Recruiting: Get It Write!

The written word didn’t used to be part of everyone’s job, at least not part of recruiting. Job descriptions were restricted by word count, ad space and expectation. But not anymore, as consultants, vendors and best practices all urge recruiting pros to get better at the written word. But is the pen really mightier than…well, the phone? Or any of the other fine tools at our disposal?

Writing for business is changing rapidly. On any given day, a recruiter may have to craft a compelling job description, rewrite a hiring manager’s hastily scrawled requirement, email tons of candidates about open jobs, craft landing page copy and contribute to “employment branding” initiatives. Let’s face it, the time of saying “that’s not my job” are pretty well behind us.

How to start writing better tomorrow? Start with your audience says Australian blog RecruitLoop :

Talk to the reader. When you are writing your advertisement, avoid phrases like “the successful candidate” or “the ideal applicant” since this will make even the most suitable candidate question whether they’re right for the role.

With unemployment numbers drifting down from all time highs and an extended period of recession in the US, most recruiters know or have known a jobseeker over the last few years. Knowing your audience isn’t as difficult as it would appear. It’s particularly important for recruiters to brush up their writing skills, because applicants have certainly been working on theirs. Forbes interviewed Tony Beshara, author of Unbeatable Résumésand Dallas-based recruiter about jobseeker resumes: 

The primary reason people spend so much time, money, and effort in writing a résumé is that this is the one activity within the job search that they can control.

Audience identification and empathy are all well and good bit what about getting your message out there? Styling your ad copy so that you spend less time going through resumes and more time interviewing the proper candidates is time saved and money saved.

Tell viewers of your job advertisement EXACTLY what you want from them rather than writing a brief generic spec, the more effort you put into your job description the less time will be wasted at the interview stage.

ResumeOrbit goes on to insist that job advertisements need to do something recruiters are pretty familiar with. SELL. But great writing sells more than candidates. Recruiters are styling themselves bloggers, subject matter experts and more, using social media, blogs and white papers to spread influence regarding platform. Former recruiter and industry marketer Jessica Miller Merrell offers some tips: 

Have a niche or specialty. There are millions upon millions of bloggers out there.  If everyone wrote about the same thing, we might as well all sit down on a beach and start counting the grains – Booorrrriiiinngggggg… Know what you are writing about, understand it. If you don’t know your topic, it will show.  This isn’t a junior high essay; you cannot bluff your way through it.

Even if you’re not a writing whiz, your organization can provide “story inventories” according to Page Personnel :

Most organizations make the mistake of assuming that employees and recruiters are aware of every one of a firm’s compelling stories and practices. Research shows that employees and recruiters seldom know even the most powerful stories. So large companies should proactively provide access to “story inventories”: examples of best practices and compelling photos/videos.

Crafting a story seems to be the common thread, whether writing a job ad , a tweet or post meant to attract the right candidates, a client email or employment brand. Unfortunately, even with the flood of web optimization services, distribution channels, shiny applicant tracking systems and brilliant performance management systems, there isn’t a shiny new app or platform around to make our stories better…yet.