The elevator pitch: A description of your company that tells people exactly what you do, and precisely how well you do it in 30 seconds or less. You may have it down to a science, using it as an essential first step to building relationships with customers and investors.
But what about prospective employees?
According to Beamery, the majority of available talent are passive job seekers, meaning they aren’t actively applying to roles. So, if you want to access that pool of candidates (and you do!) you have to nurture relationships with passive talent. It all comes down to how you communicate the value of your company, and there are a few steps involved.
Here are the Key 3:
Step 1: Assume everyone is looking..but busy.
This is especially important when cold-contacting prospective candidates who already have a job. According to LinkedIn, only about 30 percent of active searchers are unemployed, so most people will be open to discussing a new job opportunity if you employ elevator pitch brevity. If not, yours will simply be another text/email/inbox message for someone to have to scroll through (or delete). Also, if you start a relationship with them before they start looking for a new job, there is no reason to bombard them with loads of information on your company up front.
Step 2: Present more than just a job ad.
Though they may not be looking for a new job, any expression of interest in the position or business should be met with an invitation for them to learn more about your company by checking out the detailed job description and your social media pages. If you can, share information on an upcoming company event (provided it’s not too ‘insidey’) or employee videos. A job description alone won’t turn a prospective employee into an applicant unless they have a clear understanding of your company and the value of working there. And remember: What you present should match what you said in your initial ‘pitch.’
Step 3: Stay in touch.
If they’ve agreed to join your mailing list, make sure your database is up-to-date and that they’re only receiving relevant emails. In other words, if your mailing list isn’t segmented, now is the time! Again, messages should be informative but not too insidey, containing things that will help the candidate understand your business model and company culture: news and events, project updates, and links to job openings, industry pages and partners.
Sales pros generally recommend anything from 6 to 45 days between emails; keep them brief, and always, always personalize your correspondence.
Once you’ve built a prospective candidate pool, monitor conversion rates. How many have applied for jobs at your company? Test different sending times and content types to see what yields better results, and consider using quick surveys to see if candidates are receiving the kind of information needed to hit ‘apply now.’
Can we help you build a candidate nurture campaign tailored to the needs of your company? We’d love to connect.