Small businesses need all the help they can get, especially if they want to become larger businesses. The best way to get there is by recruiting all-star employees who can deliver the results you need to succeed and grow. Recruiting exceptional people is a lot different from filling a general position with a qualified candidate. You need to be able to find the cream that rises to the top, and there are a few things you can do to make that skimming process easier.
Start With a Great Job Posting
If your job description and the details you share are too vague, you’re going to find that you get a ton of responses who could easily fit themselves into that very large box. If you’re looking for a very specific type of candidate, your job description and the posting it accompanies need to make this clear from the beginning.
While you shouldn’t post an epic novel and expect potential candidates to read through the extensive description, you should be clear, direct, and specific about what you’re looking for. People who know they won’t make the cut will exclude themselves before you have to exclude them, leading to a higher number of qualified candidates responding. You’ll always get a few resumes that don’t quite make sense, but you’ll get far less of them by advertising the position with exact language.
Emphasize Your Culture and Presence
Emphasizing your culture creates a magnet for like-minded individuals, both in the form of customers and potential employees. If your culture and values are strong and easy to access via your website and your social media profiles, people will know immediately whether or not they’re a cultural fit for your small business. They’ll recognize the drive and goals that you share, and they’ll want to become a unified part of it.
Emphasizing your presence is what will help people see and understand your culture. Your brand voice, the things you share, and the way you communicate on social media will help people form meaningful associations with your small business. They’ll begin to look at you as a friend. Your trustworthiness and business personality will encourage people to connect with you, and perhaps want to work with you.
Show People What It’s Like to Work For You
Offer a few behind the scenes glimpses of how your employees work together. How do you celebrate when you achieve a goal or survive a relentless busy period? Do you like to go out together after the end of a hard week and indulge in a few pizzas while you’re blowing off steam? What does your work environment look like at your small business? Is it cozy? Does your team get along fantastically? This is something a truly devoted candidate will want to see. They’re looking for a position where they’ll feel like their skills will be put to use in the long term, and they want that environment to reflect the way they like to work.
Give Them More Than a Salary
Small businesses often have small pockets. You likely can’t offer a salary that rivals what a huge corporate competitor would be able to provide someone doing a similar job. You can’t go into debt trying to fetch great employees, but there’s so much more to offer than money.
What are the perks of working for you? If you can’t offer performance bonuses or tuition reimbursement, maybe you can offer other things. What about flexible scheduling that will give your employees the work-life balance they need to spend more time with their families? What about discounted memberships at a local gym to help them achieve their fitness goals? Can you design your office to make it a place where they’ll simply enjoy being? It doesn’t always need to be monetary – it just needs to be meaningful.
Be Open to Unconventional Candidates
You might find some off the wall candidates who seem as though they have exactly what it takes to soar to the top with their position. It might be worth rethinking what you’re looking for when you stumble upon these people. Unless they’re absolutely required to have specific credentials, be willing to explore a candidate from other angles.
Sometimes, a fast learner is better than someone with a wealth of experience. They’ll be able to fully embrace the duties of the job without falling into the habits they had working in a similar position. A highly creative candidate with an innovative mind may be better than someone who is thoroughly book smart about the specifications of their job. Don’t let great talent go if it doesn’t come to you exactly how you imagined it.
All-star candidates should be just as passionate about your small business as you are. All it takes is a few great employees to make all the difference in the world. It might take you a while to find the perfect fit, but in the end, you’ll be better off waiting than settling for someone who can’t give you their all.
