4 Ways Your Digital Presence Attracts Hard-to-find It Candidates
by Mike Miadich
on August 21, 2017
in Hiring
The idea is to show off all the fun things your company does, and how much everyone is enjoying their roles. Any perk or benefit can be showcased. Do you have occasional free employee lunches, a gym in your building, or state-of-the-art new desk configurations? What about professional development sessions, group volunteering efforts, or flexible working hours? All of these activities and many more can be shared on social media and your website. The effort it takes to post pictures or recap fun events will be greatly outweighed by the positive feedback and interest such activity inspires.
PROMOTES TRANSPARENCY & HONESTY
Here’s the thing: there’s no way to “fake” a great environment or culture if you do not already have one. A handful of strategically-taken photos could fool a one-time casual visitor to your Facebook page, but the astute IT candidates you want to attract will not take such bait. Today, it is easier than ever to recognize attempts at deception in comparison to organizations that are consistently showcasing their authentically awesome environment. But there’s no reason to fret. As long as you strive to make cultural improvements and publicly document them along the way, you will soon enjoy improved recruiting.
It comes down to the fact that honesty and transparency is greatly valued, both by consumers and potential employees. 56% of consumers say additional information inspires more trust in a brand, and the same holds true for talent. Want to attract the highly sought-after Millennial workforce? They are a group that greatly values transparency. Digital avenues allow for an open window into your business. At a time when people want to know everything they can about an organization before they invest their time or money in it, this is paramount.
EXPLAINS YOUR DIFFERENTIATOR
Your business is successful because it does something at least a little bit different than the competition. Setting yourself apart from competitors is a key part of an effective recruiting strategy. Internally, you already know your differentiating factors, but IT candidates may not see them as clearly. This is where a stronger digital presence comes in.
The best websites and social media pages draw in IT candidates because they succinctly point out what makes an organization stand out. Is it your environment, employee perks, and culture? Or are you the only organization focusing deeply in a certain tech niche? Think about the reasons clients chose to work with you over competitors, and why your staff accepted a job offer from you while rejecting others. That will lead you to what factors to spotlight.
PROVIDES MEANINGFUL INTERACTIONS
Your digital presence is not a one-way street. Today, organizations are expected to interact with the public. This is most apparent on social media, where an increasing focus is on the responsiveness of businesses. Unfortunately, only a third of companies on social media have dedicated employees posting content and responding to users on a regular basis.
This desire for interaction and conversation means that you must do more than just show off a great culture in order to attract IT talent. Sharing interesting industry content that is relevant to potential employees is a start, but on top of that it’s necessary to engage in the conversation as the comments and messages come in. This one-on-one engagement mentality should permeate through your Facebook and Twitter pages and extend to email replies, website chat functions, Glassdoor, and any other platform. Over time, your brand will be looked up to as a trusted industry thought leader, and that will build a desire for talent to join your ranks.
HOW YOUR DIGITAL PRESENCE ATTRACTS HARD-TO-FIND IT CANDIDATES
Building a digital presence and brand takes time. Few job seekers are likely to apply for an open role after just one positive interaction with your company. However, continued exchanges add up and reinforce company image and reputation. After two weeks, two months, or a year, when the right moment comes, that great IT candidate will jump at the chance to work for you.
