With the global war for talent showing no sign of slowing down, the issue of how employers and recruiters can attract the best candidates remains a contentious issue within the industry.

Finding new, talented people is critical to the growth and success of all companies.  Across a wide range of industries, companies are finding that demand for skills is far outweighing supply, and as this skills gap continues to widen, are having to think more creatively as to how to beat the competition.

Employer Brand

In order to broaden their appeal, companies are investing heavily in building their brand in ways to attract the best people. Posting a simple text job advert may no longer be enough. In a time when the candidate is becoming king, should employers be focusing more on what they have to offer rather than what they expect in return?

Traditional job adverts focus on a description of position itself, often providing no more than a list of responsibilities followed by bullet points of the skills and attributes of the ideal candidate. But with so much focus on what the candidate must offer the company, employers often fail to take the time to explain why that person would decide to apply to them.

Tech-savvy employers are finding new and innovative ways to address this shift of power. Carefully executed campaigns are now being rolled out to make them stand out from the competition and employer branding is becoming an essential part of the recruitment process. Today’s generation of job seekers are increasingly ‘plugged in’ to the latest technologies, and employers must keep ahead of these trends in order to gain their attention.

Working patterns are changing and job seekers are increasingly transient, placing a greater emphasis on their career, lifestyle preferences and financial aims. With this in mind, how can employers capture their interest and appeal to candidates as an employer of choice?

Higher Application Rate

One channel that has seen a huge rise in popularity in online recruitment, is video. Employers can offer an engaging platform, through which they can demonstrate the values and ethos of the business, as well as giving potential applicants a view of the working culture at the company. A recent report found that employers receive a 34% higher application rate when they add video to their job postings. So, should all employers be considering this method?

Through online recruitment video employers are able to give applicants a view of what it is like to work in the company in just a few short minutes. This may be done in a variety of ways – an office tour, testimonials from employees, an interview with the CEO. Employers are able to showcase the company as a great place to work and give applicant a great impression of the type of people they will be working with.

Culture

Good online recruitment videos should give applicants an idea of the culture of a company, the atmosphere, its values and its perks. Also any additional allures such as high profile clients, development opportunities and perhaps even selling the role on the basis of its location. Getting the message right and promotion as an employer of choice can improve the application rate considerably. Thinking about the questions an applicant might ask and find a way to communicate the answers in an engaging and appealing way is key.

Video’s popularity as a source for information is growing, and it is reaching wider audiences on a broader scale. With mobile browsing increasingly on the rise, a 2013 report by comScore found that the online video audience grew by 162% on mobile in just one year. With demand for video content rapidly increasing, companies should be embracing the trend and taking advantage of its popularity. A good online recruitment video can capture this audience.

With advances in technology, video is now a quick, creative, and cost-effective way to brand a company. By giving candidates the right impression of what it is like to work for the company, and why they would want to work in the role means attracting a pool of engaged and informed applicants who believe they are the right fit for the organisation.