The Talent Cast

The hardest and most satisfying games to play are those without a clear way of keeping score, without start and stop times. You play to get better, not to win. This sure sounds like an employer brand to me.

In this really long episode, I clear out my notes and cover more than a dozen employer brand topics before we head out for summer break. Everything from social recruiting, deep branding, the invisible employer brand, and recruitment marketing's race to the bottom, this episode is chock full of big ideas. - Is employee advocacy a social strategy or EB strategy? - The slow EB: a big launch invites criticism and rejection. A slow play allows people to feel like the EB has always been there - Assessment solutions are about hiring in bulk, in finding a hire based on specs rather than finding weirdos and artists. The assessment is a decision to optimize around what is today rather than building something that is more future-proof - Follow the leader: "what every career site needs" thinking will ensure no one knows the difference between you and other companies (a sure sign that you don't have confidence in your company/brand). Its driven by what's "supposed to work" without understanding your particular context. Its a way to play safe and not really think about your needs and situation. - Race to the bottom - What would happen if you asked every employee if they would choose to work here if they knew then what they know now? - Branding yields a premium, allowing you to "punch above your weight" in the hiring world. It allows you to contend for talent you might wouldn't have been able to before - A great EB directs the prospect to consider something more. To think about opportunities outside the obvious. It can direct the prospect to re-evaluate how they are evaluating companies. - The invisible employer brand. Does your eB need to be stated? Obvious? - How long does your EB live? - The smaller the company, the more important your EB is - Your job is to make people care first. The sales comes second - What happens when everyone is an exception? Too much of hr is about applying a solution to everyone as if everyone is the same. This isn’t about cultural fit. This is about embracing the mess instead of trying to kill your junk drawer - Who is your competition on Instagram/Twitter? Who are you taking followers from? Its a game of attention: getting it and holding it - Employer branding is "deep branding" - Talent is a moving target: How quickly do things change? The job description you got approved last month is already out of date by the time you hire. So imagine what things look like a year from now? Or three? So stop hiring for skill sets. Stop running the job description checklists. - Employee experience is a lie, except when it isn't. Why do people work? to get a paycheck? Ugh. If that's true, employee experience is crucial. It becomes the differentiator. If the purpose is to succeed, to grow, to make an impact (see: every study on millennial motivations), employee experience is worthless. What matters is your purpose, your why. Defining and communicating that becomes the experience. People are willing to give up perks and comfort for the possibility of success if they see a clear path to it. - Employees want to love their jobs. Why doesn't that happen? Show notes: http://wp.me/p806sS-ba

Everything about our industry is geared towards the middle: don't do anything too different or clever with your job descriptions because you'll alienate someone, maximize audience and reach (even if you'll never hire that person), focus on the widest possible net, etc. Which is why you you can't compete. Turns out that a strong employer brand is a function of being different. And your goal in managing that brand is about cultivating that difference in the face of a million factors driving you to the middle. Show notes: http://wp.me/p806sS-b2

Your employer brand isn't just about attracting people at the top of the funnel, or getting them to accept your InMail request. It permeates every level of the talent funnel. So if you don't know how to engage with your employer brand properly, it doesn't matter how hot your brand is, you will be wondering why so many people are rejecting your offers. Show notes: http://wp.me/p806sS-aQ

We are awash in recruiting metrics being spewed out from out ATS, our media tools, our social tools, our magic metrics tools, etc. But that are almost all worthless. There is only one single metric that you need to care about because its the only metric the business cares about. If you understand it, there's nothing you can't do. But without it, you'll be forever on the outside looking in. Show notes: http://wp.me/p806sS-aL

Everything in your recruiting ecosystem (tech stack, processes, people... EVERYTHING) is predicated on getting the application: the thing EVERY CANDIDATE HATES. Sorry... I got wound up. Anyway, its time to kill the very idea of the application since you don't really even need it. Show notes: http://wp.me/p806sS-aG

Just because everyone knows job postings suck doesn't mean that's an excuse to keep sucking. A good or great job posting can radically change the type of people applying for jobs. But what should you change? Don't worry: we break it down for you. Show notes: http://wp.me/p806sS-aA

Why are we still taking an adversarial approach to recruiting in a world where the talent has all the power? Why are we boxing when we should be dancing? Show notes: http://wp.me/p806sS-at

The most important difference between a 20th century recruiting organization and becoming a 21st century recruiting org? Your level of commitment to building and cultivating your network. Show Notes: http://wp.me/p806sS-al

Working on your employer brand? Where? How? Unless you have a map of all the ways someone learns about your employer brand, you're just messing around. So here's the map. Show notes: http://wp.me/p806sS-ah