5 things an effective recruitment process must have

Here’s the secret: Recruitment is marketing.

This isn’t a trend. It’s a core truth in the new world of work.

Forbes research shows that recruitment marketing spend is on the rise, and according to the latest Recruitment Marketing Report, 59% of employers recognise marketing as having a significant impact on their ability to hire great people.

Is a marketing approach something new?

Looking back, recruitment marketing was something only the biggest corporate focused on; mainly for graduate recruitment.

While treating recruitment as marketing might seem like a new trend, it’s not news, at least not to Heart. 

Our team’s background and experience spans recruitment, communications, marketing, copywriting and HR, which is reflected in our modern, marketing-led approach to talent engagement and attraction.

The new world of work calls for a new mindset.

Your people (both the ones you have in your team and the ones you want to attract) are the consumers of your employer brand. The jobs you offer? Products.

Why does recruitment as marketing work?

When you think about it, recruitment being like marketing makes perfect sense. It’s not hard to make the connection between attracting customers and attracting candidates. After all, they’re both people, right?

We don’t expect customers to walk through the shop door, jump online and buy without some effort to attract them, engage them and tell them why they should choose you.

Why should job seekers be any different?

Recruitment is a people business. If we put people at the centre of the process (just like marketing teams put customers at the centre), the rest will follow.

So if recruitment is marketing ...

Here are the 5 things you should expect to see as part of an effective recruitment process.

1. Research

Get to know your market. 

Who’s looking? What are they looking for? What other similar opportunities are out there for them right now? 

Understanding supply and demand is important. If you’re going to attract the best people, you need to know what they’re looking for (including market salaries) and how best to engage with them.

2. A candidate persona

Developing a candidate persona is a key step at the beginning of any recruitment process. 

And guess what? It’s much more than a job description. It’s thinking carefully about your ideal employee and what they could bring to the role. 

Where might they currently be working? What have they achieved in previous roles? How would you describe their personal style, approach and attributes?

Importantly, in a competitive, talent-driven market, you might need to have a couple of variations on the ‘ideal’ persona ie be flexible, and don’t go looking for a unicorn!

3. Engagement

It’s important that you articulate the why of the role and your offer.

Always remember that the recruitment process is a two-way street. People want to have a sense of purpose. They want to see the bigger picture and understand what this opportunity will give them (as much as knowing what they can give). 

This is the difference between approaching recruitment as talent acquisition and approaching it as a process of attracting and engaging the best people.

4. A flexible plan

People are unpredictable. You can’t control everything in recruitment. Accept that you might need to be flexible and change your plan in order to get to the best outcome.

When you understand the importance of flexibility, you won’t just benefit from an improved recruitment process. You’ll also be able to lead by example, showing would-be employees what it means to be adaptable.

With flexibility, you’ll be ready for whatever challenges the hiring process may throw your way.

5. Excellent communication

This is an obvious one, but often, it is not done well. An effective recruitment process must include clear, timely, honest communication.

Communication during recruitment is about interpersonal communication skills and written communication skills, as well as transparency and how and when you communicate with everyone involved in the process. It’s about managing expectations and having an open, authentic dialogue that cuts through the noise.

This goes without saying but we’ll say it anyway….you must respond to all applicants. Period.

Communication in recruitment is also about engagement and storytelling. But that’s a story for another day.

Wrapping up

As you can see, the connection between recruitment and marketing isn’t all that tenuous. In fact, it’s pretty obvious.

Customers are people.

Candidates are people.

Recruitment is a people business.

Recruitment done right is about attracting and engaging people.

It's not a transaction. It's not about acquiring something (or someone).

Just like effective marketing, recruitment is a process to identify, attract and engage the best people so that they have a reason to choose your role, your team and your organisation.

Want more insights like this? Read more articles on the Heart Talent blog.