 |
 |
THE
ELECTRONIC CONNECTION:
USING THE INTERNET TO FIND GREAT EMPLOYEES
Organizations use the Internet to attract qualified
applicants more than ever before. Extreme competition
for qualified applicants combined with the increased
accessibility of the Internet suggests that the
Internet is and will continue to be a very effective
tool for finding great employees.
Organizations
often think that the Internet is the answer to all
their recruiting problems. The method (e.g., Internet,
newspaper ads, etc.) used to find top talent, however,
is far less important than how that method is used.
Just because your company uses the Internet to recruit
applicants does NOT guarantee that you will win
the talent wars. It is not about whether you use
or don't use the Internet to recruit. How you use
the Internet to routinely attract qualified candidates
to your site is the key to gaining the edge in today's
competitive labor market.
Effective
web site recruiting strategies
Organization
web sites that routinely attract top talent have
one very important thing in common - the company
knows their applicants as well as they know their
customers. More important, organizations use what
they know about their applicants to design and update
the employment section of their web site For example:
- The
web site is consistent with the company image
portrayed in other marketing and promotional information.
Both the content and the look of the web site
communicate volumes to a prospective applicant.
A Wall Street Brokerage firm's web site that describes
the "laid-back" atmosphere at the corporate
office or that uses visual images on the creative
fringe might attract many prospective applicants.
Applicants attracted to this web site, however,
are unlikely to be a good fit with the more conservative
or traditional image of your typical Wall Street
Brokerage firm. Remember that your web site is
often the first contact that the applicant has
with your company. After visiting your web site,
an applicant should have roughly the same impression
of your company that they would have after they
visited your corporate office.
- The
web site only posts job openings that are of interest
to people who routinely access the Internet. Many
organizations post all of their job openings on
the Internet. Why spend the company's valuable
resources (e.g., time, money, etc.) posting a
job on the Internet when the qualified candidate
is not likely to have easy or routine access to
the Internet? Know the characteristics of your
ideal applicant for a position and use that information
to write and post your job openings. For example,
using the Internet to attract information technology
talent makes sense while using the Internet to
attract qualified applicants for housekeeping
or maintenance positions does not.
- The
web site is easy to get to and the employment
section of the site is quickly recognizable. Including
the web site address on all company marketing
and promotional material is a great way to make
your site easy to find. Having a web site address
that is easy to remember and registering your
web site with a variety of search engines also
makes your web site easy for people to find. Registering
the employment section of your web site separately
from your company web site makes the employment
section even easier for applicants to find. Finally,
using graphics or icons that clearly indicate
the employment portion of your web site can be
a big help in ensuring that qualified applicants
find your company web site and your unfilled jobs.
- The
web site combines a high-tech and high-touch approach
to attracting applicants. Another characteristic
of organization web sites that consistently attract
qualified applicants is that they communicate
a personal feel. While most web sites encourage
applicants to respond via e-mail, the high-tech,
high-touch web sites also provide non-Internet
contact information (e.g., company address, telephone
number, fax number). These companies recognize
that the applicant may want to or need to send
their resume using more traditional channels.
The company also recognizes the applicant's personal
needs and interests on their web site and job
postings by such things as describing the relocation
requirements for all positions found on their
web site. Some company web sites even go the extra
mile by having a current employee contact the
interested applicant by e-mail or by phone.
- The
web sites provides the applicant with a reason
to return. The possibility of finding a job may
get an applicant to visit your site once or twice.
It is, however, unlikely to keep him or her coming
back over a long period of time. You can treat
your applicants as customers by providing them
with reasons, other than the lure of a job, to
visit your site. A game, a contest, links to other
industry related sites, and research or references
that applicants frequently need or want are all
great ways to keep talented applicants coming
back. Make sure that the applicant's "reason
to return," changes periodically and is aligned
with one or more defining characteristics of your
ideal applicant.
Knowing
the characteristics of your ideal applicant is the
most important key to effective Internet recruiting.
Using this information to design and create the
content of your organization's web site guarantees
that your web site will attract great employees.
Using these five strategies further guarantees that
your organization's web site will not only attract
people who can do a specific job but, more important,
people who want to do that job for your organization.
Written
by Joan P. Brannick, Ph.D., co-author (along with
Jim Harris, Ph.D.) of Finding and Keeping Great
Employees (AMACOM, 1999).
|
|
