There was a lot of uncertainty for recruitment marketing in 2021. The first few months the industry was seeing steady growth from the outbreak of Covid-19. Then March came and everyone involved had to pivot their strategies and tactics.
We hope that 2022 will be a more consistent year, but as we all know, things can change almost instantly, leaving many people to feel lost and unsure with what to do. Here are 3 easy tips that anyone can use to be more proactive and have more control with their job advertising and recruitment marketing efforts for 2022.
1. Budget-to-Job Ratio:
You may think that this seems a little counterintuitive – “we have a monthly budget of $2,000 for the year.” Once that number is decided, adjusting or changing it is rarely considered as an option. That thought process in itself is counterintuitive!
Let’s say you are sponsoring 20 jobs a month with a budget of $2,000. The next month is a little slower, so you only 10 jobs to sponsor throughout the month. Should you still continue with a budget of $2,000?
You may be thinking that you will receive the same number of applications, but that’s not always the case. While having less jobs out on job boards, there’s a smaller chance of reaching the same amount of candidates compared to the previous month. There’s a good chance that $2,000 budget still gets used up and you have less applications than before – that means you are overpaying for the same applicants!
If you lower your job ad spend budget to $1,000 or even $1,500, you have those extra funds for other important needs for your company, all while getting a good return on investment from your ad spend budget.
Not adjusting your job ad spend budget could lead to wasting money, not using it as efficiently as it could be. If your number of sponsored jobs changes, it is important to consider the budget-to-job ratio, trying to keep it as consistent as possible when seeing strong results.
2. Title Testing:
This is something strongly preached at Haley Marketing. Believe it or not, certain titles could be hurting your efforts!
If you have a human resource position, titling it with “Director of People” may spur a candidate’s interest and they may click on the post to see if the job is a good fit for them.
The main issue here – who realistically is going to Indeed or ZipRecruiter and searching “Director of People”? The answer. Not many.
Job boards are essentially search engines for jobs. Meaning if your position is titled “Director of People”, there’s a much smaller chance of you job appearing when candidates search “hr specialist” or “human resource manager”.
You need to think about and research the keywords that people are searching when they look for jobs online. Adding in industry specific terms like “warehouse” or “accounting” before the title of the position can improve your job ads’ reach. Why? Because our research show that job seekers are going to job boards and literally just searching “warehouse” or “manufacturing jobs”.
It’s important to take the time to research what your pool of ideal job seekers are searching when they look for jobs. Indeed’s Hiring Insights and even manually searching jobs on Google can give you a good idea of what people are searching online when they look for specific jobs.
Once you have done the research, it’s time to implement new titles and test! It’s good to test out different titles, but it’s even better to collect the data for each title to see what provides the best results! Looking at key metrics such as total applies, cost per applications, and conversion rates can help show you what’s not working and what is working.
3. Reducing Friction:
It’s true that job seekers have the advantage in the staffing industry now. An excess of job orders need to be filled, and there is a shortage of candidates searching for jobs – that means candidates have the ability to be picky about which jobs they apply to.
In a market where job seekers have the upper hand, what’s one way to help improve application numbers? Improving the candidate experience by reducing friction!
Imagine you and your competitor have similar job postings up in a similar geographical area. A job seeker comes across your job posting and sees the application process takes 10-15 minutes. They click on your competitor’s job and see that they can apply directly on whatever site they’re on, and they can use a quick apply method to submit their application within a matter of seconds.
That job seeker could be applying to 10, 15, 20 jobs a day and that time adds up. Chances are this job seeker is more likely to apply to your competitor’s job than yours. The main difference? Your competitor’s application process is significantly shorter!
Creating a pleasant and user-friendly candidate experience is one way to get an advantage over your competitors. And it doesn’t just stop at reducing friction in the application process! It’s important to be asking yourself and your team, “how can we make our candidates’ experience quicker, easier, and more enjoyable?”
These are 3 easy ways to take action and be proactive in your job advertising and recruitment marketing efforts. When the economy and industry are in an uncertain state, don’t be content with the idea that “whatever happens, happens”. See what you can do to have MORE control. Look at past data to see what budget-to-job ratios provided good results. Test different titles. And think to yourself, “if I was the job seeker applying for this job, would I be happy and content with the application process and my experience?”
Do You Need Help With Your Recruitment Marketing?
At Haley Marketing, we preach the four pillars of recruitment marketing – career sites, job advertising, social recruiting, and employer branding. Our recruitment marketing team is ready to analyze your current recruitment strategies and tactics, providing our recommendations. Contact our team today to learn how we can help with a 30-minute recruitment marketing evaluation!
