The job of recruiters has largely shifted from repetitive activities like maintaining spreadsheets and screening resumes to making strategies for building employer branding and engaging potential candidates. However, most recruiters lack recruitment marketing skills. They drive candidates away through their poorly planned and executed recruitment practices.
This blog will discuss some common recruitment marketing mistakes most recruiters make and ways to avoid them.
1. Setting unrealistic expectations
Sometimes, job advertisements ask way more than possible. For example, you cannot look for someone who is young, innovative, and has 10 years of experience.
Set realistic expectations for qualifications, skills and experience. Also, be flexible regarding experience and other requirements to get enough qualified candidates. And hire for competencies over skills.
2. Writing a boring job description
A simple job description with not enough appealing messages can hardly attract many candidates. Include details that most job seekers look for in new jobs. Explain job roles and duties properly. Mention attention-grabbing employee benefits like medical coverage, life insurance, paid time off, remote work flexibility and office perks.
If you use predefined job description templates from your ATS, customise them to make them interesting. The PyjamaHR ATS has many job description templates you can customise and use to save time and effort.
3. Confusing candidates with the application process
Your application process must be effortless. When candidates apply for multiple jobs, they rarely want to spend much time with a lengthy and complex application process. So, candidates will most likely drop off if they find it difficult to apply for your jobs.
4. Failing to use social recruiting
Efficient social recruiting is essential for overall recruitment marketing success. Most job seekers spend significant time using social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. However, most recruiters mess up when they post workplace updates, job vacancies and engagement posts. They lack clarity on target candidates and essential branding and marketing skills.
5. Ignoring the career page
Not paying attention to the career page is one of the biggest recruitment marketing mistakes. Most either do not have a career page or poorly design it to drive candidates away.
6. Not using quality text and visuals for content marketing
The content you create for job advertisements, social media posts and articles for your website must appeal to your target candidates. However, most recruiters use black and white posts with chunks of text which hardly grab candidates’ attention as they scroll.
Short and crisp, attention-grabbing phrases with interesting visuals. Also, take developers’ and designers’ help in maintaining the speed and experience of the site’s interface.
7. Ignoring SEO
Search engine optimization is a must for marketing your website’s content. However, it requires some skills. Most of the time, the recruitment team ignores SEO in creating their recruitment marketing strategy.
Use the crucial search engine optimisation techniques to make your website, career page, and other relevant pages search engine friendly to rank on top of the search results. Focus on the quality of content you post and include keywords that your target candidates are searching for. Also, take developers’ and designers’ help in maintaining the speed and experience of the site’s interface.
8. Being active only during recruitment drives
Candidates check the company’s recent activities before applying for jobs. It helps them start believing in your company and the job opportunity. However, most people make the mistake of being active only when recruiting.
Schedule posts on social media and the company’s website even when you are not recruiting. It will help you strengthen your employer branding and attract more qualified candidates when you have vacancies in the future.
9. Not paying attention to the email subscription list
Besides product marketing, mailing lists are also crucial for recruitment marketing.
Build a list of email subscribers interested in jobs at your company due to your strong employer branding. Send emails outreach when you have relevant vacancies.
10. Not diversifying recruitment marketing channels
Pick at least a few channels that work for you to market your jobs. Post jobs on job boards where your target candidates search for jobs, and actively post and promote ads on social media where job seekers spend most of their time. Experiment with creative recruitment marketing ideas:
- Influencer marketing
- Billboard advertisement
- Job search Facebook groups
- Job fairs
- Employee referral
11. Not using data and analytics to measure recruitment marketing success
Today, recruitment is all about tracking data and analytics to check the success of recruitment practices and whether or not you are hiring the right people in a timely and cost-effective manner. However, most recruiters do the same thing repeatedly without stopping to evaluate whether their strategies are working and whether they must improve them.
Use the PyjamaHR ATS report to track recruitment marketing success. It highlights performance metrics like candidate source performance, time to hire and team productivity report.
You must gain marketing skills to promote your open jobs efficiently. Use the above tips to plan and execute your recruitment marketing efficiently. Continuously invest in advertising your employer brand and engaging with candidates across channels.
