The Difference is Why
The trap of "looking good."
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Strategy is ALL about achieving more with what you have. And you want that, right?
In one hour, you’ll learn what strategy really is (and not some BS academic version of it), and how to build your own, and around talent acquisition leadership and employer branding. Why? Because it is how YOU LEVEL UP!
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Being different it really hard.
It’s a lessoned we learned in school: blend in or get called out. Being different gets you laughed at, ostracized, and maybe even beaten up.
At work, we could be mocked or yelled at by bosses. Or aren’t considered for that promotion because we were trying something different.
That’s the whole message of Moneyball: Common wisdom says it’s safer to play the game like everyone else does. People will jeer and mock anyone who attempts to deviate from the expected. It takes guts to try something different, but the reward can be astronomical.
So I’m not actually surprised when employer branding plays it safe and focuses exclusively on “looking good.”
And by “looking good,” I mean:
Posting a bunch of pay for play awards on your career site that say nothing specific about the company that won them
Using only the most polished photos of “employees” “doing work” (Even if they aren’t using stock art, companies are making their own polished photos that might as well be stock art)
Stuffing your job postings with “power words” like, exceptional, exciting, cutting-edge, world-class, happy, inspire, care, support, and enjoy (among about a hundred other words that sound nice but don’t actually say anything)
Recruiting outreach sounds the same. I still get people who use, “I came across your profile on LinkedIn and was impressed…” like it’s 2011
Designing Canva templates so that no testimonial is ever more than a dozen words, which means very very very little is said
Glassdoor responses that stick to Glassdoor’s script of “thank them for the review, direct their flaming dumpster of a concern to appropriate leadership and then thank them again.” The ending of “And don’t concern yourself that there might be issues to be solved within the company” is unstated but clear
Career sites that “values” as a 1-3 word idea and then a 10-20 word “description” which does nothing to provide meaning or shape to the values
Social posts that show only nice things about the company (volunteering, awards, conference attendance, ERG meetings, celebrations, XYZ history month, holidays) and nothing about what working there is really like. The best litmus test is noting how many people are smiling in the photos vs how many people smile in the office
Obscuring any language on the ATS or ATS-sent emails about how applicants shouldn’t necessarily expect a response
The list is long.
And the more you focus on looking “good” the more you look like everyone else who is trying to “look good” (which is everyone).
The worst part? The more you look generically “attractive,” the more you attract generic applications. That puts more work on recruiters and hiring managers to try and find the “best” candidate (relatively speaking) out of the pile of applicants who seem to apply in bulk.
And the more you look the same, the more effort and money you’re going to have to put behind your recruiting efforts and salary bands.
So… stop chasing perfect. Stop chasing attractive. Uncover what makes you different and use it like a (insanely cheap but effective) tool to attract the people you actually want.
📈 Mark Zuckerberg is about to eat the entire marketing industry. Well, at least he will if you think marketing and branding is just about looking good »
📈 Brand value is created in the details (How you do one thing is how you do everything) »
📈 For years, tech firms were fighting a war for talent. Now they are waging war on talent. (Via Martyn Redstone on Recruiting Brainfood) »
📈 What to do when you know more than your boss? »
📈 Unspoken Rules of High Performers and High Potentials »
📈 Employer branding is dead* (gosh, I wonder what that asterisk means?) »
🏛️ All 2,500+ (five years worth!) articles from this newsletter are in a searchable archive. Go get ‘em!
Problem: Legal Eagles
You know how it goes. You’ve got an idea that will help your company attract the right kind of hires. Your boss loves it. After a little skepticism, HR is sold.
And then someone asks, “Has Legal approved it?”
So you kick it to legal and suddenly things come to a stop.
What do you do?
All things in life are a choice along the risk/reward spectrum. The challenge is that legal’s job is to identify risk. They aren’t always in a position to understand reward. And in identifying risk, they may sound like they are saying “no.”
But are they?
The next time legal seems to be blocking something, send them this email:
Legal,
Thank you for your review of XXXX.
I understand the risks you’ve identified and appreciate that you noted a few I hadn’t considered.
That said, if I accept the ownership of these risks, and my boss is made aware of these risks, do you have any objection to us moving forward?
Thank you,
-name
That might kick things loose for you.
Hey! What’s a problem YOU have? Just reply to this email and I’ll do my best to answer it in future newsletter (no, I won’t tell anyone it was YOU).
Be more informed as you think about building your brand:
Start: Compare 27 employer brand building companies side-by-side. It’s how you make a better decision about who will help you best in your EB journey. It’s free! »
Then: Three case studies that prove how an employer brand can be built in just three weeks. A 250-person manufacturer, a 300-person construction company, and an 800-person video game company. Just hit reply ad we’ll set set up a time to walk you through the case studies and answer questions.
Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.
-Clay Shirky
Four books and one audiobook
An employer brand buyers guide and agency listing
Five courses
150 videos
240 episodes of podcasts
Conversations on 23 podcasts
Seven “deep dive” resources
18 articles
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***This Newsletter Contains No ChatGPT***