As an executive recruiter for over 20 years, I am regularly asked by hiring managers and human resource practitioners how to proactively build their organisation and personal brands as an employer of choice, in order to attract the best quality of talent for their vacancies. Applicants are far savvier now and definitely undertake a lot more research on their prospective employers, even before deciding whether to apply for your vacancy, or to engage with a recruiter.
Jim Lecinski from Google wrote an excellent eBook, “Winning the Zero Moment of Truth” (2011) which refers to the first time a potential buyer (in this case a prospective employee, but it would also include prospective clients, suppliers, joint venture partners – literally everyone who deals with you in a professional context) seeks information about a particular product (you and your company). The internet allows buyers to be able to seek information and opinions about things they want to buy before they make any attempt to actually engage in a sales process.
Your Personal Brand
When a prospective employee looks at your LinkedIn profile, they ask themselves, “Is this person reputable? Can they mentor and coach me to achieve my highest potential? Can they solve the problems I am currently experiencing in my career?” So you need to make sure that your LinkedIn profile can pre-emptively answer these questions as quickly and positively as possible, as they apply to your employees of choice.
Firstly, your LinkedIn profile should be as good as, if not better than, your current CV. It should contain as much content as possible, to best articulate your key achievements and skills. You should include plenty of detail on each of your historical roles, your professional qualifications, and any professional memberships. Prospective employees want to know this stuff, they want to understand you as a person, what makes you tick and how your career has unfolded.
In short, it should sell you as an exceptional boss and leader, so that candidates are left with a high level of confidence that you are someone they would love to work for.
What else can you do to build your brand as a Hiring Manager of Choice? You can proactively seek opportunities to speak at conferences. You can appear as a guest on podcasts, or even host one yourself (I do and it’s really fun). You could even write a book or two.
Your Organisation’s Brand
When a prospective employee is researching your organisation, they are going to be interested in the reputation and experience of your board members, CEO and senior leadership team. Therefore it’s important that they be able to access this information easily and that when they find it, this information enhances your attractiveness as an Employer of Choice.
So to begin with, are the profiles of your board members and executive leaders on your company website? Are they easy to find, rather than being hidden away in an Annual Report on the Investor Relations page? Are they written in a way that would make prospective employees excited about joining your company? Do they “sell the sizzle, and not just the steak”?
No doubt at least your CEO, plus potentially other members of your board and executive team, has been a guest on a podcast, spoken at a conference, appeared in an article or perhaps have even written ones themselves. All of these things can be linked to your website plus your company’s and individual LinkedIn profiles. If one of them has done something amazing, like completed a significant fitness challenge and/or raised a significant amount of money for a charity, promote it. Employees love this stuff.
Most companies invest substantial amounts of money and time in marketing themselves to their Customers of Choice. However very few spend any money or time in marketing themselves to their Employees of Choice. Have a look at the websites and LinkedIn profiles of some of the largest companies in the world, or even in your own industry and you’ll see for yourself exactly what I mean.
Developing a great LinkedIn profile is relatively easy, and it’s also free. Adding an extra page to your company website, aimed purely at prospective employees, is also an inexpensive exercise. Just these two simple suggestions will go a long way to building your brand as an Employer of Choice, and really help you stand out from your competitors.
