How Recruiting Can Build a Relationship with Their Corporate Marketing Team

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

More and more, different areas of business are having to startembracing and using marketing techniques. In the societal shift toward more intense marketing approaches and social media, it is almost required for other industries to start doing some of these sames things in order to be successful. While our target audience consists of talent whereas marketing is aimed more at a  customers base, recruiting directly faces the public and has the capacity market the company they are a part of.

The movement intertwining marketing and communication efforts into our existing recruiting and talent acquisition efforts is upon us in the form of employment branding. Recruiters have not traditionally been considered marketers so there is some ground there to be gained. Recruiting and marketing already do so many of the same things, there is a lot of room there to work together and compliment one another. I often get asked how or even if recruiting should work with their existing corporate marketing and communications team. The answer is a resounding YES.

1) Ask for help. Maybe all your looking for is a retweet or maybe you are seeking advice on the best way to optimize your job listing for SEO. Ask for corporate marketing for help. It is as simple as starting a conversation. Let them share their knowledge. Simultaneously you’ll learn about the many ways how recruiting is just like marketing.

2) Offer your assistance. It is a two way street. You can benefit from them and they too can benefit from you. Start small. Maybe it’s a simple retweet of a recent blog post or social share of a great infographic or customer video. By sharing each others content you gain exposure and create brand consistency.

3) Take them to lunch. Everyone loves being taken to lunch. That alone will start you off on the right food. This is your opportunity to start building a bridge. There is a different mood to a lunch setting. It allows you to make things a little bit more relational. When you are able to establish relationships it gives you more opportunity to learn and ask a lot of questions and maybe answer a lot of questions as well. Interactions like these allow you to build that rapport.

4) Talk metrics. Share what you measure and why. You may find there is some overlap. You may also find that there is data you can share. You are working for the same company. The more opportunities you find where you can assist and benefit from each other, the better. The more you help each other out, the better that rapport will continue to be.

5) Find their pain point. By offering up a potential solution, you have the opportunity to establish credibility. If you are able to help them out, in doing so you may also even create further opportunities for you to suggest that you and marketing should combine your efforts in the future. You can make it a win/win for everyone involved.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s is the Chief Blogger & Founder of Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @jmillermerrell.