You stand in the cell phone aisle wracked with indecision. Which one to get? You’ve heard good things about Samsung, but Apple’s innovative image appeals to you. In the end, you buy the new iPhone, feeling confident that you made the right decision.
While there appears to be no connection between buying a cell phone and taking a job offer, the reality is that a brand’s image can be a deciding factor for any target market, including top finance talent.
Here are 3 ways that your brand is helping or hindering your quest to build your very own finance dream team.
Voice
Does the voice of your brand resonate with your market? This common marketing question also has a direct application to your hiring practices. If your website content, job postings or hiring team don’t deliver a message that resonates with the kind of employees you want to attract, they won’t come. Sadly, only Kevin Costner gets to build a field of dreams, the rest of us have to work at it.
Core Values
Does your company stand for the things that great employees value? Exceptional finance talent typically like to grow in their roles and affect change. Does your brand story speak to advancement and opportunity? Since great finance talent usually has a choice about their next role, make sure your core values reflect a progressive mindset.
Your Story
Not only does your brand attract top finance talent, it also allows you to potentially land them for less money than you might have anticipated. Seth Godin, marketing guru and author of books such as Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, says that a brand is truly a compilation of its stories. A consumer’s preference for a specific story is what drives them to make a purchase. For example, Tanya, who is a star performer, has two job offers. While the job descriptions are essentially the same, one company is offering her $20,000 more. Her decision is a no-brainer, right? Wrong. Tanya feels more connected to the company that is offering her less money and so she chooses them.
When you are trying to recruit and land great talent think carefully about the messaging of your brand. What story are you telling?
