As a business owner, you may not have spent a huge amount of time thinking about your employer brand, but as you continue to grow your business your employer branding will start to take on more and more importance.
 


 

These are 3 simple steps you can take – starting with your next interview.
 

1. Be considerate, be professional, take the time you need to get yourself organized.

If somebody showed up to the interview as a candidate and they didn’t seem to have prepared at all, it would leave a terrible taste in your mouth. It’s the same for your candidates. If you are in an interview and you don’t have their resume printed off, you don’t know anything about them, and you’re asking questions that are very easy to identify in their resume, you’re leaving a terrible taste in their mouth.

If you are asking someone to show up or call you at a certain time, be available, be ready for it. Set your alarm for 5 minutes before the scheduled time. Get your cup of coffee, go to the bathroom, do whatever you need to do so you’re ready and present. Have their resume printed off, have it reviewed, write some notes on it, etc. Just make sure that you’re fully prepared and ready before your appointed time.
 

2. Be respectful.

 

Be respectful of their time.
Don’t keep them for an hour if 25 minutes will do.
 

Be respectful of their feelings.
Don’t say, “Hey that was such a great interview, we love you.” And then a few minutes later you’re telling someone to, “Put him on the regret list”.

I’m not saying you need to verbally regret everybody as you go – that’s something that you’ll get more comfortable doing as time goes on but don’t lead people on. It’s so frustrating for candidates to leave the interview feeling like everything was awesome and get the rejection letter in the mail 2 days later.

A simple way to lower their expectations is to say , “Thanks for your time today, I’m not sure if this is a good fit or not. We’ll be talking to a lot of people but we’ll definitely be in touch about next steps.”
 

Be respectful of the fact that they are most likely working somewhere else.
Don’t do backdoor reference checks, you can endanger their current job because now somebody knows they’re looking and some companies frown very heavily on that. Be considerate of the fact that they have a job, they have a life, they’re making it work to interview with you, and they’re interested enough in your company to make it happen. The least you can do is be respectful.
 

3. Always keep in mind what’s in it for me?

People who succeed at recruiting and hiring are always thinking about “what’s in it for me” – but, they aren’t thinking about themselves. They are putting themselves in the shoes of the candidate and thinking about what would make the candidate say YES to a job offer. They are thinking outside the box and adapting to meet the needs of the candidates that they really want on their team. By thinking about what the candidate wants and needs – they are able to put together offers that get accepted.

See, relatively simple ideas can change how your organization (and you) come off to potential employees. Employer branding doesn't need to be complicated and overwhelming.

If you liked this information you will love my FREE Hiring Hacks ebook – it’s packed with practical advice to make hiring well easier.

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