Whether you are a for profit or a non-profit, finding the right people and getting them into the right roles directly impacts how well your organization runs. This is especially important for smaller organizations where the contribution of each team member has a greater impact on organizational outcomes.
There are four steps to appealing to the right audience and attracting the perfect fit for your team:
Craft Your Opportunity
Find Your Audience
Make “Apply Now” Easy
Be Responsive
Step 1: Craft Your Opportunity
We have a lot more shoved in our faces today than ever before. As a result we look for the main point to quickly tell us if what we’re reading is relevant to us and whether we want to continue. So when crafting your opportunity you want to make sure the key pieces your audience is looking for are clearly displayed.
I’m sure it’s no surprise that the top 3 things looked for in a job ad are compensation, qualifications and job description. This was the case prior to COVID-19, and is likely to be the case after COVID. However, taking COVID into consideration, safety and the ability to work remotely are also some of the top keywords being looked for right now.
When crafting your opportunity in our current environment, if the position is remote this is one of the first things you want to tell people. There are some amazing candidates out there who are only looking for remote work and if you can provide that flexibility then make that clear up front.
The job description should be provided next. You want to tell people about the job. The description, more than the list of qualifications, helps readers decide whether, or not, they can do the job. It also helps them determine if they want to do the job. When it comes to fit, desire to do the job is as important as ability.
In the job description, include 3-5 of the most common activities of the role. Is the person leading team meetings? Will they be expected to check and respond to social media engagements or run reports and analyze the data? Provide an idea of what the ideal candidate needs to be absolutely comfortable with doing consistently. If you have room without getting too wordy, include things that show company culture and set the tone. Such as, promotes a culture of inclusion, fosters team pride, encourages professional development, helps clients love our products.
Next provide your list of requirements. First start with a list of all of the things you want your new hire to have. Then rank them in order of priority. The top items on that list are your requirements. The rest are nice to have and should be labeled as such. When you include the nice to haves in your requirements list you are telling excellent candidates that you don’t want them. By separating the two, you ensure that your candidates understand your priorities and whether they can do the job satisfactorily. You also let them know what skills they will need to learn quickly but don’t necessarily need to have mastered on day one.
There is some debate as to whether you should include compensation in your ad. This is something that candidates would prefer, because it helps them rule out the jobs that don’t pay enough. However, there is more to compensation than salary. If your monetary compensation is competitive, provide a range. Starting at what you would prefer to pay and extending to the high end of what you would be comfortable paying a new team member. If the monetary compensation is not competitive but other benefits like skills training, flexible hours, paid time off, health, vision, dental, on-site child care or a gym membership make up for it, then don’t include the specific numbers, but do include that compensation is competitive and be prepared to discuss compensation as a package and not just as a salary during the interview.
Step 2: Find Your Audience
Now that you have the key parts for your message you have to get it in front of the correct audience. Typically, small businesses and non-profits don’t have hundreds of dollars to pay for jobs advertisements. Frequently, word of mouth is the best way to find your candidates. So you want to look to your website, social media and free services to post your job ad.
Your website should have the full job description with the method(s) for applying. This is the best place to provide all information about your organization and should provide clear links to allow potential candidates to get to know more about you, who you are, what you do and why they should care.
With anything social media, place is important. If you are hiring, LinkedIn should be the first place you post your job ad. And yes, your business or non-profit should have a LinkedIn business page. You can simply create a “we’re hiring” post on the company page, include an image and a link to your website. You do not need to pay for a LinkedIn job ad. Facebook, Twitter and instagram are also good places to put your information though we would suggest simplifying your message, tailoring it to the platform and pointing interested candidates to your website for the full jobs ad.
For Instagram and Twitter, focus on an eye catching image such as the one at https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5Jx5IH2of/ which is bright, cheerful and clearly shows they are hiring. Facebook is going to be a great place to spread the word. Encourage others to either share the post with your job ad or tag any potential candidates they may know.
There are job boards that will post or promote your open position for free. Indeed, Glassdoor and even Google for Jobs will allow you to post your job opening for free, though in Google’s case you need both a website and a little technical savvy.
Step 3: Make “Apply Now” Easy
Everything above is important, but if you get a candidate to the point where they are ready to apply and you’ve made it complicated, then you have wasted your time and theirs because odds are you’ve lost them. Make applying for your position easy. Allow them to email you their resume and a cover letter, if you require one. If you require an actual application, make it simple to access and use and no more than a page or two.
Step 4: Be Responsive
No one likes to be kept waiting. Especially, when trying to make life altering decisions, like whether to take a job or not. When you receive an application or query, acknowledge the submission. Preferably within 24 hours. It can be a simple, “thank you for your submission, we will follow up with you soon”. If possible, provide next steps or set expectations for when they will hear from you next.
One thing to remember in all of this is that you are offering an opportunity, but you are also gaining the time and skill of a valued new team member. The opportunity needs to be appealing to them beyond the paycheck, otherwise, you’re likely to lose them to a bigger paycheck as soon as one comes along. You want someone who shares your goals for the company, the team and for their own professional development. That is someone who’s a perfect fit for your team and someone who is likely to do their best work to make your shared vision a reality.
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Aisha Cargile, Co-Founder, McCord and Cargile Marketing Resources
Aisha Cargile is a trainer, author and co-founder of McCord and Cargile Marketing Resources, an Indianapolis-based marketing agency specializing in You-centric marketing and marketing education for small businesses, solo-preneurs and non-profits. Aisha is an educator at heart. She believes that knowledge is to be shared and lives by the saying "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
She has volunteered with a variety of professional and charitable organizations, including, Maddie Smiles: Random Acts of Kindness a community-based organization that focuses on improving the mindset and outlook of local populations through acts of kindness designed to inspire positivity and improve community relations. She has also sat on the board of directors for the Project Management Institute Central Indiana Chapter as VP Marketing.
