How do your recruiting efforts fit with a tweeted picture of the world's largest pineapple?  What's the effectiveness of a job posting next to a tweet with the claim, "best. nachos. ever."?  While it may seem like a disconnect at first, you are missing great candidates if you aren't following these three simple Twitter recruiting strategies today...

There’s a fun podcast I listen to called, “Stuck in the 80s”.  One of the reasons I enjoy listening to Sean and Steve is that they celebrate a radical decade but do it with feet firmly planted in 2011.  Does the careers section of your website include the most critical employment branding element for 2011 job searchers or does it need to get “Back to the Future”?

At the beginning of the year I had the opportunity to interview for a really dynamic position with an industry leader in their vertical.  I wasn’t a great fit for the job but really enjoyed the conversation with their company recruiter.  She mentioned that her schedule was filled with interviews for the job and that they had received a ton of applications.

Last week I saw that the job was re-posted on all of the major job boards.  While any number of things could have happened, I wondered if perhaps in this case that quantity did not equate to quality.  With today’s unemployment rate, most job postings will generate a significant number of applicants.  It is tempting to think, “Surely there must be a great candidate among all of those resumes…”

“In a world where they had completely different goals and yet shared cubicle walls, comes a story of two departments that worked together to build a great brand…”

With today’s unemployment rate it is tempting to approach recruiting for positions as, “If I post it, they will come”.  Certainly during these economic times you will get a greater number of job applicants than when things are rolling.  That doesn’t mean that you are attracting the best possible talent.

Building Relationships With Your Applicant Customers

"We appreciate your interest in Pen Cap Belly Button Lint Removal Corp.  Due to the volume of resumes we receive we are unable to respond directly to every submission we get..."

Everyone is a customer today - a current customer, a potential customer or someone who knows someone who is a customer.  Is the e-mail reply you read above how you want your company communicating with customers? Obviously the answer is no and the great news is that it doesn't take any more work or effort to radically improve the brand message you are sending to your applicant customers.

Here are 3 ideas you can implement with minimal work that will greatly enhance your applicant customer recruitment messaging.  If your HRIS system can't handle multiple auto e-mails or sending from different "senders" check with your friendly neighborhood marketing guru - it is likely your company customer e-mail newsletter program could work for you.

Idea 1:  Recruitment communications should come from people - not nameless "donotreplyto" e-mail addresses

Hi Chad,

Thanks for applying with us.  We think we have created a pretty special culture here and look forward to reviewing what you have sent to us.  As you know, there is a lot of excitement surrounding our new line of personalized lint removal caps and as a result, lots of people have expressed interest in the position.  It typically takes us 7-10 days to review the submissions for any position and make decisions about who might be a good fit.  Expect to hear back from us soon as we complete that process.

In the meantime, if there is anything else you'd like us to know about your candidacy please feel free to e-mail me as I am the recruiter for the position.

Thanks!

Jeffrey Recruiter

This message can still be automated but just "sent" from the recruiter's e-mail address set up in your HRIS system.  It sends the message that you are willing to engage on a person to person level.  Ignore the fear that the recruiter will be inundated with e-mails.  You might be surprised what you find out through that communication...

Idea 2:  You have started establishing a relationship, don't miss the opportunity to engage your applicant customer in your brand.

Hi Chad, I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that we are still reviewing candidates for the position.  I'll be sure to get back to you soon.  In the meantime, if you want to learn more about our company please subscribe to our Twitter feed.  You'll find some great stories about our pen cap lint removal products and great stories from our customers about their experiences.

Thanks!

Jeffrey Recruiter

Again, this can be set up as an automated e-mail, scheduled to go out 5 days after the initial application comes in.  It sends a positive message to the applicant customer that you are carefully considering their candidacy and reinforces the great things about your brand that inspired them to apply in the first place.

Idea 3:  Give yourself a chance to continue the relationship beyond the recruitment process.  Remember, no corporate speak, this is one human to another...

Hi Chad,

We appreciate your patience as we took the time to thoroughly review all of the applications we received.  You have definitely had some great experiences and accomplishments in your career so far!  Unfortunately you are not the best match for this position as we really needed someone that has tool and die design experience.  We encourage you to continue to apply for positions that might match your skills. We'd like to continue our conversation by inviting you to click "Like us" on our corporate recruiting facebook page.  When you do that you'll see new jobs that come up as part of your facebook newsfeed along with other cool company news.

Thanks,

Jeffrey Recruiter

No one wants to receive the "rejection e-mail" and there will always be a certain portion of the population that wants nothing to do with you after that.  That's ok.  But on the other side of the continuum are folks that still would be interested in working for you or being a customer with you.  Extend your virtual hand to them and keep the relationship going.  I think you'll be surprised at how many people take you up on your offer.

THE TAKE AWAY: Recruiting also has a marketing role as your applicants and customers are very much intertwined.  Utilize the available technology in your HRIS or E-mail newsletter system along with a "humanized" approach in your communications to build customer relationships that last beyond the recruiting process.

- Chad Gretzema Find Me On LinkedIN