Despite challenging economic circumstances during which finding a job might not always be very easy, a superstar employee usually doesn´t have that many difficulties finding their dream job. Top talent is scarce and the really good profiles are in high demand. So don´t let economic indicators fool you, for hiring superstar employees you need to sell yourself, high unemployment ratios or not.
Hence, when it comes to hiring superstar employees, you should think about your strategy the same way you think about strategy when doing business. Sell yourself to potential employees with the same effort as you would sell yourself to potential customers.
How to sell yourself as an employer to potential employees?
- Differentiate yourself as a company
Why should top talent apply to your company especially? Since their skill set is in such high demand they probably have potential employers to choose from, so what makes your company unique? Show personality in your job description and highlight what differentiates working for your company from all the other options out there. Talk about your culture and the ways of working at your company. Make the candidate want to click on “apply” instead of moving on to the next job posting on the board.
- Create a story
Ever heard of the power of visualization? Make the candidate visualize themselves in this specific job when they´re reading the job description. Use compelling language and focus on the candidate instead of just summing up a list of tasks and responsibilities. Sentences like “this job may be for you if….” can really speak to a candidate. Also, try to give them an idea of their day to day functions to make it more tangible.
- Easy & clear application process
This one is important, even if you capture a candidate´s interest for your position, you might lose it again very quickly if the application process is long and cumbersome. Therefore, have a simple and clear application process and be upfront about the process in the beginning. Nothing worse than losing a top notch candidate during the process because it´s taking too long or is getting too complicated for them.
- Treat them as a potential customer and the customer is king!
You are trying to sell yourself here! Remember, top talent with unique skills are scarce so for you as an employer the demand is higher than the supply. Act like you need to win over a new client and put all your effort in that. Just as the customer is king, try to see the candidate also as king (to a certain extent of course, you will after all still have to work with this person) and really sell your company to them as their perfect employer.
- Interesting Pay & Benefits Packages
Offer interesting benefits packages, and this is not just monetary rewards. Think about the total reward and make this attractive for the candidate that you are looking for. This means you might have to do some research. Not just market data research on salary ranges and offering competitive numbers, but also research on what these candidates value in a job. E.g. do they want to do specific leadership courses or have a flexible schedule so they can combine their job with teaching at the university? Do your research and offer something that is relevant to these superstar employees and therefore hard to refuse!
In summary, what is important here is that at this point you as an employer realize that you need these top profiles more than they need you. So it´s up to you to convince them that they need you just as much if they want a relevant, challenging and rewarding job!
