When you are hiring for open positions within your company, chances are you connect with a candidate who is employed and not actively looking. How do you get their attention? How do you convince them to leave their current company and join yours?

First you must ask yourself what motivates people to change jobs? Naturally, your first thought is the job itself. Is the work challenging? Is there a high level of responsibility? Benefits are important. A flexible work schedule might be even more important. Today, most candidates prefer a job that offers a variety of assignments. Employees do not just want to sit at a desk and do the same thing every day. They look for opportunities for growth and development, and if a company offers a competitive salary and benefits with prospects for quick promotions, candidates only might consider.

The job characteristics and the remuneration are not everything. They are just the beginning and they often are only the conversation starters. We must dig deeper. A candidate needs to know what your company is like. They can read the job description of a role and discuss the salary and benefits with you, but who are they going to be working with? Does your company host quarterly team building events? Candidates pay attention to the culture of the company in addition to the employer reputation and image. How is your company viewed by current employees? What about past employees? Look at your website. Look at your company LinkedIn page. Do you have an enticing and impactful online presence as a company? Do you share parts of your culture with your network?

*“75% of job seekers consider employer brand before applying for a job.”

How many of you did a web search before you applied to the company you’re currently working at? People do this all the time and there needs to be something effectual for them to look at. Recruitment engagement begins with company branding. If your website only includes your mission and your vision, you are not there yet. A company is more than just the services they offer and the products they build, a company is its employees. If you’re asking someone to join your company, you have to show them the value that you provide your employees, not just your customers.

Employees provide value to the company through their skills and capabilities and companies in turn provide value to their employees through opportunities, culture, and benefits. *“55% of active job seekers say employee-generated content is more credible and trustworthy.” Sure, the President and CFO of your company have great insight into company goals and the direction they want to head in at the organizational level, but what about the entry-level engineer who just got out of college? What does the contract administrator have to say after being there for 10 years? Stories from the organizational level are important to share, but you also need to consider the employee experience on the team and individual level.

By getting to know you better as a company, candidates become more comfortable with your brand. What your culture is like. Who their team is going to consist of. What the opportunities for growth and advancement are like because they read firsthand on your website stories of employees who have been promoted at the company. This is the opportunity to not only say what they want to hear but show them examples of those promises being met.

*“84% of employees would consider leaving their company for a company with a better reputation.”

So, what motivates people to change jobs? A company’s story which includes the employee experience. If a candidate is not given a glimpse inside your company’s culture and team, how can they decide that your company is a good fit for them? If you dedicate time to inbound marketing, candidates come to you. This in turn can save you time and money on your recruitment outreach. *“A strong employer brand can result in 50% more qualified applicants.”

To get started on building your brand and showcasing your employee experience, ask yourself these questions. What is it that you want prospective employees to know about your company? What value can you provide them? And when you are recruiting candidates, reverse that last question. What value can they provide you? If the values are mutually beneficial, you have yourself a match.

*Statistics from Undercover Recruiter