CJ Eason, “The Job Doctor,” Community Outreach Director with JobFairGiant.com.
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Most companies are fed up with the rising cost of recruiting and the below-normal candidate results. As a result, some CEOs are tap dancing on TikTok to spark the interest of one good candidate; existing employees are holding employers hostage with wage increase requests.
The same old river is not overflowing with job candidates. Good candidates with experience typically want to work for better companies that offer three main incentives:
1. Career advancement: We are in an era of people wanting more in their lives, which means more opportunities to grow with a company. For example, the typist today likely does not want to remain a typist for 30 years.
2. Education reimbursement: People are in constant search to reinvent themselves, learn new skills and better themselves for whatever future they desire. As a result, today's employers have to be willing to support the career growth of their employees.
3. Benefits security: The pandemic taught millions of people about the importance of health, happiness and security. As a result, more employers support workplace mental health, physical fitness and medical protections. Employees are searching for employers that offer the best family health insurance, life insurance, vacation pay, gas allowance, virtual work conditions and childcare benefits to cut the employee's out-of-pocket cost of living.
As the end of the year approaches and the average company spends thousands of dollars rewarding its current employees with holiday karaoke nights and bingo-themed holiday parties, your company could still be understaffed in many departments on New Year's Day.
I wonder if your public relations manager will pull out the Rolodex and call the local news reporters to do a story about your company before the ball drops in Times Square. The average person is making a list of resolutions for their life, and getting a new job is likely on someone's list of accomplishments. This is a little inside tip of mine: The end of the year can be a great time to gift the newsroom with story ideas. A news story could give you instant credibility while increasing brand awareness and potential employee applicants.
Based on my experience, here is how you can work to get your company in the news before 2023. Consider following these tips to write a press release that gets you noticed in your local city.
1. Record a live video.
Everyone likes to watch people doing just about anything, so why not demonstrate the job you have available, the supervisors and the location of the job?
No need to hire a film crew; use a simple camera phone and record multiple videos. Be sure to narrate as you record. Discuss the job highlights, hours, pay range and location, and promote your company as a great environment. Make applying easy by including your work email address, website and telephone number. Repeat how to apply for the job multiple times in the video. Everyone loves a subliminal message or will learn to love it if you say it enough.
Your video does not have to be perfect; what matters is the effort you put in. Some stations might even send a professional reporter to your company for better footage.
2. Do not overlook the local radio news.
Consider recording an audio press release for radio stations—your office likely has a radio playing easy-listening music. The morning, afternoon and evening disc jockey has fans listening, which is your opportunity to reach potential applicants.
My first opportunity to brand myself was on community radio. The golden rule is to speak slowly and precisely and repeat your message to help the listeners remember details. Do not repeat your phone number; use a short, catchy website address and your company name.
3. Money is the key to happiness for most people at the beginning of the year.
Does your company have a hiring bonus? If not, that could explain your problem with recruiting. Your company is in competition with small to mid-sized companies and big businesses; therefore, you should consider opening the piggy bank a bit more for candidates who want a realistic hiring bonus in 2023, or you could risk being overlooked.
Consider sharing news by having a company hiring contest: Share if you are on the search for the best project manager in your area. Everyone loves a little competition; everyone loves a challenge—spice up the hiring process with an audition-style group interview. Keep the news updated and build on the story during the hiring process to ensure continuous media coverage.
Your public relations manager can use social media to help keep people engaged in the hiring process and spark more candidates to apply for other job openings.
4. Educate your audience.
I recently met with the largest salt mine in Metro Detroit, which was hiring for several positions with excellent salaries and benefits. I asked why they struggled with hiring, considering we all use salt on food and roads; it is a natural resource utilized in daily living. The reason was brand awareness. People want employment they can rollerblade to every day or desire to cut the cost of commuting to work—but forget there are hiring businesses right in their local neighborhoods.
Make sure your press release is an invitation for local people to come by and visit your company. Tell people you welcome high school seniors, offer college internships for students in the summer or welcome stay-at-home parents searching for part-time jobs during school hours.
One of the best methods to spark the newsroom's attention is to offer a solution to the daily problems in society; unemployment is top on the list, then poverty and next is lack of money. Your company could solve three problems with one well-written press release.
Your business address is your best marketing tool; there could be hundreds of people in your town searching for work daily. Help job seekers find your company by building consistent relationships with community organizations, community groups and local government. The biggest problem is that most employers look beyond a few miles to find potential employees when good people are just around the corner.
Publicity can be a helpful tool for generating interest in your open positions.
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