Simply Jack
Three things to consider in
Recruitment Advertising
My career in recruitment advertising has given me the opportunity to work on projects across various industries, sectors, budgets, and locations.
Whether you're handling your advertising in-house, partnering with an agency, or collaborating with a freelance professional like myself, there are a number of factors to consider. Below I explore three of those factors and how to think about these when it comes to strategy.
Budget
Throughout my career I've worked on recruitment campaigns with budgets anywhere from £250 a month through to £100k+ a month. There isn't one right answer but it's worth being mindful of your industry, demographic as well as your own requirements.
For example, if you are looking to attract unqualified applicants to fill a number of easily trainable roles, such as store assistants, customer service representatives then you are likely to expect lower costs due to the large berth of available candidates.
On the other side of the spectrum, niche or high in-demand roles may see much greater costs per acquisition. Think graduate recruitment, software roles etc, these positions are heavily competed for, with companies happily sinking tens of thousands into filling them.
Ultimately however, you need to consider what a candidate is worth to you. Whilst some clients deem a good candidate priceless, others will be able to put an exact value on filling a particular role. If you're willing to commit so much to a salary each year then it's worth setting aside a reasonable pot for attracting the right candidate(s) in the first place.
Quantity vs Quality
When it comes to hiring the right person, of course quality is the top priority. You're spending resources to fill this role so naturally you want to ensure you hire the best person for the job; not only in terms of their abilities but how they fit within the team and a passion that assures some longevity.
However, with advertising it's not so much about choosing quality vs quantity in terms of who you hire but rather who you advertise to.
If you decide from day one you only want to hire the absolute best and limit your targeting accordingly - well, you're restricting your ads immediately without any data to back it and likely missing out on the cream of the crop. It's like using a trawler to net some fish and then only taking a bucket's worth of the catch - the best stuff might be among the rest!
In actual fact, it's your ads themselves that often do most of the heavy lifting for you when it comes to achieving quality candidates. By outlining factors of the role, such as seniority, salary, required skills etc, you allow prospective employees to self-select. In an advertising world that predominantly charges by the click it's important to deter the clicks you don't want and encourage those you do.
All this is to say, when it comes to recruitment you have to be mindful of the individual components of your campaign, the role they play and how to leverage them effectively.
Platforms
Lastly I want to discuss advertising platforms for recruitment. If budget allows then it's often worth trialling a few platforms to find out what works for you. However if that isn't an option, then it's worth putting yourself in the shoes of a candidate to decide which platform to go for.
For example, some roles typically attract applicants for whom a job is simply a job. It's a source of income, but beyond their shift they are very unlikely to be checking the latest LinkedIn posts and rather it's out of sight out of mind. They'll more likely unwind by browsing social channels such as Meta (Facebook & Instagram) or TikTok - this is where you strike! Let them know what else is out there, that they're wanted and pique their interest.
So now what? They realise there is opportunity out there, they know you exist but if they haven't already applied perhaps they're now wondering what else is out there? Time to reinforce your presence via Google Search ads to capture users with the highest levels of intent to apply. Costs may be slightly greater but quality likely to be higher.
Now apply this thinking to other role types; Senior members might have more focus on career development and stay up to date via LinkedIn, younger audiences have a greater presence on TikTok, and certain demographics such as Gen Z or tech-heads are more likely to boycott Google Search in favour of search engines with enhanced privacy.
Get in touch
Whether you know exactly what you want, or need help deciding what's right for your business, contact me to discuss.