Asking the Right Recruitment Questions
Jeff Perry
The opening statements on your recruitment ad are your opportunity to
stand out, to capture attention, and to attract the candidates you want.
One technique to accomplish this involves harnessing the power of the
question. Consider this: what do you do when you read a question? When
you read a question do you automatically answer it? Have you ever read a
question and laughed? Or read a question and said, "as if!"?
The Nature And Power of Questions
The power of a question is profound, perhaps more powerful than we give
credit. Socrates himself suggested that the way to lead is to ask questions.
Asking questions prompts answers. Asking compelling questions
commands engagement. Given this, using the power of questioning is a
great way to engage job seekers in reading your recruitment ads. You can
ask questions knowing that the reader will be inclined to answer them. This
creates an opportunity for you.
For sure there are different kinds of questions, and in recruitment
advertising not all are equal. There are obvious questions, rhetorical
questions, amusing questions and compelling questions. For example, a
question such as, "Would you like to make more money?" could be placed
in the obvious category. Also in that category: "Are you looking for a great
place to work?" (I'd like to meet the job seeker that says no to that one,
then again, maybe I wouldn't!) Obviously most people would like to earn
more and work at a great place. You might be served better by using the
question to get beyond the obvious and into specifics that will highlight
your strengths and attract the right candidate.
Compelling Candidates
So what attracts the right candidates? A question that identifies a gap
between what the job seeker has and what the job seeker wants is
compelling. Keep two objectives in mind when designing your question: to
leverage the strengths of your job or your organization, and to connect
that strength to what your ideal candidates want need and that their
current situation is not providing. Your question can let the job seekers
answer for themselves what is currently missing and allow them to sell
themselves on your opportunity.
To create compelling questions for your job ads, first, list the unique
features of the position. To the right job seeker, these features will be
strengths and will help you attract the candidates you want to talk to.
Whether it's the control someone has over their territory or schedule, the
access they have to upper management, the option to create their own
schedule, access to state-of-the-art technology, or the option to combine
different roles, identify the unique strengths and pinpoint one or two to
build your question on.
Choosing Your Questions
Obviously, your ad is not going to be composed entirely of questions. You
have only a short opportunity to grab the job seeker’s attention, get the
right people to read your entire ad and reply. That is to say you can ask
only a few questions before you must provide answers and details. So the
goal is to have your questions lead the reader to make connections.
Your questions should be limited to two or three depending on how many
strengths you have, and should be followed-up with a call to action such
as – “Join Us”, “Apply Online”, or “Contact Us Now!”
If you want to tout the strengths of your company culture you could ask,
"Are you seeking a company that recognizes your value?" Or, "Do you
have fun coworkers? We do!"
These two questions will lead the job seeker to provide an answer. Are they are
getting their needs met with their current employer or not? If not, you may have
an opportunity to attract and eventually hire this person.
Does your company culture value continuing education? If so, and if this is a
competitive advantage you could ask: "Are you ready to work for a company
that encourages growth by offering excellent education reimbursement?"
Perhaps you prefer to advertise the strengths of a given job. What is it about the
job that might meet a need or want that is missing in your candidates' current
position? Example: "Would you like to create your own schedule?" or "Do you
want to work with cutting edge graphic technology?"
Occasionally you may have a position that requires an unusual skill set. Here the
strength of your job may be providing an opportunity for a unique talent. A great
way to make it clear that you're looking for an uncommon candidate is to ask a
question such as, "Are you one of those rare people who is both a database
expert and can easily teach others what you know?"
Recap
So to recap the steps for creating your compelling questions:
List the strengths of the job, the company, or both
Decide which two or three messages are most important to communicate
Construct questions that present your strengths and allow the reader to
make connections between those strengths and the gaps in their current
situation
Use one or two questions to compel, and a final one that calls for action
Do you have strengths that set you apart as an employer?
Are you ready to use those strengths to write a great recruitment ad?
Don't hesitate, try it now!
Articles
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- 10 Reasons to Hire Vets
- Hire Older Workers
- Improving Candidate Quality
- Sourcing 101
- Sourcing Candidates Well
- Tips for Building Employment-Related Websites
- U.S. Employ of People with Disabilities: Free Workshops
- Virtual College Recruiting
Interviewing Basics
- 10 Commandments of Recruiting
- 5 Keys to Successful Hiring
- 7 Tips for Successful Phone Interviews
- Behavioral Interviewing Basics
- Contrary Evidence Questions
- Interview Questions: Do's and Don'ts
- Interviewing Opening and Closing Remarks
- Interviews: Common Weaknesses
- Mistakes Amateur Interviewers Make
- Phone Screen Interview Mistakes
- Probing Techniques Explained
- Screening Interviewing: Top 10 Red Flags
- Strengthen the Validity of Your Interviews
- Telephone Interviews: Basics
- Ten Bad Listening Habits of Interviewers
- Types of Interviews
- Typical Probes and Follow up Questions
- What Do Interviewers Need to Know to be Effective?
Interviewing Best Practices
- 7 Keys to Effective Selection Interviews
- A Closer Look at Behavior-Based Interviewing
- Advantages / Disadvantages of Interviewing
- Applying Core Competencies to Selection Interviews
- Are You Really a Behavior-Based Interviewer?
- Assessing Speaking and Listening Skills
- Best Practices in Interviewing Candidates
- Deadly Interview Mistakes
- Death by Interview
- Ensure Hiring Success in Every Situation
- Executive Assessment Should Be Mandatory
- Generational Interviewing
- Hiring Interview + Strategic Applicant Management
- Hold Evening and Off-Time Interviews
- How to Interview a Top Performer
- Improve your Interviewing Techniques
- Interview Questions to Assess Soft Skills
- Interviewing for Ethics
- Interviewing Millennials
- Interviewing: Business or Psychology
- Metrics Interview
- Peeling Back the Onion
- The Positives of Panel Interviews
- Time for Candidate Advocacy?
- Tips for Conducting Successful Interviews
- Two Critical Interviewing Questions
Laws & Documentation
- Applicant Reference Release
- At Will Employment Release
- Avoid Negligent Hiring Mistakes
- Employee Referral Program Metrics
- Fair Labor Standards Act Information
- Four Interview Questions Never to Ask
- Giving Employee References
- Hiring Compliance Guidelines
- Hiring for Small Business
- Interviewing People with Disabilities
- Job Denial Letter
- Legal Issues in Interviewing
- Minimize Employment Risks: Document
- SAMPLE Employment Policy
- SAMPLE Letter: Educational Records Check
- SAMPLE Letter: Reference Check
- Ten Safe Hiring Tools
- What is Negligent Hiring
Line Manager / Recruiting Partnership
- Defending Candidates to Hiring Managers
- Interlocking Core Competency Interviews
- Internal Application Process
- Making Internships Work for You
- Making the Case for Behavioral Interviewing
- Non-Traditional Merit Pay Alternatives
- OFCCP Definition of an Internet Applicant
- Why Managers Shouldn't Do Most Hiring
- Workforce Planning: Strategic Staffing Strategy
Post-Interview
Pre-Planning & Retention
- Bonus or Incentive?
- Brand-Building on a Budget
- Build a First-Rate Hiring Process
- Closing the Deal
- Compensation Plans: An Overview
- Conducting an Exit Interview
- Good Hiring Starts with a Good Job Profile
- Improve the Quality of the Employment Function
- Interview Process Problems
- Interview the Job Before the Candidates
- Job Description Template-Link Pay to Performance
- Linking Pay to Company Performance
- Selecting and Using Salary Surveys
- Succession Planning
- Succession Planning: Identifying Top Performers
- Using a Pre-Interviewing Questionnaire
- Winning the War for Talent
- Worker Shortage by 2010: Preparation
Reading the Candidate
- Beware of Those Who Boast
- Blind Man's Bluff
- Decision, Decisions: Choosing the Better Applicant
- Detecting Deceit in Interviews
- Little White Lies on Resumes
- Suspend Judgment Until the Interview is Over
Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Essentials
- Cut Down on Interview No Shows
- Discouraging Low Quality Applicants
- Don't Hold Too Many Interviews
- Job Descriptions: Why are they Important?
- New Strategies for Screening Job Candidates
- Preventing Resume Overload with Questionnaires
- Resume Review Basics
- Test Validation Explained
- The Value of Person-Organization Fit
- Three Companies Cut Turnover with Tests
Recruiting Best Practices
- 25 Telltale Signs of the Wrong Candidate
- 5 Overlooked Ways to Hire Winners
- Asking the Right Recruitment Questions
- Attracting Your Competitor's Employees
- BPR.......for Recruiters!
- Candidate Engagement
- Cloud Recruiting
- Evaluate Your Capture Strategy
- Hiring Best Practices
- How Do You Attract and Retain the Best People?
- How to Attract Applicants to Undesirable Jobs
- How to Attract, Develop and Retain Best People
- How to Find and Keep Valued Employees
- Ignorance and the Human Condition
- Onboarding Success Secrets
- Secrets to Non-Profit Hiring
- Selecting Top Management Talent
- Semi-Active Candidates are Best Bets
- Six Core Selling Principles
- Skills Based Recruiting: When, not How
- Smart Choices: How to Hire the Best
- Strategy for Hiring the Best This Year
- The Uses and Misuses of Personality Tests
- Top 10 Employee Selection Mistakes & Solutions
- Treat Candidates with the Carbon Rule