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When early and mid-stage startups say they want to do “employer branding”, what they really mean is that they want to recruit and hire easier.
It’s code for recruiter enablement.
And there are two big reasons why demystifying employer branding for startups is needed:
Clarity.
They can actually understand what this stuff is, why they do it, and what it looks like. This affects everything from content creation to distribution channels to what they measure.
They can simultaneously play the short and long game.
20% of efforts can be committed to brand building over time.
80% of efforts can be dedicated to recruiter enablement to help recruiters start more conversations with the right people, shorten screening call times, and close more candidates.
A high-level overview of execution:
(20%) Brand building
Brand marketing content on social: hiring manager videos, thought leadership, industry influence, how-you-do content, engineering blog, etc.
No selling!
(80%) Distribution of highly informed (transparent) content via outbound messages to passive candidates.
Candidate FAQ’s, Q&A style interviews, fact sheets.
Content-led TA.
For the record: Recruiter enablement is how I think about EB work regardless of company stage or size. Its purpose is to help you hire easier.
Love recruiter enablement, but you didn’t coin the term.