How to Create Awesome Online Content for Your Job Seeker Community

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

Are you leveraging online content to attract potential candidates? If not, you’re missing a big piece of the recruiting puzzle. You’re not alone, though. Creating share-worthy online content is definitely easier said than done, and many are completely mystified by how one does it consistently. I know this because I get many questions about how I create online content day after day. The answer I give people is that content truly is all around us. I’m inspired by other blogs, podcasts, videos, photographs and so much more. However, behind that truth are a couple of secrets that I often think about hours after being asked the question.

So for those who want to create awesome content that job seekers want to read, I’d like to share a few tricks of the trade.

Understand your audience

Creating awesome online content starts with understanding your audience. In your head or on paper, briefly profile what your candidates are usually like, or what you want your candidates to be like. Doing this allows you to think about what these people want and need and to escape the trap of only coming up with ideas that appeal to you. The content isn’t about you. It’s about the needs of the intended audience you are trying to reach. Know your audience and you’ll soon know what they want to see, read and hear.

Keep it real

Your content should emphasize your employment brand’s look, feel and tone, but it shouldn’t sound like marketing speak. Content should appeal to candidates as individuals and should focus on providing a solution or resource that meets a need. Most days I talk to my intended audience directly, looking to them for inspiration. I ask them about their challenges, frustrations and situations that drive them crazy. This reminds me that there are real people on the other side accessing my content and reminds me of what they are like as individuals.  

Don’t limit yourself  

If I was only engaged in brainstorming content between the hours of 8 and 5, I wouldn’t have near as many resources on my website and blog. Ideas come at me in the strangest places, such as in the car while listening to a song, at home during a television show or while talking with a friend over coffee. By opening yourself up to accept ideas in many different forms and metaphors, you’ll have a never-ending supply of ideas for blogs, resources, webinars, podcasts and more.

Be original

This seems like a given, but in a world where job seekers have millions of blog posts and resources to choose from, it needs to be said. How can you give an old topic a fresh spin? Are you willing to tackle the tough things that no one else is talking about? Providing fresh and customized content that advises, informs and suits their needs will set you apart.

 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. 

When Recruiting, Be Where the Candidate Is

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

In an emerging social world candidates can be found almost anywhere on the Internet. According to the Candidate Experience Survey employers are consistently relying on the use of Career Sites to elevate their presence online in the recruitment space. Not only do 96.7% of employers communicate with prospects online before they apply directly through career sites/talent networks, but 86.7% of employers use notifications tied to these sites as a way to reach out.

Talent networks are becoming more and more beneficial to both job seekers and recruiters. Think of your career site as the center of your recruiting and job posting universe. Job seekers view your website as a resource for jobs and company information as a destination except when you don’t have a job opening available for the job they want. This is where a talent network really comes into play. Take advantage of the opportunity to capture candidates where they are and initiate a real candidate-company relationship.
For recruiters, being able to build a community full of talent and a combination of passive and active job seekers gives them more flexibility when trying to fill a job vacancy. You may already have some one in your community. When you combine a career site with a talent community, the job seeker becomes a person and not just a resume.

For job seekers, a talent network is a sort of entry point into your company, which allows them to interact on a more personal level with recruiters. Instead of submitting a resume into the metaphorical black hole, job seekers are allowed to interact with recruiters who are ultimately making the decision to move forward in the process. They view video and chat with recruiters in real time. No longer do they have to wonder where their application goes after submitting. Talent Networks as a place of interaction for both job seekers and recruiters is a win-win.

Employers can no longer rely on last-ditch efforts when sourcing top talent. Recruiters run hopelessly posting, praying and sourcing for candidate instead of taking a more strategic and proactive approach with a candidate and potentially their future employee. Each candidate enters the funnel at different stages and it’s up to recruiters to be able to start communicating with them on the candidate’s terms. The Candidate Experience Survey asked candidates at what stage they entered the relationship with a potential employer. The majority of those responding indicated that they had some level of relationship with the employer at a later stage, which shows they are ultimately the employers to lose.

On the same note, the remaining 47% have had no relationship with the company, which includes following, being a customer, family/friends who work for, or being an advocate for the company. This shows that recruiters are leaving an untapped network of potential top talent. This survey also suggested that those who have had no previous relationship with the company are 20% more likely to be hired than the 53% of those who have interacted.

Being available wherever the job seeker happens to be one of the most important aspects of recruiting and sourcing. Establish the initial relationship as soon as you can and you’ll have your dream candidate before you know it.

Photo Credit.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @blogging4jobs.