now candidate-driven in many industries.
Job vacancies are on the rise, ultimately meaning that candidates have more choice if they are suitable for roles and can be selective.
The very best and talented candidates have always been in demand too, but today’s market means you need to put more emphasis on selling your company to them and highlighting the key reasons why they should join you.
Interviews are a two-way process; the candidate is looking to see if the company is right for them just as much as the company is looking to see if they are suitable for the role.
So how do you navigate this candidate-driven market? We’ve listed some tips below to ensure you can make your company stand out from the crowd and secure the best talent.
Be passionate
The first thing you need to consider when talking about the company you work for is the reasons why you are there. You need to promote your passion and optimism for the workplace so your candidate can feel this too. Make sure you bring your energy and positivity to the interview even if you’re having a bit of a stressful day.
Your company’s mission and values
A good place to start when selling your company to an interviewee is by giving a short overview on its story and journey. This should include what the company’s mission and goals are and how it is working towards them.
This overview should also include your company’s values so the candidate can have a greater understanding into what you stand for and if they are aligned with their own values.
Another thing you could mention here is the company’s future plans, for example where it sees itself in 3-5 years and if there’s anything exciting in the pipeline. This will help the candidate create a bigger picture of the company, while also building interest in where the company could progress with them onboard too.
Your company’s benefits
As well as giving an overview about your company and its journey, you should delegate some time to talk about the benefits it has to offer its employees. Have a list of these to hand and try and identify which ones make you stand out from the crowd or would attract attention more from the interviewee. The more unique the better, as well as ones that are most relevant to their situation.
For example, if they will be working from home and one of your benefits is that they can have a flexible working schedule and take charge of their working day, you should emphasise this.
If you are working with a recruitment agency (like us), they will be able to identify for you how your company compares to others in your market and give you a greater insight into benefits and industry trends which could be particularly useful when hiring new people and retaining your current team.
Your company’s culture, environment and employer brand
When it comes to company culture and employer branding, this is a good chance for you to put your personal spin on it as it is completely interpreted by employees and how it feels to work there, and not something written down on paper. You could include what a typical day looks like, how you communicate as a team and why you believe your company is a good place to work.
You should also talk about the environment and what they can expect if they are successful. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn’t know anything about the company and try to immerse them into what it’s like on a day-to-day basis.
Ask yourself some questions; what would appeal to the candidate from what you know about them? Are you a diverse organisation? Do you host lots of social activities? What’s the office like (if you work in one)? There’s plenty of different things you could cover here.
Overall, it’s good to spend the time to build a small selling pitch about your company and make some notes for prompts you want to mention in the interview following what we have discussed above.
It’s super important to remember not to oversell; this will become very clear later down the line if you are overselling the role and company to a candidate who ends up being part of the team. If you oversell your company, this could lead to a high staff turnover and you risk losing quality talent.
Bear in mind that if you work with a recruitment agency, they will also be able to begin the ‘selling pitch’ to the candidate and create an overall picture of your organisation before they have even attended their interview.
If you would like to find out more about this, or if you are looking to hire in your team, you can drop us a message on [email protected].
