More killer questions 🔬 EBH
Still painful. Still necessary.
A year ago, I talked about the power of a killer question.
As we work towards our goals, we end up doing a lot of… stuff. It is easy to focus on the task at hand and not wonder if we are making a real impact.
I suspect it is human nature to look away from something painful and fool ourselves into thinking that progress is being made. The power of a killer question is it forces us to see things in stark relief.
In employer branding, I thought of killer questions like:
Will this work attract the perfect hire? Or just a bunch of average ones?
What problem is this (social post/bullet point in the job posting/video/Tik Tok channel/etc) solving? And is this the best means by which to solve the problem?
If I swapped the logos on this career site with a competitor, would anyone even notice?
Is this something that makes someone stop and ask a question, or does this just encourage someone who was already going to apply to apply?
One of the big challenges in our space is that because there’s so many ways we can do our job and get the message out into the world, we work on stuff we like rather than stuff that matters. We let ourselves be lulled into a false sense of value and momentum.
Thus, it is on us to ask better questions of ourselves, our work, and how we engage talent.
Warning: these are called “killer” questions for a reason.
They pull no punches.
Think of them as tests you are expected to fail to push you to be better.
To that end, here are a few more killer questions to consider:
Why would a candidate believe this statement (job posting, claim, video)?
What am I offering the candidate that would be worth changing their entire life?
To whom would I be considered an “only” or a “most?” Am I focusing on those audiences or am I hedging my bets and casting a wider net?
Does this increase desire? Or just feel positive?
What, specifically, should this message make someone feel? How will we know when we’ve succeeded or failed?
Who does this specific piece of work serve? Are you doing this for the prospect or someone internal?
Is this too safe? If you were getting fired tomorrow, would this be the work that saves your job?
If you were asked to make the same impact with one-tenth of the budget, how would you accomplish it?
Is your employer brand growth a function of your work, or a halo effect of something else (stock price, consumer brand, corporate PR, etc)?
Is this content good enough that someone would pay for it? What would make it that good?
Wow. Now I’m bummed out.
But I wonder what it would take to do work that would make me say “yes” to some of these questions next time…
+++++
Welp, Employer Branding for Small Business hit #4 in Small Business books, #3 in HR books, and was listed as the #1 new release in for HR and People Manager books.
Thanks to everyone who ordered a copy (I get my read copy Saturday!), and I hope you let people know about it.
***This Newsletter Contains No ChatGPT***
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