The Most Effective Ways to Leverage Your Brand to Attract the Right Talent

There’s no question that employee talent is the difference between a good and a great company. But throughout my time in the industry, I’ve seen how many hiring professionals are searching for a standard formula to draw top talent to their doorstep. Instead, their approach should lead with using their existing strengths to build a pipeline of candidates who will contribute to the company’s success. So, is there a formula to make it happen? Not exactly. But for companies that are worried about their lack of employer brand recognition, there are ways to stand out and attract top talent in the market.

When searching for a new job, candidates explore a number of factors. Our survey shows that you don’t need to be a tech giant to offer the things they want — including competitive compensation, the opportunity to learn new skills, a great company culture and a location that’s worth the commute.

In reality, companies large and small that have invested in building a strong culture and think beyond the typical benefits package are able to compete with tech giants by mapping their strategy around the talent they want to attract. Here are three things you can do to maximize your employer brand and attract a healthy pipeline of top tech talent.

Demonstrate your distinctive innovations

A company’s general mission isn’t going to appeal to every candidate who comes across a new job posting. Since each candidate gets excited about a different aspect of the position, companies need to customize their approach to each candidate, while still focusing on the unique aspects of each role. It’s your organization’s job to sell the role through the projects each candidate will be working on, rather than defaulting on the generic reasons like employer brand and skillset fit. In my experience, every company has at least 2-3 interesting projects going on behind the scenes that will be attractive to high-quality talent — and it’s the recruiting team’s job to pinpoint what will make them tick.

Gamification, for example, has become a unique way for companies to find the best tech talent, even when the job or brand isn’t widely recognized. Gamifying the experience of how they apply for the open role shows candidates that under the surface, the company is looking for people who think outside box and willing to try new tactics.  If done correctly, it will create a positive window into what it would be like to work at the company.

Sell the total package, not just compensation

While compensation and benefits rank high on the list of factors candidates’ consider when looking for a new job, that doesn’t always mean they’ll select the job that offers the highest salary. In fact, when we surveyed candidates on our platform, we learned that many will forego the highest salary to select the job they believe is the best overall fit. One that will give them more opportunity to learn new skills and one where they fit into the company culture.

To ensure you’re attracting the right talent, personalize the opportunity for every candidate. Demonstrate what skills and experience they’ll acquire, and how their growth within the company can lead to additional opportunities in the future. Don’t be afraid to address career development during the recruiting process, it will surely give you a competitive advantage. This will show that the investment you’re willing to make is far more influential than compensation.

Open up to remote workers

It’s becoming more and more commonplace for companies to embrace contract workers — and for some companies, it’s a necessity. The option to work remotely is also incredibly compelling for many technical workers. In the last two years, we’ve seen interview requests for technical contract workers more than triple — jumping from 4 percent in 2015 to 13 percent in 2017.

Not only does offering remote work options help set your brand apart from competitors, but company leaders can also use this trend to their advantage to attract and retain candidates across the globe that are willing to overlook other factors in favor of flexibility.

In the end, our study showed that candidates inevitably give companies low ratings for two primary reasons: they’re not personally interested in the product or company mission, or they’re put off by the company’s poor reputation. Fortunately, these things are solvable.

Neither large companies nor small companies have an advantage when it comes to attracting quality tech talent. The right role at the right company is out there for everyone and by playing up your company strengths in these specific ways, the right candidates will come to your door.

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