Blog Post: Tell me a story…Why is this a great job?

Many employers take the time to perform surveys, win best place to work awards and even advertise these results in their job postings.  Awards and surveys are great tools in a comprehensive employment branding package.  In a competitive job market you may need even more to make the picture clear – to inspire a great candidate to want the job. So how do you paint the picture of what it is like in a real, personal way to work for you?  

One Approach - Ask employees to share what they like about working at your company:

Take a current job description you have posted on line.  If it is for a position that you hire multiple people to fill – show the posting or email it to an employee who currently holds the job.  Ask for their input – it can be anything from a quote of why they like the job, what they find rewarding, to an anecdote about their best day/accomplishment in that position.  You have a great resource for your recruitment toolbox in your current employees.  You have the ability to draw a real, compelling, personal portrait of working on your team.  Some ways to use employee contributions in job postings:

-           Why I like working here

-           Day in the life description from current employee

-           Best on the job experience

-           Employee’s favorite customer service experience

-           A first hand description of what strengths the employee gets to bring to the table

-           An employee’s feedback of why the work your company does, matters – in short why their job has meaning

An anecdote to end the blog:

I have a cherished memory of an night I spent with my family during a power outage (after a hurricane).  We sat around all evening – in the dark - listening to stories from my parents about our relatives, their childhood, and stories about me and my siblings.  I can’t explain the exact feeling that these stories give me.  But I know that my family’s story-telling tradition has shaped what my understanding of who my family is and it has deepened my appreciation for their history.  Story-telling from your employees can do the same for your business.   

Do you have a best practice for telling your company’s story? 

Share your comments below!