Should We Hire Product Marketers To Market Our Jobs?
I’m waiting for a company to flip the script on how they meet talent. Just because talent attraction has been done 1 of 3 ways for what feels like an eternity doesn’t mean that the ever-evolving world of consumer marketing isn’t available.
30-second read
At the top of the funnel, is a job a product?
If yes, then why aren’t we hiring product marketers to market our jobs?
Recruitment marketing feels dead. At least in its current state.
Creativity is low. Execution is standard and predictable. The consumer experience is everything but enjoyable and entertaining.
The only thing that’s keeping recruitment marketers employed is the fact that some swath of candidates begrudgingly fall in line, surrendering to the current system—simply because they haven’t experienced an alternative.
Let’s look at this from a B2C perspective:
Consumer brands are continually evolving (keyword) their go-to-market in order to gain attention—and the subsequent adoption and retention of their product.
What if you viewed a job through this lens? How creative could you get?
More importantly, who’s best equipped to lead this?
I’m waiting for a company to flip the script on how they meet talent. Just because talent attraction has been done 1 of 3 ways for what feels like an eternity doesn’t mean that the ever-evolving world of consumer product marketing isn’t available.
If this idea gets your wheels turning, then it starts by:
1. Accepting that the traditional model of marketing to talent is over.
2. Creatively hiring: changing what a talent marketer looks like. (Yes, as in their background and experience. Poach them from B2C.)
It’s 2022. Job boards and the programmatic playbook is in the rearview. In some ways, I’m surprised those categories still exist.
(Save your data rebuttal. The fact that some (many?) companies—especially tech—ignore inbound applicants due to their low quality should give you some perspective.)
This industry is slow to adopt thinking that is remotely outside the box. My expectation of change is well managed. But if just one person starts thinking differently about this stuff, the wheels of change can slowly begin to turn.
The rest of you can continue wasting your money on LinkedIn, job boards, and spray and pray technology.
Context: This post is intended to inspire thought and turn your creativity on. My hope is that it sparks some necessary and important conversations about the future of this industry.
This isn’t about being right. This is about showing you that things need to change.
Join in — Like or comment on LinkedIn.
Teaser: On the upcoming episode of The Content Recruiter pod, Nathan Jefferson and I take this idea of a “job as a product” and run with it. We get into a few outside-the-box ideas on this one. The episode will be out on Monday. Subscribe to get notified.