Hiring & Your Online Presence
Just this week I was talking with one of my loved ones in California who is currently looking for a new position. As many of us experience, she is working for an employer who is not the correct fit – and for many reasons. After learning about her new search, I gave her my usual job-seeking advice about doing simple research on potential companies she’s considering, prior to applying, I realized how often this step is bypassed.
Now, imagine! You are a growing business and it finally happens. You realize you need to start looking for help. The task is daunting and seems lengthy. Where to post a job opening, how to find time to interview, and how to narrow it down to the right candidates.
Likely, you are experiencing the same dilemma as many other U.S. companies. The influx of applications who really are NOT a good fit. You weed them out, but only one stands out and even they aren’t a good fit.
So, how do you find the right team member for the position you have open?
When looking for a new position, I recommend that those looking for a job perform research on the company they are applying to. The easiest, quickest way to do that? The Internet. Job seekers now have the ability to simply type in a company name and find out all the information they could potentially need to discover if the company is for them. From the company website, to social platforms, to job review websites, job seekers can find out a lot of information.
After performing an initial search for companies within a specific industry such as yours, if a potential employee searches for your company online specifically, what comes up? Your new team members are looking at your company’s online efforts, placement, communication and to see how they might fit in. Do your values align with theirs? Do you give back? What is the standard for community building?
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to hire an amazing employee because your online presence is not in-line with your brand and your overall company as it stands today.
What should companies be doing to ensure they are portrayed in a job-seeker-friendly manner?
- Provide accurate information on social platforms and your website. This includes contact information, hours, current services/products, etc. If they have questions, they should be able to contact you and not get a bounce back email or disconnected recording.
- Have a current, updated website. Job-seekers are more than likely looking at a number of different companies as they apply. If they go to your website and it has not been updated since 2011 and a competitor has a fresh website updated in the past year, they may not get the right impression about your company. The likelihood of them picking an out-of-date business over a current one, is one to consider.
- Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. It is a well-known fact that the number of people using their mobile devices to access the internet is increasingly steadily. There are a number of ways you can check to see if your website is currently mobile-friendly (if your website has been created in the last year, you are more than likely safe). Websites such as Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test is an easy to use tool to check.
- Have a consistent and cohesive brand throughout your online presence. For example, is your brand logo and image displayed consistently? And, are you using a different brand voice on your website than you are using on Twitter or on Facebook? Although social platforms may have a more informal tone about them, your brand voice should not differ substantially. And your brand image should ALWAYS be cohesive. Without exceptions.
If a job seeker cannot find you online, it is likely that a few questions will arise – such as:
- Why aren’t they up to date with current online marketing?
- Are they even still in business?
- How trustworthy are they?
- Are they financially sound?
- What are they trying to hide?
- Since they don’t have time to maintain their online marketing/presence, is the job too involved? Will it require too much time?
For small businesses, deciding to hire can be both stressful and exciting. Before you take the step to post a job opening online, make sure you perform a brand audit of all of the platforms your business is on. Your online presence goes a long way in building trust and rapport, as well as attracting the kind of employees who will stay with you for a long time.
What experiences have you had with hiring and promoting your company online? We’d love to hear your feedback and personal account of how applicants have given you credibility (or not) based on your online presence. Share in the comments below.
-Jamie
*For more information on how you can build a strong team & grow your business, visit our article on SteamFeed.com here.