Advice on how best to promote job vacancies

Alan Calverley, director at Department of Marketing considers the challenge which many employers are currently facing – filling job vacancies.  He also offers advice on how best to promote any job opportunities.

If anyone had told me that two years into the pandemic we would have a problem filling jobs, I don’t think I would have believed them.  Yet here we are with some one million vacancies existing at the time of writing.

Promote Job Vacancies

First, I must point out here that we are a marketing consultancy not a recruitment agency, but our transferable skills allow us to support our clients in promoting job vacancies, in a cost-effective manner.

Of course, our normal remit is to work with our clients to create positive brand experiences and generate sales, but we believe that generating interest in the business and subsequently any vacancies is part of that remit.

I know for a fact that our marketing efforts have doubled in the past few months as we’ve tried to attract applicants for any number of roles on behalf of several clients.  Everything from service engineers and sales managers to administration staff and factory operatives.

And I must say it has not always been plain sailing.

Facebook Advertising

Yes, the first port of call has been posting on the website but it’s Facebook advertising which has come to the fore.  If a job is based in a set location, then using the geographical targeting function allows us to reach potential candidates within a determined radius.  Typically, this is within a realistic and commutable distance from the business premises.  Facebook also allows us to set a budget so we can track spend easily and monitor results.

Get Sharing

Another method which we always encourage is for existing employees and ‘friends’ of the business to share the job post.  This not only extends the reach but can boost engagement too.  It also reflects well on the business with employees happy to recommend their employer and place of work.  This works equally well on LinkedIn.  Twitter, less so.

Employer PR

From a PR perspective, this approach has value.  Businesses can often undervalue the impact of positive corporate PR on employment rates.  Championing employees, engaging with charities and local organisations, team building events etc. all count toward making your business attractive to prospective employees.

Meaningful Employment

As we head into a third year of the pandemic and we learn to live with the fallout, it’s imperative that businesses continue to invest in employees and manage their reputation as an employer.  Just this week I read that many people are looking for ‘meaningful’ employment going forward.  While this is open to interpretation, the pandemic has certainly changed the way many of us think about work – be it our place of work, job role, job satisfaction.  For employers, this will mean offering far more than a fair salary, healthcare and pension package…