In the past employers who implemented talent acquisition programmes as part of their recruitment strategy were the game changers. Hunting down the best talent and filling their talent pools to the brim put them ahead of the game, but now the war for talent is out of the hands of employers and in the hands of the candidates.

The future of recruitment now lies with having an inventive marketing strategy, establishing an employer brand and presenting it to the right people. The focus has turned to creating a relationship with candidates. In order to do this human resources now need strong marketing competencies. Those who want to lead their company to recruitment success now have to change their mindset and up their marketing strategy.

Don’t Bury Your Head In The Sand  – Candidates Are In Control

Let’s face it, the reality of the recruiters’ role has evolved. If you’re involved in recruitment and don’t see yourself as a marketer you’re in the wrong profession because in order to attract the best talent you must be able to think like a marketer. Outdated strategies just don’t deliver the same results anymore, modern strategies nurture talent through the marketing funnel and embrace the consumerization of the candidate experience.

In the past talent acquisition leaders only considered the first half of their recruitment funnel posting a job or creating a visible webpage this has worked before but will not continue to work in the future. Modern recruitment teams now need to be data-driven and brand let marketers from now on.  In order to create branded campaigns and effectively promote your company, new skills need to enter the human resources and Talent Acquisition departments. Skills that are related to branding, lead nurturing, and social recruiting.

What can you do to build a marketing strategy for recruitment?

Embrace the consumerization of the candidate experience. Define your modern recruitment strategy that honors how candidates search, find and engage with the employment brand. Think about what drives your consumer perspective of a brand.

Lay a foundation for a marketing strategy. To execute this strategy you will need to strengthen these 6 core competencies within your team:

  1. Brand Building – Establishing and communicating your employer brand and value proposition. The very best employee branding programmes focus on showing rather than telling.
  2. Content Strategy – Creating and curating compelling content and messaging for your job descriptions, landing pages, etc.
  3. Digital Marketing – Utilizing the entire range of available options to display your Employer Brand to a targeted audience.
  4. Demand Generation and Nurturing – Creating demand for your employer. Making sure that you are converting candidates throughout each stage.
  5. Social Media – Sharing content and engaging with candidates. This should create an air of transparency.
  6. Data Analysis – Capturing and interpreting trustworthy data and identifying key trends to help acquire top talent