#2: Variety is the spice of life (recruitment)

Two weeks ago I worked on a project that wasn’t recruitment-focussed, it was probably my first non-recruitment piece of writing in a solid year. 

It was incredibly fun, the language was playful and what the client was selling (a product not a service) gave us way more possibilities to work with.

I came away from that project not only to realise that I still need to use “synonyms” on Google to expand my vocabulary (don’t judge me) but also that we are starved in the recruitment industry of variety.

We are told as a recruitment consultant to do the basics and do them well, which I’m absolutely not suggesting you stop - it’s the foundation of building a great career.

However, we are limited as an industry when it comes to  ✨spicing up ✨ our marketing and ensuring that we stay front of mind for clients and candidates.

This can be double-hard if you’re a recruiter who doesn’t enjoy writing, or marketing, or being active on LinkedIn beyond posting a job role.

“How can I add more variety Claire?” you ask… 

Marketing Collateral - I’m talking to you Recruitment Business Owners…

What are you giving your consultants beyond your website - do you have brochures? Are your brochures up to date? Are your recruiters being taught and encouraged to send value-add content? Are you producing blogs? Are you producing lead-capture content to get new customers engaged? Do you have an array of case studies? The list goes on…

You need variety - the market is tough right now. You cannot expect consultants to “cut through the noise” when your marketing collateral was last updated in 2017. 

You have to equip people (and teach them) how to be a modern-day recruiter. Marketing collateral does make a difference.

Real-world example: I just worked on a project with a client whereby we made mini brochures for each vertical in contract and each vertical in perm. They’re short, snappy, up-to-date and cover everything that a client wants to know. 

LinkedIn posts… I’m talking to you, consultants

If all you do is post your live jobs on LinkedIn, you really need to try and do better. 

I know it’s hard. 

I cringe at writing my posts every single time. I cringe writing this newsletter (and writing is my full-time job) but you have to see it as part of what you must do as a recruiter to stand out in the market.

Just like you probably don’t like calling Julie on reception and trying to bypass her gatekeeping skills, you still do it because you know it’s a necessary evil at times to get to the end goal.

You have to switch your mindset and look at LinkedIn postings as a part of your job, not an addition that you’ll (no doubt) end up putting on the back burner!

I’m not a believer in formulas (rigid ones at least) when putting together LinkedIn copy, otherwise, you all just end up sounding the same. 

But ultimately, your LinkedIn profile is a form of social media. So, use it to socialise (professionally) with people and say something.

It doesn’t always need to be groundbreaking, it doesn’t need to be thought leadership - it just needs to be a different side to you that you know that clients and candidates will buy into.

Do you have kids? Do you work remotely? Did you have a struggle recently that you overcame and want to share? Did you attend an event? Did you receive a promotion? Did you do something for charity? What initiatives do you support and why? What do you love most about working in your chosen vertical? What do you like the least in your chosen vertical and why? 

All of this can spark conversation, show a different side to you - and get you comfortable writing on LinkedIn. 

One thing recruiters can do well is talk. So translate that into writing - it’s a mindset shift more than it is a skills shift. 

And finally…

Have you ever tried writing like how you talk? It sounds strange, but hear me out on this…

I write this newsletter pretty close to how I sound like in real life - what I’d sound like if you called me up and wanted to have a chat.

I think in recruitment, and recruiters in general - get so overwhelmed with writing because you think you have to be an incredible wordsmith… The truth is you don’t.

I’m not trying to do myself out of a job here, but your clients/candidates/network don’t expect you to be the next Shakespeare. They just want to know who they’re dealing with - and have a human approach.

How can you start to do this?

My first piece of advice, which always sounds a bit strange - is to use dictation on your phone in WhatsApp or as a text message. 

What do you sound like? What is your tone of voice (in words) and how true is that to how you’re currently communicating on LinkedIn/e-mails/posting content? 

If it’s wildly different… take some of your own vocabulary and chuck it into your emails and LinkedIn posts. It’s not going to win you business overnight but it’s going to at least make you sound different from other recruiters out there.

Abbreviations and Emojis

They’re not the devil, and you shouldn’t avoid using them altogether if you know that it’s going to make you stand out.

I’m not saying send a BD email and sign it off as:

🔥I look forward to hearing back from you 👀🔥

Best regards,

💖Joe Bloggs 💖

But…play around with it. 

Obviously, this will depend on your market and who you’re dealing with - but the best recruiters have a likeable personality, and you’re letting yourself fall short by appearing as dry as an unbuttered cracker online.

Remember, variety is the spice of life - and doing the same thing over and over expecting to get a better result may work when it comes to old-school recruitment sales tactics, but it doesn’t work in marketing.

If you want any help or advice, or simply have a question - let me know in the comments below 🙂