Help Wanted? Now Hiring? Good Luck!

Business owners and HR managers all face the same dilemma: good people are hard to find, and getting harder.  But some of this is almost certainly a marketing problem.

First, think about those “pitches.”  Help wanted.  Now hiring.  Positions available.  Operators needed.  Not very sexy, are they?  Flip that around for a minute.  If you received an inquiry from a potential hire, and all it said was, “Looking for work” or “Job wanted” or “Available for hire,” you might not be too enthused.  So why should potential hires get excited about your generic appeal?  If you want your message to resonate with potential employees, you have to give them something to get excited about.

Start by pitching every great thing you have to offer.  Is the position a stable one?  Does it offer a path to promotion?  Here’s where the real opportunity lies.  Can you take ordinary things and turn them into benefits?  For example, if you want delivery people, try, “Never be stuck indoors again!”  Or, “The perfect gig for people who like to move.”  Likewise, if it’s an indoor job, make that sound like the best thing ever.  Desk job?  “Take a load off your feet.”  Lots of time on your feet?  “Sell that treadmill.”  Third shift?  “Join the rest of the night owls.”

Now think about the kind of workplace you can offer.  Again, remember that little things make a big difference, so make the little things bigger. Maybe you can brag about a “drama-free department.”  Or promise that prospects will “Never be bored at work again!”  The possibilities are truly endless.

Finally – and probably most important – think about your brand.  Would your reputation make someone more or less interested in working for you?  If more, sell the heck out of that.  Reinforce all the awesomeness that is your company.  If less, tell them you’re the best kept secret around, and tell them why.

The bottom line?  Think about recruiting the way a marketer would, and you’ll attract more of the prospects you need to succeed.