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• How a Little Creativity Can Bring Big Rewards in Recruiting

How a Little Creativity Can Bring Big Rewards in Recruiting

written on November 19, 2010 by Kenyon Mau

With the looming hiring frenzy due to occur as the economy begins to improve, something I wrote several years ago becomes appropriate.  Read this and apply it when you seek to hire new talent. This really works.

When your organization is looking to add staff and that responsibility falls on your shoulders, the first reaction you could have is to say “No problem.  I see dozens of job postings that even I could write” and then just write something up and post it online.  The problem with that?  If you have seen dozens of postings, the job searcher has seen hundreds of them.  With job boards being the rage these days for alerting candidates of potential job openings, how can you be sure your ad is getting viewed?  How can you be sure the right people are reading your opening instead of someone else’s?  Being a small business owner, you cannot afford to hire the wrong person.  As a small business owner, you cannot afford to have your opening vacant forever.  You need the right person as soon as you can find them.  So just as in product advertising where creative ads that truly tell the viewer what it is you are selling works here too.  Here is one method to think about before you post that open position.

In the world of recruiting, Lou Adler stands out as one of the most widely-read recruiters today.  Through his books, his articles on Electronic Recruiters Exchange www.ere.net and through webinars his company Adler Concepts www.adlerconcepts.com puts on, he is viewed as a deep thinker who practices what he preachers successfully and wants to impart that knowledge to those who also want to find great talent.  Building on the ideas Lou champions surrounding job ad development, I want to talk about how you can write a good solid ad that can stand out and still creatively get the message across to the person you want to hire.  It begins with the concept of “thinking outside the box” and how can you write a creative ad that captures the attention of the person you seek.  The days of having opening paragraphs looking like this: 
    Company X seeks a dynamic widget maker responsible for the manufacturing of widgets. Core responsibilities include….. 

    The successful candidate will have a degree in Manufacturing as well as between 3-8 years of experience as well as……

are over.  Today candidates want to know far more about a company and position.  They want to know what is in it for them at your organization.  That’s one component missing from the traditional job posting of yesteryear.  Let us see what you need to create that stand-out ad.

The first thing a candidate will see is the title.  Lou subscribes to that idea “titles must be visible, big, bold, and attract the attention of the right audience”.1  Many postings will classify your opening by title or classification, which can allow you to be creative or descriptive in your title.  Lou uses an actual search he had for a CFO by putting in the title line “CFO for division of Fortune X Company”2  For obvious reasons, mentioning the type of organization helped attract the type of person they sought right off the bat.  Not very creative, but carries weight.  For a smaller organization that is less formal and where officers wear many hats, you might put out a title saying “Chief Bean Counter and Traffic Cop” to describe a chief financial officer-type who also runs the support functions or directs other departments.

After the title, the first two lines are important to continue the candidate’s reason to read your ad.  Lou Adler would say “A job posting is like a direct marketing piece in that you have 10-20 seconds to capture the reader’s attention”.3  Using the CFO example, Lou then had the following: 
    “Fast forward one year. Our client would like to thank you for accomplishing the following”4

Now that is a different approach.  Instead of the usual explanation of who the company is or what the job would entail, Lou is having you think ahead one year and look back on what you (the candidate) accomplished in that role.  Certainly presents the position with a positive outcome.  Think about how that would position your organization if it seems success is likely (though not necessarily easy).  Candidates want to see what is possible with an organization.  Traditionally that has been something discussed in the interviewing process.  Why not talk about it from the beginning?

Now that you have their attention, the next step according to Adler is to list the job requirements in a way that supports you title and opening lines, yet still makes the job appealing.  Continuing with the CFO example, Lou positioned the job description portion like this: 
    “Creating a great team of accountants, planners, auditors, managers and directors (about 50 or so) that have made a large impact on our business. 

    Converting our ERP system into an asset.  As a result, we now have a complete understanding of our business. 

    Helping our world-class operations and sales teams reach another plateau in performance.  We blew past our budget and everyone attributes it to you. 

    Implementing a forward-thinking, sophisticated financial planning and controls process.”5

Notice that by staying away from the tired formula of stating job duties you have created some sizzle in the job?  Someone can now see what is expected of the job and think about how they could apply their skills in that role.

Lastly, this approach while unique still has some requirements to follow.  You still need to list the application method necessary for this position and required equal opportunity verbiage.  By using this approach you are not given carte blanche to write something that violates employment law.  However you can work within the limits of employment law to create something that will work in your favor more times than not.  You still need to know who your audience is for the position you seek to fill.  The risk with this approach?  It wouldn’t work and you will have to edit your online posting.  Overall, not a bad risk to take.

What you have seen may seem a little extreme for your situation.  You probably are not searching for a Fortune 500-level CFO.  However, being a small business owner, you need the right person to come and work for you.  You do not have the luxury of making a bad hire, nor hiring someone you will train and nurture someone who leaves at the first opportunity.  You cannot afford to keep the job open indefinitely either. By starting the retention process up front: talking about the job and what is in it for the candidate; by showing some of your company culture up front; and showing that you want this position to succeed you are showing a big glimpse into your company that will better position you to receive resumes of people who should be closer fits to what you seek.  You will always get resumes that do not match.  To a certain extent, that will reinforce the fact based on your job ad, people like it and want to work there.  Ultimately, job traffic is where the retention and recruitment process begins.

Kenyon Mau
Human Capital Advisors

kenyon@humancapitaladv.com  
http://www.humancapitaladv.com