5 ways blogging connects candidates

This is an excellent article from Hireserve (who are sponsoring our blog awards) about 5 ways in which blogging connects recruiters with candidates.
Organisations blog for many reasons. To raise awareness of their brand, to share knowledge, and to develop new business.

But have you considered the role a blog plays in helping you connect with candidates? With talent still scarce and competition for roles fierce, it’s time to get creative with your candidate attraction…

Blogging shows you know your stuff

Writing content is a fantastic way to demonstrate expertise in your field, and to establish yourself as a thought leader. How does this help you connect with candidates? Well, we know that we’re still operating in a candidate driven market, and that high-calibre applicants often have their pick of roles.

Highlighting your expertise through thoughtful and well-crafted blog posts will instil confidence in candidates. This will strengthen your credibility and subsequently position you as a more attractive employer of choice.

It shines a light on your company culture

As consumers, many of us are increasingly impervious the buzzwords and hyperbole that surround us in marketing and sales.  And in a world where office pets and free food are now two a penny, candidates are becoming shrewder too.

By blogging, you can go beyond the perks and promises of your careers page. You can communicate your brand values and working culture through your tone of voice and style. You can present an authentic insight into your organisation, and give a voice to your team.

You can promote roles and showcase career development

This is a great way to support specific recruitment campaigns. You could create a ‘One Year on’ style post from a graduate hire, in order to engage with new grad scheme applicants. Or how about a ‘Day in the Life’ post, to offer candidates an insight into a particular role?

Another idea is to run a series of posts that feature a range of members from different teams. You could include quotes from entry-level to senior employees, as they share their career paths, what opportunities they’ve enjoyed with your organisation, and staff training and support.

Blogging connects with candidates at a human level

Give team members the opportunity to write blog posts. This will present the human side of your business and has twofold benefit. It produces engaging, personable content and demonstrates that you value your existing team members, and want to offer them a voice.

It may be that hearing from your people and seeing behind the scenes is the point that convinces a candidate you’re the right match for them.

You can reach wider talent pools

Why limit content creation to your own blog? By guest blogging, you can increase your profile and reach a wider pool of potential talent.

Let’s say you’re looking for a new marketing manager. Consider what kind of media your ideal hire would consume; perhaps Marketing Week or The Drum. You could then explore opportunities to pitch a guest blog or to contribute a sponsored article.

You could put together a piece based on something like ‘3 Ways to Enhance your Marketing Career’, and end with a short author bio and link to your careers site. The key with any content is to make it educational– not salesy, so as to engage with candidates and reflect your organisation’s ethos.

Bonus: It’s good for SEO!

Keeping your website regularly updated with quality content is crucial for best practice SEO. You can also link content planning with your SEO keyword strategy – so if you want to be found for ‘graduate engineering jobs’, why not write a blog on this topic?

Keyword stuffing is a complete no-no, but if you can craft a relevant and well-written piece around a theme, it may mean you in relevant search results.
Has this convinced you to pick up your pen and notepad? (Or iPad…!)

Hireserve creates recruitment software with a human touch, and is sponsoring the ‘Recruitment Department/In-house Recruitment Blogger’ category at this year’s UK Recruitment Blog of the Year Awards.
Trusted since 1997, Hireserve is also focused on helping recruitment teams enhance their candidate engagement through powerful and professional career sites. Download your guide to ‘Getting your Career Site Right from Start to Finish’ now!