Attracting Talent: Bridging Recruitment & Marketing

Amidst the growing competition of job boards, social networks, recruitment as a mechanism of business holds strong in the market. It continues to grow and offer a vital channel to source the best talent to support the demands of its profession. Tulip Canada recruits educators to teach at accredited and reputable education institutions around the world. Qualified and talented candidates from each corner of the global have landed at our red door and cyberspace wall as they explore new teaching adventures. My teaching adventure began after a two-decade career in public relations where brand, image and partnerships brought change, transition, support and service in policy and programs. Sharing lessons and experience on foreign lands; coaching candidates for the transitions in living and work environments; and lastly, providing insight into education management for enhanced efficiencies brings both personal and professional contentment. Knowledge Today’s advantage begins with knowledge. The best recruiters will have the pulse of their niche markets and can give the hiring team insight in to what is happening. They should know the available talent, where they are and how to reach out to them, salary rates, career expectations, available skill-sets and current hiring complexities. The best recruiters will act as partners and collaborators, sharing best practices in transitions, trends, retention and effective program management. Connection & Outreach Sometimes it is difficult to find the ideal candidate. Massive application process does offer long-term success. The relationship is key. It should last longer than a service bonus or year’s contract both to strength the continuity of service as well as enhance brand and image. Some candidates are hard to find. These candidates could be passive or they may be very selective. They may not be responding to job advertisements or they do not see themselves as part of ‘talent pool’. Even if they are not currently active, there is a strong chance a good recruiter will know who they are and how to reach them particularly when a new adventure may arise and may peak their curiosity. Knowing a candidate’s goals is as important as knowing the business goals. Relationship building is about fostering networks, and connections – recruiter, candidate, client or collaborator has the potential to leverage their networks to help make the connection with people with a range of qualifications, skills and experiences -- many of who would be off the radar of an in-house hiring team. Candidates not Applicants Find the candidate and not an applicant. The success of a candidate is dependent on the time invested to communicate with them. A lot of these applicants may not be good matches for the role, which means a lot of time will be invested in filtering and assessing them. A bad candidate experience tends to be the applicant experience of promoting to the masses rather than the specialized markets. Tulip Canada finds the experienced educator and makes the investment with its candidates and fosters relationships to support coaching and career planning. The firm stands by its education partners as an employer of choice with respect and integrity. Using a recruitment agency should mean a pool of ideal candidates - job seekers who have been pre-selected to match all the criteria and are worthy of consideration and interview. Enhance Brand Large companies invest a lot of time and money in developing and marketing their employer brand, however many small businesses have limited resources. If you chose your agency wisely then they can give potential candidates a real insight in to your business - what it's like to work there, benefits and career openings available, and a feel for the culture. Promotion as an employer or choice has its benefits. If a candidate checks your business out on social media then a fully briefed recruitment partner should be able to help clarify any points that may arise and help attract talent to their door. Access to Strategic Skills Today with talent shortages, it is a growing trend to bridge talent with networks. While reasons offered may refer to permanent recruitments, many will also offer the opportunity to bring qualified, seasoned support at short notice. Flexibility is crucial for long term planning. The use of recruitment agency is to identify key strategic skills in a competitive, fast pace environment both secularly, as well as in the broader education community. Skills and experience are vital as is the personality, and acceptance of life change or a world explorer as it is to explore education foundations where respect, value, and collaboration are part of the program. Budget/Resource There are time constraints to performing an extensive search. It it is often easier for in-house hiring teams to interview from an agency shortlist. There is little doubt that a hard-pressed human resources or in-house hiring team can benefit from the reach and networks of a trusted agency partner. The use of recruitment agencies vary. For many it's the temporary staffing service, or the more recent managed workforce facility that many larger companies are favouring as a way to monitor staffing costs. For some it may be a short term need and for others they may offer a major route to market to access the strong talent that they would otherwise miss out on. Let us know your reasons to use an agent for your teaching adventures or recruitment needs. Lori Ann Comeau is a career coach for the education profession, Founder and President of Tulip Canada Inc., encouraging adventures to teach, learn and explore while fostering Canadian connections to support the education programs across the world.