Marketing and recruiting are two distinct entities within business however they do share many similarities especially in this age of online marketing and online candidate recruitment. One similarity is the use of storytelling to market products and services. Storytelling is vital to brand development and is no less important when it comes to recruiting candidates. Storytelling is a powerful tool in the marketing mix. The brand story helps the business to stand out against competitors, facilitates conversations and trust, shapes perception and enhances the business brand tremendously. Storytelling for recruitment is no different. Top talent recruits will be drawn to your company when the brand story resonates with them. Recruiters can and should use this powerful tool to influence the candidates, to begin to develop and nurture the relationship and to showcase just how amazing the company culture and the employees are. Storytelling for recruitment breathes life into the culture and the values of the company and transforms them from mere ideas into tangible elements.The best place to curate stories to tell is within the current staff base. Your employees are the best source of stories. They are your best brand ambassadors especially when it comes to recruiting and they are your best advocates. They too were once candidates and they now live and breathe your brand and that can be used to the company’s advantage.Just how can you find and use employee stories? Read on to discover.Identify Key EmployeesIs there someone who is always excited about being at work and is already singing the company’s praises? That’s who you want! If you have trouble getting employees to speak and contribute start with those who are already familiar with the process, those in marketing and sales are more likely to jump at the chance of being featured in print, on the website or in social media pages. Once a few commit, more will follow.What do you want to Show the Candidates?Try to put yourself in a candidate’s shoes. What would you be looking for in seeking employment with your company? What is important to you? Is it work-life balance or perhaps it’s social responsibility? What you want to do is to showcase the values of your organization and in as many voices as possible. For instance, if there is an employee who is heavily invested in a cause and your company also contributes in terms of time and financial resources, feature this on your recruitment pages and in your company newsletter. Another great example could be showcasing employee successes due to the continued investment in education and opportunities for learning. Encouraging employees to share their successes and the company’s achievements on their own personal social media pages is also a good idea – the best talent is often referred by your current employees, so it makes sense to let them help in the process too.Whatever the stories you tell, it’s important to ensure that they have prominent space on your website, on social media and in newsletters. A lesser used but very impactful platform is email. Yes, when corresponding with the candidates point them to a link with the most recent employee feature, this helps to keep them engaged and also interested in working with you especially when the process is a long one.
