By: Shawna Wright

Any marketing professional should be able to rattle off the 4 Ps: product, place, price, and promotion, without hesitation. These four elements outline any marketing strategy. But how can they apply to the HR profession? It’s actually very easy to relate these techniques to a recruiting plan. To start attracting talented candidates, try applying these sales/marketing strategy basics.

Product:
What is your company selling? This is not just the products or services offered to consumers, but also the opportunities for an employee. It’s important to clearly define what makes your company a great place to work. Clearly articulate the culture of your business. What is different and special about your company’s core values? Where is your company falling short? Be honest with yourself. Failure to live up to the core values of your brand is bad for all aspects of business, and could leave new or prospective hires wondering why they would want to work at your company.

Place:
The same way that HR professionals form a first impression of a candidate during the interview process, Boston Job seekers form impressions of HR and hiring managers. A candidate is initially rated on their professionalism, qualifications and personality. Many Boston Job seekers are also sizing up their potential employers. A recruiter is typically the first, and maybe only, source of information the candidate has about your company’s personality and brand.

It’s how the office appears to run that influences the opinions of job seekers, so it’s important to have a strong follow-up system. HR representatives have dozens of resumes flooding their inbox and can’t personally respond to them all; setting up an automated reply system is a great way to save time and let job seekers know they reached the right person. In addition, including a timeline lets more qualified candidates know when they can expect a response.

Promotion:
Where are you placing your career ads? Evolving Recruiting Solutions and techniques offer a plethora of alternative forums to make contact with job seekers. Are you aggressively seeking out potential employees or hoping they come to you? Develop and stay in touch with promising leads. Even if there isn’t a perfect position available right then, you may find another opening that person can fill down the road.

Price:
Don’t just tell candidates you have competitive compensation, any company can offer a good salary. Sell the total package; base pay, incentives, benefits, advancement opportunities. Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes. What would make you pick this job? What does the culture of your company have that no one else can offer? It’s important to remember that base pay is rarely the only reason great candidates choose one company over another. Leadership, communication, training and careers opportunities are all critical elements.

Filed under: Uncategorized