Although your company can attract hundreds of applicants for a single job posting, chances are that most of them aren't the right fit for the position - or the company. As a result, your recruiters spend hours sifting through applications to find candidates to bring in for interviews.
But what if you could reduce the number of unqualified resumes you get and speed up time to fill? Nurturing candidates who take the time to learn about your company before they apply can help you do just that.
More applicants ≠ better candidates.
Throwing a wider net doesn't necessarily mean you'll find the talent you need - especially if you're fishing in the wrong waters. You need to nurture candidates who make sure your company is a good fit for them before they apply. We call them informed candidates.
Twice as likely to be hired because they're the right fit, informed candidates are well-researched and engaged with your company.(1) Once hired, they get onboarded faster and exhibit greater productivity. The best way to nurture them? With content.
Understanding the informed candidate journey.
To be successful in attracting informed candidates, you need to understand their journey. Below is the "funnel" that candidates go through when they're pursuing your company. [For a breakdown of each stage, check out our eBook, Recruiting with Content.]
From awareness to conversion, it's important to think about each of these areas when you're trying to attract top talent, so you can create stage-appropriate content that not only keeps your company top of mind, but also provides the relevant information potential candidates need.
So what kinds of content are best?
There are so many creative ways to brand yourself as an employer using content. The key is sharing a story that resonates with your target candidates. You can do this through:
- Graphics
- Videos
- Photos
- Blog posts
- Social media updates
- Quotes
- The "Why Work For Us?" section on you Glassdoor profile
Although there are no hard and fast rules for how much content you should create, the more you share, the more people will notice you. So, create as much as possible! As for how often you should post, the minimum is once per day.
Keep in mind, though, the more employer stories a company shares, the easier/faster it is for talent to make the decision whether or not to engage with it. On average, candidates use 12-18 touchpoints before making a decision to apply.(2)
Keep candidates coming back.
Every follower is a potential candidate for your company - so don't just share content hoping these people will come back on their own. Make them come back. Drive them to sign up to continually get updates from you by adding calls-to-action in your content.
For example, you can encourage them to:
- Sign up for company job alerts
- Follow you on social media
- Subscribe to your email newsletter
- Follow you on Glassdoor
Ready to get started?
Now that you know a bit more about how content can help you attract informed candidates to your company, it's time to create and share content that showcases your employer brand. For more tips and an editorial calendar to help you kick-start your campaign, download 20 Days of Content for Recruiting Informed Candidates.
(1) Based on app-to-hire ratios in a 2015 study of 30 million applicants from a leading third-party recruitment agency
(2) Inavero, 2015
