5 tips to combat diminishing returns for job postings.

We’re spending more than ever! Why aren’t we getting applications?

Over the past 2–3 years, I’ve heard the same thing from just about every client we work with: “Our job postings aren’t getting the candidates they used to provide.” Budgets are climbing rapidly, sometimes doubling, just to get the same number of candidates clients would have received a year ago. The worst part? Not knowing if this is a trend or our new reality (I’m leaning towards the latter).

As I look back over my career, this all seems very familiar. It started years ago, when classified advertising in the back of newspapers was the king of talent attraction (yes, I’m old). You’d receive your weekend paper and there were hundreds of local jobs to sort through as you tried to find the right position to email (or fax, again, I’m old) your resume. Like what we are seeing today, these channels became oversaturated, the candidate experience was challenging, and it gave rise to job boards like CareerBuilder, Monster and others. For hard-to-fill roles, we’ve seen the same trend in direct mail and email. It worked early, but eventually everyone started doing it and now the ROI has fallen to a point that makes these marketing tactics almost impossible to recommend.

So … what’s next? What’s the answer? How can you combat these diminishing returns?

If your job postings are yielding fewer results, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Here are five tips to enhance your recruitment efforts creatively and proactively:

1. Revamp your career site. Enhance your candidate experience by ensuring seamless navigation and a clean, attractive design. A well-designed career site reflects your brand positively and can significantly improve candidate experience, making it easier for potential applicants to find and apply for jobs. The key is to refine your candidate pathway to make it as simple as possible to:
   • Find the role they are seeking (candidate experience matters).
   • Learn about the opportunity and the organization (a strong employer brand can help reduce your cost-per-hire by 50%, and increase the number of qualified applicants by another 50% – LinkedIn!).
   • Complete an application (make sure this can happen in less than 15 minutes).
2. Leverage employee advocacy. Encourage your employees to share their experiences and job openings on social media. Authentic testimonials and stories, both written and in video, from current employees can attract high-quality candidates by providing a genuine glimpse into your organization. With younger generations not trusting advertising, yet finding tremendous value in reviews, this is your way to provide real-life reviews of your mission, vision, culture and values. They may not trust the message when it comes off as a sales pitch, but when they hear it from someone they know, or from someone who is in the role they are hoping to be hired into, it matters.
3. Implement proactive recruitment strategies. Start building a talent pipeline by strategically identifying and engaging with potential candidates you know you will need now and well into the future. Use networking events, industry conferences and social media to connect with professionals who might fit your needs. Build awareness now to attract talent in the future—and the word ATTRACT is the key. Using this approach helps us to stop spending reactively and replaces these efforts with a long-term goal of attracting talent that has heard of your organization and is looking forward to their future as part of your team.
4. Use targeted content marketing. Create valuable content that appeals to your ideal candidates. Blog posts, videos and social media content that showcase your company’s personality, culture and values can attract passive candidates who align with your organization’s mission and vision. This approach showcases your thinking and approach to your industry and can provide exciting views into your organization that candidates can’t otherwise find. It also can provide some of your best advocates with a voice and avenue to deliver messages on what they see as most valuable within their career and your organization.
5. Get creative. When others continue to zig, it’s time for you to zag. What’s that Egon Spengler said (again, I’m old)? Print is dead. While old, stale postcards and letters are getting poor results, 3D mailers delivered as a package are still getting great responses. After all, who doesn’t love getting a package that needs opening in the mail? The key: keep it unexpected and positive. Relate it to the role you are trying to fill and refine your target audience. What’s not working the way it used to, and what can you do to change perspectives on that channel? Have you thought about rolling out the red carpet to candidates who have been referred by employees? What would that look like today? Potentially a website built just for them where they can easily find the role they are looking for, and, because they are a referral, an abbreviated application process and guaranteed first-round phone interview with a recruiter. It’s time to think differently and to approach our challenges with creativity.

By employing these strategies, you can rejuvenate your recruitment efforts, attract a higher quality of candidates, and fill positions more efficiently. And, if you need help in any of these areas, AB&C is here to help. Just give us a call (or email, text or … send us a really creative 3D mailer). We’re all about great strategy, creative approaches and most of all, improving your hiring ROI.