Personalization is Key in the War for Talent

When it comes to recruiting, personalization isn’t just about calling someone the right name in a targeted recruiting email. It’s deeper than that, and should be fully encompassed throughout your entire recruiting strategy – from prospecting to nurturing campaigns to your career site. Every detail is important.

In a recent Forbes article, Lars Schmidt, founder of Amplify Talent, defined personalization as “taking the time to research your prospects to identify aspects of their background (experience, interests, education, location, etc.) that can help you tailor your outreach to increase your odds of getting a candidate’s attention.”

In order to attract and acquire the top talent in the marketplace, your recruiting strategy should focus on these key areas when it comes to personalization.

Your career site should offer a unique candidate-centric experience According to Jim McCoy, VP at ManpowerGroup Solutions, via SHRM, approximately 9 out of 10 candidates use employer websites and career sites as primary sources of information - so making them relevant, compelling and user-friendly should be a top priority for employers.

When prospective candidates make the trip to your career site, they should feel like they are visiting a personalized version of your site. To candidates, your career site is your employer brand. That’s why it’s important to have an attractive career site that is easy to navigate – so that it reflects positively on your employer brand and helps woo top talent.

The content on your site should be focused around their unique background, geographical location, as well as personal and professional interests – and should include articles, blog posts, job recommendations, and employee storytelling.

Make your candidates feel special through communication via nurturing campaigns From the time a candidate visits your career site to the time they decide to apply – it’s important to nurture the relationship. This doesn’t mean you should focus on sending mass emails to them.

Whether or not a candidate applies to an opportunity with your company, keeping the lines of communication open is a crucial step in the recruiting process. In fact, if your company wants to be successful in implementing a proactive recruitment strategy – personalized communication is an absolute must, and will make prospective candidates feel special.

Like your career site, a nurturing campaign should be candidate-centric focusing on the specific qualities and interests of each and every candidate. This includes sharing relevant content, career opportunities, and mixing in company-specific information at the same time.

Dive deeper than the surface with your job postings Candidates want to know more than just the responsibilities and requirements of a specific job opportunity with your company. They also want to know how the position fits into the company’s structure and culture, and what’s in it for them (i.e. employee benefits and perks) if they decide to make the jump.

More importantly, candidates want to know “the why” behind their decision of whether or not your company is the right place for them. Reach beyond personalized job recommendations based on the individual candidate’s background and interests. Make sure you give relevant information on why that candidate should consider working for your company.

Also, be transparent by pulling in employee reviews. Why hide what people are saying about working for your company, your culture, and even your leadership? This information can help the right candidates decide whether or not they should apply.

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What do you do to offer a personalized recruiting experience for your candidates?

The Phenom People TRM Platform can help with adding personalization into your recruiting process. From our personalization technology to automated nurturing campaigns, we can take your recruiting process and create a Talent Relationship Marketing solution that meets your company’s needs.