Getting the job 🧑💻🕵️👷 EBH
Looking like an expert in the interview
Understanding how to build a strategy is the skill that will serve you for your entire career. I’m doing a free seminar that will teach anyone how to build their own strategy. Maybe it’s a talent strategy. Or a branding strategy. Or a strategy to help you get budget. Or a strategy to help you get noticed. Whatever the purpose, the process is the same.
Ultimately, a strategy is how you achieve more with less (something I bet many of you are hearing from your bosses). So let’s learn how to build a proper strategy.
Register for free here: https://diyemployerbrand.com/strategy
If you register and can’t attend, I’ll send you the full recording.
I need your help! Strategy is such a valuable skill and can be used by lots of different people. I’d very much appreciate it if you shared the course link on LinkedIn or other social platforms. Thank you so much!
🧮 What if internal and external audiences are the same people? »»
🧮 To be truly trusted as an individual and often as a firm one needs not just data, intent and transparency but also integrity »»
🧮 Culture > EVP > Employer Brand > Talent Marketing. While I don’t 100% agree with how Ben Phillips sees how these ideas are connected and grow into one another, I can’t fault someone for explaining their thinking this well. »»
🧮 Countering disruption with empathy »»
🧮 10 ways to cultivate brand transparency »»
🧮 The tyranny of taste: What is good design and who decides? »»
🧮 How to tell the world your company cares about developing it’s people without turning it into a boring claim on a career site »»
🧮 Let’s talk recruiting content creation »»
🔊 Is talent hiding in plain sight? »»
🔊 How being “weird” helps people relate to your brand »»
🧮 Brandemix wants to know how you think about your recent EVP/EB projects »»
🎤 I’m talking about content creation for recruiters and branders »»
🎤 I’m speaking this week at CandE Awards about “minimum viable branding” »»
🏛️ All 2,000+ articles from this newsletter are in a searchable archive. Go get ‘em!
If you’re interested in building a minimal effective employer brand,
reply with the word, “Minimal.”
Interview Questions
A lot of people I know are looking for work within the EB space. And I also know a lot of companies are looking to hire EB support. So this week I’m going to share some questions each side should be asking in the interview to ensure that the right people land in the right role.
Questions Companies Should Be Asking Candidates
“Have you built an EVP before? What resources did you need to do that?”
Just because most people in the space hold an “EB Manager” title doesn’t make their jobs the same. Some people like to build EVPs, others like to activate and grow brands. Those skills and jobs aren’t the same, so you should know what the candidates’ strengths are relative to your needs.
“We know that employer brand can be done successfully in a number of different ways. So what is your approach to EB work? What is your superpower?”
I know amazing EB’ers who are writers/storytellers. I know some who are social media thinkers. There are those who drive value through the conceptualization of the brand and strategy. There are some who are masterful politicians. There is no right way to do the work, so if you need to know if you’re hiring someone who gets their hands dirty or someone who can make other people thrilled to get their hands dirty.
“How long do you think it will take after you start to show impact?”
This probably sounds like a trick question, but it isn’t. So many people think of brand work as being slow, as taking months and years to create impact. This is a somewhat outdated approach, because an EBer can create value in their first few weeks. But the question helps level-set each party’s expectations.
“What will you measure?”
This is the trick question. For my money, the only two “correct” ways to answer it are to rattle off a laundry list of things that could be measured, or to ask, “What did you want EB to achieve? Because that’s what we should measure first.” Anything else suggests a rigid kind of thinking about the work, a way things “should” be done when 99.999% of the time the EB Manager is making things up as they go. Strong EB work embraces the idea that there are 100 ways to solve a problem and 100 ways to reach an objective, so someone having pre-conceived ideas in place before they start is a bit of a red flag.
Questions You Should Be Asking Companies
“Do you have an EVP already, or are you expecting someone in this role to build it?”
If you’re a builder, you’re going to be bored silly managing someone else’s EVP. If you’re a manager, you might not actually know how to build an EVP from scratch. Know what you’re getting into.
“If I’m building it, would you expect I’m doing this on my own or is there resources to get me support?”
Some companies assume the EB owner can build an EVP/brand on their own. And some can. But many companies assume as the EB Manager, you’ll be hiring and managing an outside agency/consultant/expert to do the research and develop the EVP itself. The skills of building a brand by yourself and managing a vendor to do that work are not the same.
“What does TA want out of an EB function? What about marketing? Or leadership? How do they see the value in this work? How will they be measuring it?”
Some companies hire employer branding because they think it is a magic bullet without understanding how EB works, how it impacts, and what changes it will drive. That’s probably why EB groups are filled with people asking, “how do you measure EB?” Because no one defined the purpose of the EB function in the first place.
“EB functions can live in any team. Why did the company decide to put it in the XXXX team?”
I’m 1000% over the “where should EB live?” argument. But how a company decides where EB should live tells you a lot about how they see the role and how they make decisions.
“What is recruiting’s (and recruiters’) appetite for the change EB will bring? Are they excited? Are they hesitant? Do they even know what’s coming?”
I always assume that recruiters will not be throwing me a parade just because EB help has shown up. In fact, many recruiters really think what we do is a waste of resources. Knowing what you’re getting into can help you make a better decision (and help you negotiate a better package for yourself).
If this helped you get a job or hire someone great, let me know!!!
Employer branding is how you change your company’s “recruiting math,” attracting more of the people you actually want to hire, spending less on agencies, and just hiring better people faster and more predictably. It isn’t just for big companies. EVERY COMPANY CAN GET OBVIOUS VALUE OUT OF EMPLOYER BRANDING. And every company can afford to take advantage of their brand.
105 free (or almost free) ways to activate your brand »
Employer Brand Breakdown series »
Biotech Recruiting limited run email course »
Proof employer brand works »
Biotech Recruiting Chat series »
Employer Brand minute series »
The Brand Plan podcast »
The Talent Cast podcast »
On-demand video courses »
***This Newsletter Contains No ChatGPT***
-James Ellis [LinkedIn] [Website]
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