Six ways to build your career brand
For every great brand there's a failure. Think of Microsoft versus Wang, Wal-Mart and Woolworth's, SouthWest Airlines and Pan Am.
It's easy to spot the winners and losers. But building a successful brand is a heck of a lot harder. Some companies were lucky. Others did it by accident. Some were just in the right place at the right time. But, the majority of successful career brands start with a plan. And the plan starts with some hard questions.
If it's your job to build your company's career brand, and you're not entirely sure how to go about it, might we suggest you begin by asking Who, What, Where, When, Why and How?
One: Who Are You?
On the product brand side, this is a relatively easy question. Pepsi is youth culture in a chilled can. Wal-Mart is basic consumer products at the lowest possible price. IKEA is affordable, sensible interior design.
On the career brand side, though, the question gets a bit more complicated.
Some companies are lucky. They can simply carry over their product brand to the talent market. Apple, for example, tends to hire the sort of people who love Macs and hate PCs. Wal-Mart and IKEA aim to hire the type of people who shop at their stores.
Others have to build a career brand from scratch. Some do it very well. Accenture attracts brilliant minds with a practical side. Chrysler is for car nuts and design freaks. The U.S. Army is an interesting place to learn skills and save money for college. The U.S. Marine Corps is all about being better than the U.S. Army.
Other career brands are not so successful. What's it like to work at PepsiCo? Or American Airlines? Or the LAPD? These are big organizations with a huge public profile, yet nobody really knows what it's like to work there.
The first step in building a career brand is to answer the questions: who are we and what's it like to work here? It's the foundation of everything else you do in the talent market. Fortunately, there are hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of people just waiting to give you an answer.
They're called your employees. And you need only ask them.
Two: What Do You Stand For?
This is similar to the previous section, but more externally focused. In the words of the London-based think-tank People in Business, it's the "functional, economic and psychological benefits of working for a company."
At Cisco Systems, for example, it's the chance for hard-driving techies to make money and get ahead. At McKinsey, it's where the brainiest survive. And at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, it's the opportunity for ordinary folks to turn their energy and people skills into a long-term, rewarding career.
The key here is to isolate the one or two specific benefits your firm offers. Avoid the temptation to offer everything -- companies that try to be all things to all people often end up being nothing to anybody. Play to your strengths.
And if you're not sure what your strengths are, go back and have another chat with your employees.
Three: Where Are Your Candidates?
The easy answer is "working for the competition." It's true, you'll often find plenty of new hires across the street or down the road. But, in a tight talent market, you often have to cast your net into unfamiliar waters.
McDonald's, for example, found itself short of staff as its traditional employee base (high school kids) deserted the chain for higher paying or "cooler" jobs elsewhere. But the company discovered an untapped pool of potential workers in retired people looking for a way to get back into the swing of things and pick up a bit of extra cash. McDonald's re-focused some of its recruiting efforts towards seniors with amazing medium-term results.
At the other end of the scale, at the consultancy McKinsey & Company, which used to hire MBAs exclusively, four out of every 10 new hires are lawyers, doctors, economists, scientists, military officers or senior government officials. By expanding its traditional hiring pool, the firm has managed to avert a talent shortage and inject new energy at the same time.
The lesson here is clear. Avoid focusing on job titles. Look instead for people with the talent to do what your company needs done. You may be surprised at where your next hire comes from.
Four: When Should You Be Talking To Them?
Once you've figured out where your candidates are, you've got to talk to them. Today the communications media options are endless -- TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, career fairs, banner ads, sponsorships, websites, e-mail, direct mail, wireless, job boards, billboards, events, and the list goes on.
Here, a top-notch strategist and media planner are worth their weight in gold. They'll help you focus your efforts and target your talent market accurately.
These days, there's a lot more to media than cost-per-thousand.
Five: Why Not Use Your Friends?
Most companies have an employee referral program. But there's much more to an ERP than a box for resumes and a cash bonus. There's a whole communications element that can mean the difference between an ERP that works and one that doesn't.
Are you promoting your career brand message internally? Are you postering the workplace? Are you running ads and promotions on the corporate intranet? Does your HR intranet offer the information employees need to make the most of the ERP? Are you using your secure extranet to enlist suppliers and partners in your recruiting efforts? And are you doing all you can to retain staff and encourage internal mobility?
Talent marketing, like charity, begins at home.
Six: How Do You Take It All Online?
Here's a sobering thought: 95 percent of all job seekers' first experience with a company comes from a visit to the career section of the firm's website. So, before that candidate even walks through the door, he's already met you. He's already formed his first impressions about who you are and what you stand for.
We've written a short article about building a career site. But, just remember this: you're not building a website, you're shaping a candidate's experience. How he or she feels about you and your company is the result of how you present yourself online, how you talk, how you organize yourself, what tools you provide, what information you offer, and how well or how poorly you treat visitors.
Do it right and you're off to a great start. Do it wrong, and some candidates may not even make it to your door.
The Tough Part
If you're setting out to build a career brand, these are the six questions you should be asking. Of course, we realize that asking the questions is the easy part. Answering them -- now that's going to be tough.
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