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Through the first half of 2024, there’s been a further shift toward an employer-driven market. A few dynamics are driving this, most notably the stabilizing hiring rates and the evolving strategies in recruitment marketing messaging. This has created a more competitive job market for candidates vying for fewer openings.

Job seekers complain in groups on LinkedIn, Facebook and employment subreddits about “phantom job postings.” These are requisitions advertised by employers to pipeline talent rather than fill an actual vacant position.

This creates a challenge for all employers. For organizations hiring over 1,000 individuals, it presents opportunities in attracting skilled workers.

Key Trends Influencing the Job Market

1. Stabilizing Hiring Rates, Dropping Engagement Levels:

As previously noted, hiring rates have stabilized. There have been noticeable decelerations in hiring in the technology, information and media industries, which had seen over 11% growth in the last quarter of 2023.

This results in a more competitive job market for workers with fewer viable opportunities. However, this isn’t a “win” for employers. Employees are less satisfied with their employment, less engaged with their work, less connected to employer purpose and less likely to believe they are cared about as a person at work.

2. Employer-Driven Market:

Current market conditions favor employers, providing a broader selection of candidates per role. This increase can put strain on recruiting teams and screening processes. Some employers are solving this by not reviewing all applicants, instead conducting cursory reviews or “randomized sampling” of the overall applicant pool.

It’s a problematic practice, which can inadvertently introduce bias and discriminatory practices, loss of true diversity and put employers afoul of regulatory compliance in some cases—none of which are helpful to your employer brand.

3. Where We Work

Where we work continues to dominate employment conversations and considerations. Many job seekers refuse to return to the office full-time, despite Return-To-Office (RTO) mandates from employers either in a hybrid or full-time capacity.

Finding a balance between employer desire for the return to in-office culture with worker demands for continued flexibility will be a necessity for employers wanting to attract talented workers and retain their current talent.

4. Technology Advancements

Advancements in data analytics and deep machine learning / Artificial Intelligence (AI) are not only shifting the way we work, it’s also reshaping the job market. As more routine and repetitive tasks become automated, the demand for manual, clerical and lower-level knowledge jobs are declining.

By contrast, job opportunities in tech-driven jobs in data science, analytics, cybersecurity and machine learning are climbing.

Additionally, deep machine learning is impacting the talent acquisition landscape. An enhanced focus on data analytics have created the ability for employers to streamline talent acquisition processes while gaining deeper insights into prospective employee fit, projected productivity and more consistent engagement; all with an aim of creating more efficient recruitment processes yielding higher quality workers.

Aligning Recruitment Marketing Messaging to Candidate Motivations

To address these shifts and maximize engagement with prospective workers to optimize conversion, recruitment marketing needs to align with candidate internal motivations. This is best done utilizing positive psychology principles. Here’s how to do it:

1. High Achievement and Growth

Messaging: To capitalize on this value, highlight success stories of the organization and teams. Showcasing employee testimonials of individual employees talking about their successes and their career advancement and professional development programs supported by the company. Connect how learning and skills development help your team members inside and outside of the office.

Visuals: Use photographs and b-roll of employees receiving awards, recognition, team appreciation and training. Sharing video of first-person stories of growth and development will be compelling for this value set.

2. Create and Promote Flexibility

Messaging: Understanding how flexibility plays into the demand for remote work is key to creating effective recruitment marketing messaging. Communicate any flexibility in work schedules, remote or hybrid work options and opportunity for autonomy at work. The point is to illustrate trust in your people and opportunities for self-direction and empowerment.

Visuals: While many companies find sharing “remote work” in visuals to be difficult, this can be achieved relatively easily using an Employee-Generated Content (EGC) campaign. Encourage team members to take and share pictures of their individualized work environments, where they work and empowerment to ‘work their way’ as part of your team. Share how workers connect to each other, whether in an office or remotely, to engage in projects.

3. Convey Purpose and Impact

Messaging: Share the purpose and reason your people do what they do for your organization and the impact that work has for the company and others. Make sure you align skills with strengths and passions to attract new candidates aligned with your company mission as well as helps current employees experience peak engagement and productivity.

This alignment helps fosters a sense of fulfillment and internal motivation leading to “flow.” Flow is a psychological state people experience when they’re performing at their best, fully immersed and satisfied with the work they’re doing. It’s great from an individual perspective and at scale, leads to improved organizational performance.

Visuals: Use images and team member stories sharing what they see as the impact of their work on the company, their customers and the communities they serve. Remember: since people identify with people and not brands, keep an employee-first perspective whenever possible to maximize impact.

4. Foster Connection and Collaboration:

Messaging: People intrinsically yearn for connection with others. To maximize this value and motivate candidates to join your company, show how you build cohesion (how team members bond and work together) and help employees’ support each other to reach common goals. This involves time spent together, respect, a shared sense of purpose and mutual trust – the components of a harmonious and productive work environment where workers feel a desire to belong and motivated to contribute to company success.

• Visuals: To maximize the impact of this value, include images and videos of team-building events, working together on projects, celebrating outcomes and social outings. This is another area where the use of Employee-Generated Content (EGC) can be very valuable and compelling.

5. Emphasize Well-Being and Positive Emotions

Messaging: People do not live to work. We work to live, so showcase how being part of your company facilitates and enables life. Share how you promote life balance, mental health and a positive work environment. Share testimonials about how this is lived out in the work experience.

• Visuals: Share images of your people engaging in wellness programs at work, mental health initiatives, EGC of “mental health days,” vacations and PTO. Visual stories and snapshots of team members giving back or improving themselves (think more self-care than self-development) on paid company time can also be engaging for your audience.

Outcomes

Effectively aligning recruitment marketing messaging strategies with the internal motivations of team members and candidates leads to several positive outcomes. Firstly, there should be an increase in the quality and engagement of new hires, as candidates who resonate with the company’s values and culture are more likely to convert, succeed and remain committed. This alignment also reinforces and enhances the employer brand, making the company more attractive to desired talent.

Remember, “top talent” will always be in competitive demand, even when the market seemingly turns in the employer favor. Focusing on positive psychology principles can lead to improved employee well-being and satisfaction, which in turn boosts productivity and innovation.

Over time, this strategic alignment fosters a more cohesive and motivated workforce, reduces turnover rates and contributes to a more inclusive and supportive workplace environment.

Ultimately, organizations that prioritize these aspects will experience sustainable growth, a stronger reputation and a significant competitive edge in recruitment marketing, talent acquisition and retention.

Conclusion

In a market increasingly driven by employer preferences, the importance for organizations to connect with the internal motivations of candidates remains. By aligning recruitment marketing messaging strategies with values like achievement, flexibility, purpose, connection and well-being, employers can not only attract top talent but also ensure higher engagement and retention rates.

This approach will foster a more motivated, satisfied and productive workforce, ultimately driving organizational success.

What are your major “must-dos” to align your messaging to individual values – or do you? Let’s talk about it in the comments below.