How to attract 250 suitable applications in 9 days
I like to tell stories. Not the whimsical, poetic or abstract kind; I’m talking about real stories of the practical kind.
Stories are often the core of great content.
Authentic, compelling stories create connection, motivate and inspire action.
Storytelling is a critical ingredient in effective recruitment.
Recruitment is a marketing challenge. When you’re hiring, you need an honest, engaging narrative to attract attention and inspire people to act.
Here’s a brief story about the power of great recruitment content
(and how it can attract more than 250 suitable applicants in just 9 days)
A national nonprofit organisation needed to fill a key role. We worked with them to define the purpose, scope and specifics of the role; as well as the talent persona they ideally wanted to attract.
We then took these insights and crafted recruitment content and a job ad which didn’t just get attention - it attracted in 506 applicants, in a little over a week.
Of course quality is more important than quantity, so we always track suitability.
In this case, 50% of the people who applied had the right experience, skills and background to be considered.
This recruitment campaign was an absolute cracker, it achieved:
6 to 7X more clicks and 8X more applications than similar roles during the same time period.
The results?
Just 9 days after the campaign went live, the hiring team had a shortlist of 6 great candidates. A week later, an offer was made and accepted.
This nonprofit hired the best candidate from a talent pool of 250 options, in less than 3 weeks.
Why was this campaign so successful?
The salary was decent, but not amazing. It was a hybrid role, but not 100% remote.
Here's why the campaign achieved such strong traction and engagement:
the recruitment content wasn't a blurb about the organisation
the ad didn't read like a shopping list of 'must haves'
the content was audience-centric and compelling
the ad spoke to the purpose of the role, the scope and flexibility on offer
the content included a narrative about how this person would contribute to a broader purpose.
Here's a snapshot:
Authentic, compelling content creates connection and motivates action.
When you're hiring, you need to inspire action: To apply, enquire, share.
You want to generate motivation and excitement. You want the right people to apply, attend an interview, accept your job offer.
Effective recruitment campaigns start with great content.