Recruitment: parallel with the 8 developments in marketing since the 2000s'

Evolution 1 - the ubiquity of web and digital experiences

Almost all consumers are Internet users. Just as marketing experts have had to adapt to the increased usage of smartphones and computers, recruiters need to adapt to these same practices for their talents.

Knowing consumer and potential candidate practices also enables us to take care to offer the ideal digital pathway, as it is adapted to target needs. For example, a career site developed for a computer screen is very often "responsive" (i.e. adaptable to smaller screens). BUT mobile browsing has little in common with web browsing and requires working on a path where clicking isn't as essential as it is for a computer.

The tip to remember: go and find your target audience where they are, by looking at their habits!

Evolution 2 - from mass marketing to targeted marketing

Mass advertising (TV commercials, billboards in public places...) works on the following format: share with as many people as possible, hoping to reach as many people as possible with a generalist spot. These ads still exist today, but they are far from being marketers' only weapons.

Targeted marketing is interested in the plurality of profiles (personae) that could become customers or candidates. It suggests different paths to these profiles according to their interests, consumption habits, experiences, etc. This is exactly how we should think about recruitment marketing! It's the first step towards personalized communications.

The tip to remember: pay attention to the target's specificities and adapt actions to their challenges!

Evolution 3 - the importance of content production and copywriting

If you're setting up a website or web pages, advertisements, posts on social networks, etc., your ability to create the content associated with these formats is essential.

The art of convincing through writing has always been mastered by advertisers, especially in catchphrases and slogans. In recent years, however, it has become necessary to go beyond catchy words, to explain, give examples, quote testimonials... 

In the marketing world, new professions have emerged from this new relationship with content: web editors, copywriters... There are many of them! This is also the case for recruiters, where the skill of writing must be mastered to the maximum, particularly for job offers, but also for career sites, LinkedIn posts, talent communication campaigns, etc.

The usefulness of content production is manifold: it helps with search engine optimization to be seen, and it builds relationships with candidates over time.

The tip to remember: think about what you want to say at every stage!

Evolution 4 - customer experience before the purchase act

Historically, consumers bought a product for what it was. Today, the buying experience is equally as important as the product itself. Every step leading up to the purchase is crucial: product discovery, brand discovery, customer reviews, quality of the steps along the way, contact with brand representatives... every contact must be carefully considered, and no step neglected.

The parallel with recruitment is simple: a candidate's journey can be very disappointing, whereas it can also become a real asset for your employer brand. Talent often gives up and doesn't complete the application process for reasons of complexity and time investment. It's therefore essential to take care of the talent's experience when they contact you ; and don't forget to adapt it to the different candidate profiles you've identified.

The tip to remember: test the stages of your target's career path to identify areas for improvement!

Evolution 5 - the age of influence and partnerships

The influencer profession is becoming increasingly widespread. More or less famous people start producing content on social media in particular, and build active communities around their key themes and personalities. Companies create partnerships, paid or unpaid, with these public profiles, so that they can become ambassadors for their products, services or even their brand directly.

But influence marketing doesn't stop with well-known stars and influencers. This authority can also come from a group of people whose opinions inspire confidence in consumers, and of course in candidates, if we're talking about recruitment. Online reviews, comments from consumers or former employees can become a real weapon to influence your targets and convince them of your worth.

The tip to remember: capitalize on ambassadors who are well-known or representative of your target to become your voice!

👉Capitalize on your employee’s network & start an Employee Advocacy strategy with our digital referral program

Evolution 6 - marketing automation

Multiple efforts to identify different personas, adding actions to improve the customer experience, producing high value-added content... It all adds up to a lot of work, and marketing and sales experts can't do it alone! Automation tools are becoming more and more common, because they make their day-to-day work much more efficient.

It's important to break down these beliefs about automation. People think of robots, not humans... Nothing is black and white, and we need to find nuances. Some stages of the recruitment process can be automated without compromising the quality of the candidate experience. On the contrary, it can enhance it. For example, sending an automated email just after an interview with a warm video of a CEO explaining the reasons for joining can really help convince candidates to do it. And of course, we also need to think about low value-added tasks, which don't take up as much time as they used to thanks to automation and free up recruiters' time for higher-value missions.

Alexis Bouvet - Co-founder Growth Hiring

Find out more: How CRM + automation can optimize recruitment workflows?

Evolution 7 - data analysis to measure performance

The marketing fuel is data. Modern marketing and sales strategies depend on the data that is collected and the key information gathered once that data is analyzed. The aim is to have all the information you need to improve every element of your strategy: a piece of content, a website, an application, a form to fill in, an email…

Marketing experts also have another interesting tool for recruiters to consider using: AB testing. This is a way of testing two alternatives for the same action (sending an email, for example) to test their quality and implement the one that will have worked best during the test, to gain in performance. To make the right choice, you'll need data that objectively assesses the quality of the two versions.

The tip to remember: measure the actions you implement as much as possible, so as to be able to analyze them!

Find out more: Top HR KPIs for improving hiring performance (talks with Mazars)

Evolution 8 - Growth mindset

Business development is inevitably marked by the quest for growth. This has become even more true in recent years, with increasing competition and ever more demanding consumers. And so are candidates. So how do you generate maximum growth in record time? Growth marketing (also known as Growth Hacking) was born to meet this challenge.

Making an impact with the least possible effort... it's possible by testing! You have to experiment with small actions on a small group of targets, check whether they work, and then roll them out on a larger scale if they do. This is the Growth mindset that can also be applied to Talent Acquisition initiatives.

The tip to remember: open up to this new mindset and add it to your Talent Acquisition strategy!

👉 Build lasting relationships with your talent pools with our Talent campaigns tool.

Good to know: Growth Hiring is a community of 2,500 recruiters on the lookout for the future of the recruitment profession.