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The forgotten gold.

The text – the forgotten unit of recruiting

We often talk about candidate relationship management, which channels to advertise in and how the market is becoming more candidate driven. But we rarely speak about the written word when talking about the text that is supposed to attract as many candidates as possible. The text is usually the key component in the recruiting process, both in the preparatory work with the requirement profile as well as in the advertisement that reaches your potential candidates. It’s high time we give text the attention it needs and deserves!

The rhetoric tradition originates from the antique Greece but the art of speaking and convincing is still relevant, especially in the recruiting process. In an increasingly candidate driven market where the best talents choose their employers rather than the other way around, it´s important to attract the applicants and passive candidates and convince them to choose you as their employer.

The text is an essential part of today’s recruiting, both for you as an employer in your work with requirement profiles and job listing but also for the jobseekers. Job descriptions are usually text-based and might therefore be one of the first impressions of the employer. Therefore, it’s worth putting extra effort into making sure your text is well written, distinct, with emphasis on your unique selling point and what makes you special and a good employer. Spending time on that might be just what differentiates you from your competitors.

The new paradigm – Market yourself!

With minimal unemployment, the labour market is getting more and more candidate driven. Therefore, it’s more important than ever to attract candidates to your organisation. This means that companies and organisations must stand out in a completely new way than before – and it needs to be done already in the requirement profile. The latest trend in recruitment is to increase emphasis on the job description with what you can offer the candidate and what they will be able to achieve as an employee in your organisation. Perhaps you offer flexible working hours, a nice view from the office, a strong internal tradition, a cute office dog or a nice breakfast together once a month? No matter what makes you different and unique from the crowd, it´s a great idea to highlight this type of content in the job description. Just be sure to formulate it in a realistic and humble way so that you’re able to live up to expectations.

What does your Employer Brand say?

With today’s exacting commercial demands in the recruiting process it’s easy to forget to spend energy on the text. Where should the job description be published? How should we communicate with the applicants when the application period has passed? These are things that normally gets the clients attention before the text. But the fact is that the channel for publishing and the relationship with the applicants doesn´t matter if the groundwork with the text is not well made. The text is the foundation of the recruiting process and usually constitutes the first impression of the vacancy – or maybe even your organisation?

Therefore, it’s of great importance to not forget putting in a little bit of extra effort with the text by writing an excellent job description – it could be decisive in determining how many quality applications you receive.

Everything you produce and communicate is an opportunity to improve your Employer Brand. In a text, it´s a good idea to include content that creates an image of the internal culture in your organisation and highlight, as mentioned earlier, what you can offer your potential employees. It is an idea to highlight the profession description. For example, there are certain things that attracts a Facility Manager when compared to a Financial Advisor working conditions, place of work or other conditions? Some things attract people in junior positions more than people in senior positions, such as flexibility, locality or continuous work within a team.

It might be difficult to know what makes you stand out from the crowd because it may not be obvious to you. However, for others it might be. Do you have a special team spirit and laugh a lot together or does your contract include a yearly bonus? Do your salaries stand out from your competitors, is your office located in a beautiful and calm suburb close to countryside, or are there certain development opportunities within the position? If it´s difficult to know what makes you unique as employer, it might be useful to ask yourself; “what makes your employees stay?”.

Expectations that must be observed

Finally, it´s worth mentioning that a well-written job description gives increased understanding about what´s needed and what employees can expect in your company. But of course, the description must give a fair image of the organisation and the position. If what you describe does not give a fair impression or meet the candidate expectations, there´s a risk that they will look around for other opportunities.

2019-07-11
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