When one thinks of "branding", images of major brand icons and multi-million-dollar marketing campaigns come to mind - Apple, Coke, Google, just to name a few. But the essence of branding is more integral than that, and recruiters have a big role to play as "brand ambassadors". A recent article by Leslie Stevens points out that "the application process is really an extension of your employment brand. You should never underestimate the impact of negative chatter in the marketplace.” She mentions that large companies, like Pepsi, are looking to enhance the candidate experience as a way to extend the brand into the hiring process. How can recruiters become their client's brand ambassadors?
1) Understand the brand goals of your client and how they want to project themselves to the world
2) Make sure the touch points you have with candidates extend your clients brand message (emails, phone calls, website job postings)
3) In candidate interviews be enthusiastic about your client's brand, mission and vision and make sure you can communicate that quickly and simply
4) Don't be shy about critiquing your client's brand promise in their candidate relationships. Identify gaps, where they exist and recommend improvements.
The core value a recruiter offers to its clients is finding top talent. In order to do that, recruiters must often first become brand ambassadors before they can become candidate generators.
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