It’s a new year and the future of business looks bright! Businesses across the country are peering into 2025 with hopes of growth which means it will soon be time to add to the team! But when it comes to new hires, it pays to take your time and put in the effort to find the right fit. So how does a business go about finding, courting and sealing the deal with a quality hire? Here are a few tips for marketing your business to potential employees.
Look for them where they are.
If you’re searching someone who can play a mean guitar, you don’t hang a poster in a dance studio. While it’s possible your poster might find itself in front of someone who can both dance and play guitar, you’re severely limiting your pool of options by not taking the time to look in the places where you’re most likely to find the most potential.
- Even if you’re looking for general help without any specific niche skills, consider the kind of person who might fit in well with your current company environment or who might exhibit the kind of outside-the-box thinking or work ethic you would like to add to your team. Where might that kind of person be found?
- What if your ideal candidate is already happily employed? Well, they certainly won’t be browsing job listings websites, so spread the word of your growing company in the places where that type of candidate would frequent. For example, if you’d like to hire someone with an interest in health and wellness who has the self-discipline to work from home, try a 5am fitness class.
Be open, honest and authentic.
From the get-go, potential new employees should know what they are getting themselves into and what will be expected of them.
- When you have a team event, team lunch or even a simple coffee break, post about it on your social media and encourage your current employees to do the same, tagging your company page. This leaves a trail of evidence that demonstrates the kind of environment new hires can expect. Who wouldn’t want to work with a team that has fun together?
- Ask for exactly what you want. Whether you’re looking for someone with X years of experience, or you’re willing to train someone with no experience but the right personality, say so. Don’t make applicants guess about what they need in order to meet your needs. Not only can you avoid sifting through applications from those who don’t have what you’re looking for, but those who do apply can do so with the confidence that they fulfill the requirements.
- Make sure that your job listing (or however you are putting the call out) reflects who you are as a company. If you are very corporate, make your listing formal. If you are laid back and fun, make it known with some puny jokes!
Provide an interesting and enjoyable company culture.
Once you have wooed your potential employees in the door, you have to make them want to stay. It’s no longer enough to just provide free coffee and unlimited highlighters. You need to show your potential new hires that your business is a fun place to work.
- Make an effort to decorate your office space. No one wants to spend a third of their lives in a boring white box. When your office space warm and inviting, your interviewees will feel more at ease and be more likely to want to spend their time there. (Bonus tip: conduct interviews in your awesomely decorated office they can see how cool the environment is.)
- Ask interesting interview questions. A fun and memorable interview is a good sign that the job will be fun too. In addition to the important questions, sprinkle in more unique and thought provoking ones like “Do you think zombies are fast or slow and why?” “Do you believe in magic? If so, how do you define it?” or “You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it, so what do you do with it?”
- Don’t be too serious. While hiring and interviewing is serious business, it’s important to remember that this is the one and only opportunity you have to make a first impression. You’re not conducting a survey, you’re getting to know someone who could potentially play a huge role in the success of your business. And they’re getting to know you, too. Always put your best foot, and your best smile forward.
Follow the golden rule.
Treat potential employees, interviewees and new hires how you would like to be treated.
- It goes without saying that compensation and benefits should be proportionate to the job requirements. You need your employees as much as they need you.
- Give respect to get respect. Being disrespectful to someone who could potentially work for you or with you is the fastest way to to bring negativity into the workplace. If you respect them from the get-go, you can expect to be respected in return.
- Treat your existing employees (and everyone else you interact with) with kindness and compassion. Even if you do put your nice face forward for an interview, if your current employees don’t have good things to say about the way they’re treated, the people you want to hire will look elsewhere.
This year, grow your business with intention by prioritizing the quality of new hires and ensuring that they are the best fit for you. Seek out the kind of employees you want to add to your team and entice them with an authentic, interesting and enjoyable workplace. Then, by treating new hires well, you will build the depth and loyalty of your team and thus, grow your business beyond just the addition of the talent or skill that you were seeking to hire in the first place. Market your business to potential employees and grow your business in more ways than one.
