Recruit Talent With an Employer Branding Video

Recruiting topflight talent can be a challenge, especially during a saturated job market. Make your business stand out to potential employees by creating an engaging recruitment video!

A potential employee’s first impression of your brand could make or break their decision whether to apply to a position at your company. Instead of relying on branding and messaging that was created for a different audience, consider instead a more targeted and deliberate approach—a purpose-made recruitment video.

There are many approaches to creating a video to appeal to potential employees, and a few guidelines can help you turn your video into a powerful recruiting tool. Here’s why.

A recruitment video is one of the first touchpoints you have with a potential employee. Along with a well-written job description, the recruitment video can be a dealbreaker for someone applying to your job. The purpose of a job description is to narrow the field and elicit an application from potential employees, whereas the recruitment video is solely to highlight your people, your location, and your brand and show them in a way that is enticing to someone seeking work. It can be hard to describe your culture and approach to business through a job description alone, but a video allows you to both show and tell your company’s story. You’ll demystify your firm and answer any preliminary questions a candidate might ask.

Is your company conservative and traditional? Or do you offer a more laid-back approach to work? How do employees interact with senior management? Is there a good morale among workers? What about incentives such as paid leave in certain circumstances, or special events during the year? What about employee recognition? Your culture is defined by how people who work with you think of the company. You may be a corporate powerhouse, or a family-led small business. Either way, highlighting the culture at an early stage of the application process can both draw in interested parties and prevent a “bad fit” of a new hire.

An employer branding video can discuss the departments and responsibilities at the firm, outlining some of the work a candidate may be responsible for. The video could be tailored to hiring certain positions, or it could be a generic video that is suitable for all prospective employees. Either way it’s a good idea to show some people working in the video to give prospects a good impression of what actually working for the company will be like.

Your history is your story. You may know your business inside out but unless you can convert that sentiment into a companywide message, it’s difficult to convey “how” the business is to work for. In your video you have an opportunity to explain where your company started and—just as importantly—where it is going.

Whatever your story, an employer branding video can help illustrate it in a clear and engaging way. With a guided interview with a member of senior management you can cover a lot of ground and really provide a lot of context for a new hire. Highlighting the benefits of working for your firm is also an excellent exercise if you have never verbalized the culture of your business.

As the economy shifts, more and more people are seeking new employment and now is an excellent time to seize the opportunity by putting your company’s working life front and center for potential employees.