Small Business Today Magazine JAN 2015 AIM GLOBAL LOGISTICS | Page 34
EDITORIALFEATURE
5 Ways to Market Your Company to Find
New Employees That Just “Fit”
By Aimee Woodall
W
hen making decisions on a new
hire at a small business, many
times it comes down to a future employee being the right
fit. Finding the right skill set is only half the
battle. Sure, you can find a candidate that
is capable of doing the work, but how well
do they adapt to company culture? Are
they willing to go the extra mile it often
takes when working on a small team? Are
they trustworthy?
Since most small business owners don’t
have a dedicated Human Resources Department to take care of scouting new
talent and finding the perfect fit for their
company, they have to take the hiring process into their own hands. Implementing
just a few creative marketing tactics is easy
and could mean the difference between
finding your next star employee or a resume to add to File 86.
Here are 5 marketing techniques you should
consider when hiring:
1. Show off your company culture
The best way to make sure a new
hire will fit in is to make your company
culture a forward-facing part of your
brand. As with many small businesses,
those team members who are dedicated to your mission often foster a
unique company culture—one different apple entering the bunch could
drastically change that.
You can market your company culture
through regular blogging and activity on
social media. Does your company have
an office pet, half-day on Fridays during
the summer, or a unique way to operate
meetings? Let candidates know! You can
help candidates by showing them before
A small business would
probably not have the
resources to design and
launch an application of
this size but there are other
ways to get creative.
they even hit the “apply” button if a position at your company is a right fit.
2. Find the best places to post the job
description
There are dozens of online portals to
post a job description, from “Idealist to Indeed and everything in-between”, but you
should think about more strategic places
to market a position.
Many cities have industry-specific job
Facebook pages that will narrow your
search and target to hungry job-seekers. For entry-level positions, most universities have portals that you can target with
job descriptions. And most schools within
a university have their own job boards for
specific majors and interests.
3. Reach out to personal contacts
Sometimes it is all about who you know. Direct outreach is one of the most effective
ways to market a job but one of the most
overlooked. I believe in collaboration within my industry. I might compete with some
agencies for business but I’ve gotten just as
much business from referrals by so-called
“competitors.”
The same can be true for seeking out a
new employee. Reach out to your industry
peers and ask them if they have seen any
great candidates come across their desk they
weren’t able to hire. Who knows, they might
be the perfect candidate for your company!
32 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ JANUARY 2015 ]
4. Mobilize your social network
If you are a socially connected business
owner, you have a network of impassioned
fans wanting you to succeed. When marketing a new position at your business,
let these fans do the heavy lifting. Send
an email to your database and let them
know you are hiring. Draft some Tweets
and Facebook posts for them to post
about the position on their own social networks. Heck, if they are big enough fans,
they might even be the right fit themselves.
5. Get creative
Finally, don’t be afraid to get creative and
have fun when marketing for a new position. Some companies are introducing
“gamification” into their recruitment process. Marriott created an online game
called “My Marriott Hotel” that encouraged job seekers to create their own virtual hotel restaurant kitchen, according to
HRMorning.com.
A small business would probably not
have the resources to design and launch
an application of this size but there are
other ways to get creative. Run a social
media contest, have candidates submit video applications, the choice is up to you and
what best fits in your company culture.
As 2015 begins and new graduates and
older talent seek out job opportunities,
doing these five things will insure your candidate pool is full of strong swimmers.
Aimee Woodall is the owner of the Black Sheep Agency,
a Houston-based strategic branding agency specializing in cause-driven marketing, public relations, social
media, and community outreach. You can contact Amy
by phone ]̋NM