By Leora Baumgarten of NewHire

The employment market continues to heat up. Gone are the days when every recruitment ad attracted hundreds of applicants. While no one is sorry to see the recession in the rearview mirror, the growing economy impacts hiring efforts. Not only is the competition for top talent fierce, competition for job seeker attention, traffic and candidate applications has increased. When recruitment ads perform poorly, employers don’t get the opportunity to develop a strong talent pipeline that opens the door for better hiring. There are many things that can lead to poor performance of recruitment advertising. One key factor that is often overlooked is having a clear and well expressed employee value proposition, or EVP.

According to GlassDoor’s recent publication Employer Branding for Dummies (by Alicia A. Garibaldi) an employee value proposition “is the complete package of reasons job seekers choose to work for your company.” For sure, a part of the EVP is the compensation and benefits offered. However, compensation may not be the only thing that grabs job seeker attention and encourages them to apply. In today’s employment marketplace, other factors can be equally important in attracting the right talent.

Your future (and current employees) value the compensation you offer, but they may also value things that don’t occur to ownership. One attractive factor that is often overlooked, but common in family-owned firms, is long employee tenure and low turn-over. If many of your employees have been with the company for years – include that information in your recruitment advertising. There are many other factors that employees may value that contribute to company EVP. Here are a few examples:

• A uniform that the employer provides
• Independence as they drive between clients to service accounts
• Easy access to public transportation or convenient location near the expressway
• Shop floor comradery
• The opportunity apply a prized technical skill set
• Sponsorship of kids’ sports teams
• Support for national or local charities

Before you advertise an open position, nail down the EVP so you can clearly state it in the ad. Start by asking “why is this company a good place to work?” and ask “why is this a good job for the target candidate?” Don’t just ask yourself these questions; be sure to ask key employees for their thoughts, too. You might be surprised by what you learn. Remember that a little research can go a long way -- read a few ads for similar job titles so you can learn about the competition you are up against in the employment marketplace.

When you write your company EVP, be sure to include information that goes beyond salary and benefits. Your ad will stand out from the crowd when you list items that make your company and the specifics of the job attractive to your target candidate. Be concise, clear and honest. Lastly, don’t bury this key information deep in the ad. Put it near the top and consider using bullet points to grab the reader’s attention. Including an EVP in recruitment ads will improve the performance of your advertising and help you hire the talent you need.

If you’d like to use the NewHire EVP worksheets as a guide for understanding your EVP, shoot me an email (leora@new-hire.com) and I’ll share them with you. Happy Hiring!

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