Just because your company is small doesn’t mean you can’t recruit big time talent. A small business can be just as worthwhile and rewarding a landing spot as one of the larger firms. Here’s what you can do to snag some heavy-hitting talent.
Make Sure You’re Prominent In Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, and especially LinkedIn are ideal platforms for selling your company to prospective employees. Make sure that your company not only has a solid presence in social media, but that your image, your brand, your vision are clearly defined and engaging. Talk big, look big, act big, and people will treat you like you’re big.
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Keep An Eye On Who Is Laying Off Employees
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Layoffs are an unfortunate fact of life in any business that’s trying to cut costs, and depending on the individual company’s philosophy is an option that is exercised sooner or later. Some cut employees right off the bat, other companies hold onto that as a last resort. In any case, many businesses have job placement programs for their outbound employees, and if you can connect with these companies, you may get a direct line to some really talented people who are bummed out and really looking for a rebound. Because remember this one fact: talent and experience alone aren’t enough to make an employee layoff-proof. Some companies may be letting go of some absolute gems for less than sane reasons.
Show How Amazing You Are
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This idea ties back to the first suggestion. People with talent and experience want to work for a company that’s going places, that is worth their time and effort. This is no time for modesty. You need to show that your company is the business equivalent of Alexander the Great, not Alexander the Somewhat Sufficient. Build a story that details where your company’s origins, its current awesome status, and the amazing things it has accomplished in getting there.
Prospective employees want to see a company with robust staying power, one that will go the distance. After all, if they got laid off, it’s probably because the company isn’t doing well. They certainly don’t want to leave one sinking ship just to get onto another. Share your vision for the future, including goals and upcoming projects or releases. If your hiring has been trending upward, make a big deal about it, including perhaps bragging about some of the great talent you have working for you now.
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This upbeat information needs to be on your company’s website, and that website must be easy to find and get to. Making sure that your social media presence is tied to your company’s website is an important exercise in data integration.
Highlight The Advantages Of A Small Business
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People who have a lot of talent and passion for their job as a rule have very little tolerance for cumbersome bureaucracies, unfathomable procedures, and meetings that seem to accomplish little more than wasting everyone’s time and serving as a venue for insecure people to make themselves seem important. A small business tends to have less of a bureaucracy or rigid structure, and fewer eye-gougingly boring meetings. A smaller business offers their in-house talent more autonomy and recognition (the latter always a good thing to help build up the ol’ resume or portfolio!). Talented professionals like that clutter-free environment, and if you have one, you need to point it out.
Show New Hires That They Will Be Considered A Person, Not A Commodity
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Everyone likes to be appreciated and their talents recognized. A large company makes it easy to lose people in the shuffle, losing the human element. While it’s true that you want to bring people on board because you have work that needs doing, it doesn’t mean you can’t show that each person is valued on a human level. Does your business have informal get-togethers, in-house social functions, maybe a newsletter? Let people know! Demonstrate to the prospective professional that your small business is an entity composed of distinct individuals who are valued as people, not a collection of cogs and gears with Employee Identification Numbers.
Demonstrate A Willingness To Be Flexible
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Maybe a prospective professional wants to work on a per-project basis. Perhaps they prefer working at home for a day or two every week. If these people are truly a talented bunch, they clearly they have a good work ethic and professional ethics. Meet them halfway in coming up with a work schedule that gives them a little more freedom while still producing top-notch results for your business.
Although there are certainly other steps you can take, this collection is enough to get you pointed in the right direction. Good luck!