What you want is your very own Mary Poppins – an employee who has a special mix of talent, character and experience, and brings out the best in everyone around them. Someone who can bring order to the mess with a snap of their fingers, and shake-up outdated processes with a sweetly sung lullaby. These rare, yet marvellous, employees don’t usually come with distinctive talking umbrellas and daisy-blossomed hats, and so finding one can prove quite difficult.

So, what did it take to lure a gem like Mary Poppins to Cherry Tree Lane, and how can you replicate the magic for your own difficult to fill roles?

Why, with an excellent job advertisement of course!

If you remember, there were actually two advertisements written: one by Mr. Banks, and one by the children, Jane and Michael. I’m going to dissect both advertisements to show you why imitating Mr. Banks’ method (like sadly so many modern job ads do) won’t help you attract a Mary Poppins, while Jane and Michaels’ method will.

Let’s start with the headline

Required: Firm, respectable, no nonsense.

Have you noticed the first mistake of Mr. Banks’ advertisement yet?

His headline gives no indication as to what the role he’s advertising for actually is. ‘Firm, respectable and no nonsense’ are great traits to be hiring for, but at first glance, he could as easily be looking for a lawyer as he is a Nanny.

Jane and Michael on the other hand, open with:

Wanted: A Nanny for two adorable children

Not only have they put the role title right there in the headline, but they’ve also included some extra information (two children), and even put a little extra oomph by adding a strong descriptor in there as well (adorable).

The hook

A British Nanny must be a general,

The future empire lies within her hands.

And so, the person that we need, to mould the breed,

Is a nanny who can give commands.

Well, at least Mr. Banks has mentioned the role title now. He’s even given the role a sense of impact and purpose, although ‘the breed’ is a pretty cringe-worthy word choice, revealing a lot about his values around children. And ignoring the blatant use of gender-biased pronouns, there is still one more error he’s made here. He’s addressing the ether. He refers to ‘the person that we need’, which might not be as bad as ‘the incumbent’ or ‘successful applicant’, but it still could be better. Something more like Jane and Michael perhaps:

If you want this choice position…

Their entire ad speaks directly to the person they’re looking for and offers a much stronger emotional connection to motivate the reader’s confidence to read on.

The candidate requirements

A British bank, is run with precision,

A British home requires nothing less.

Tradition, discipline and rules must be the tools…

He really loves to mix the metaphors, doesn’t he? Is he looking for a General, a Bank Manager or a Nanny? This aside, I will applaud his succinct list of candidate requirements (Jane and Michael do let themselves down with no less than 15 requirements in their ad). However, I question how he came up with his list? It’s barely 17 minutes into the movie when he writes his advertisement, and already Mr. Banks has shown himself to be quite the distant father-figure. While he cites ‘insight and balanced judgement’ as necessary qualities in a recruiter, he seems to lack any genuine insight into what his children really need from a Nanny.

Someone with true, balanced judgement would have more gladly sought the feedback from those working closest to the role he was writing the ad for (rather than ripping up their letter). Jane and Michael on the other hand are probably going a bit far, insisting on sweets and treats and an absence of warts. But they also provide clarity by listing specific activities the role will involve:

Play games, all sort… Take us on outings… sing songs.

The employee benefits

Without them, disorder, catastrophe, anarchy,

In short, you have a ghastly mess!

Rather than sweetening the offer with some perks of the job, Mr. Banks finishes with what could be interpreted as either exaggerated fear-mongering or a thinly veiled threat. I think we can all agree this is a less than ideal closing argument.

Jane and Michael do however list some employee benefits, albeit in an interesting and humorous way. I can’t say I’ve read many job ads listing the things they don’t offer, but they are memorable and appealing through their personality and authenticity.

We will never give you cause to hate us.

We won’t hide your spectacles so you can’t see,

Put toads in your bed or pepper in your tea.

The call to action

…

The problem here is Mr. Banks offers no call to action at all. Jane and Michael however close with:

Hurry Nanny! Many thanks. Sincerely, Jane and Michael Banks.

Ok, it’s still not very explicit on what the applicant needs to do next. But they do provide their names. No applicant likes writing ‘to whom it may concern’ and despite claims otherwise, even with the internet and social media, it’s not always easy to find the correct name to address a cover letter and resume to. Offering a name is offering an extra step of human connection to attract top-quality talent, making their path to you as clear and simple as possible.

The truth of the matter is we will nearly always need these Mary Poppins employees so much more than they need us. So, if we want to attract these talented people, we need to offer something worthy of their attention… something supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The post How to hire your very own Mary Poppins appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Known most notably for his fantastical creatures with fanciful names that featured throughout his fabulous rhymes, Dr. Seuss (aka Theodore Geisel) was also a political cartoonist, screenwriter, painter, sculptor and illustrator for several advertising campaigns. He won many awards for his various literary and entertainment projects, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1984. But to my knowledge and research, he never appeared to have written any job advertisements.

While this may not seem all that surprising to you – to me it seems a shame, because he had such a mastery of persuasive language. I’m sure he would have had candidates ‘off to Great Places’ with the same gusto that he’s had children reaching for his books for over 80 years.

“… be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places! Today is your day!”

He persuaded children to try new things, to use their imaginations and to aspire for greatness. And aren’t these the same motivations we should want to inspire in our candidates in our job ad copy to get them to click that all-important ‘Apply Now’ button?

“Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.”

So, if you want to write job ads that consistently persuade candidates to make up their minds, here are the 5 Dr. Seuss inspired tips you will need to succeed.

1. Don’t be sloppy – write rhyming copy

“Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You’re off to Great Places!

You’re off and away!”

It’s one of the most engaging and memorable qualities of any Dr. Seuss tale, that comic and lyrical anapestic tetrameter that introduced us to a Cat in a Hat, a Fox in Sock, and Sam and his Green Eggs and Ham.

I’m not saying your whole job ad has to be written in verse, but why not open the copy with an engaging rhyme?

Known as the Rhyme-as-Reason Effect, it’s been shown that when just two words or phrases within a statement rhyme, people are more likely to remember it, and they’ll find it more likeable, trustworthy and persuasive.

2. Repetition, repetition, repetition

“You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

Here Dr. Seuss repeats ‘you’ in a way to add poetic effect to the prose. He also goes on to repeat the themes of ‘brains’ and ‘feet’ across several of the first few pages of the story. Reinforcing the importance of not only your intelligence but of your actions for reaching great achievements.

Repeating keywords or phrases makes key themes and arguments more memorable to your audience.

Studies have found that the more an audience hears a message, the more likely they are to believe it is true. But before you get all copy-paste happy, this repetition is only effective when people are paying less attention. So, a bullet point list of role requirements that repeats the same thing over and over won’t be convincing anyone. Instead, use repetition throughout the copy to reinforce the impact the role will have within the team, organisation, or greater community.

3. Personalise your copy

“You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

Dr. Seuss commonly wrote his stories as direct conversations with his readers, using the second-person address to great effect to draw his readers into the stories – even making them the leading character like in the above.

Ditch phrases like ‘the successful applicant’ or ‘the incumbent’, this third-person phrasing creates a distance between you and the reader, making the role you are describing feel like it’s for someone else and unattainable.

By using phrases like ‘you will…’ or ‘your role will…’  you can build a more optimistic and intimate relationship between you and your candidates, allowing them to more clearly see themselves in the role. Another tip is to mention ‘you’ (candidate) at least as often (if not more) than you mention we/us (the employer).

4. Write in plain English

“You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace…”

Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard this tip before. But as we now know, repetition will make it all the truer.

Dr. Seuss actually wrote The Cat in the Hat as a challenge to create a story using only a list of 225 words that first-graders should be able to recognize. Green Eggs and Ham used less than fifty of these easily recognizable words. The lesson here is how successful plain English can be.

Research shows that even highly literate readers prefer plain English because it allows them to understand information as quickly as possible. And the more specialist their knowledge, the greater the preference for plain English. So, no matter how technical the role you are advertising is, using plain English will give you a greater chance that the most qualified candidates will get through your ad and want to apply.

5. Be a little bizarre

“And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and ¾ per cent guaranteed.)”

Reading about fantastical creatures like the Whos, and bizarre notions like Green Eggs and Ham are all part of the magic of any Dr. Seuss story, but he also used simple surprises like the above to delight his readers – I mean where else would you read about a 98 and ¾ per cent guarantee?

The bizarreness effect refers to our tendency to more easily remember information that is strange, unusual, or “bizarre” over mundane facts and figures.

Using noticeably different words to stand out among the more common phrasing used throughout all job ads will make yours more memorable. You don’t necessarily need to start making up wacky job titles – but try stretching your thesaurus skills to find stronger verbs and more unusual and evocative descriptions of the role.

Dr. Seuss inspired everyone from six-year-olds to NASA spacecraft engineers and left behind a gigantic legacy of genius and imagination. And while job ads might not be at the top of this legacy, (or even anywhere in the middle) some simple elements of his genius can be applied to help you write more persuasive and memorable job ads – 98 and ¾ per cent guaranteed!

The post How Dr. Seuss can help you write more persuasive job ads appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

See, Shakespeare had a knack for understanding what makes people tick. His greatest achievements weren’t necessarily the plot lines, but the unique and dynamic characters he created – their personalities, their strengths, their weaknesses, their desires, their motivations.  These characters have endured through four centuries, they’re continually reincarnated on stage and screen, they’ve been translated into every major living language and have made Shakespeare the most widely regarded writer of the English language.

Can your employer brand claim the same?

When you think about it, what is your employer brand but your organisation’s personality? It’s what makes you different from every other company in the market – the accumulated sum of strengths, goals and motivations of every employee past and present and most importantly the promise of fulfilled desires to your future employees.

So how can you create an employer brand as powerful, influential and enduring as the characters that fill Shakespeare’s plays?

Courtesy of the genius words of The Bard himself, here are 7 tips and insights to ensure your employer brand stands out – no matter what stage it plays its part on.

1. Does your employer brand have purpose?

“… that glib and oily art; To speak and purpose not…” – King Lear

Purpose is the reason your company was founded, boiled down to a single sentence (or two), it’s the ‘why’ Simon Sinek talks about when we discuss what makes us do what we do, or work where we work.

“It is the purpose that makes strong the vow” – Troilus and Cressida

To paraphrase Cassandra, when the purpose behind your company is strong and clear, so too will be the commitment, engagement and output of your employees.

“To business that we love we rise betime, and go to ‘t with delight” – Antony and Cleopatra

2. What are the unique policies, programs, rewards and benefits that your company offers?

“Oh, how full of briers is this working day world!” – As You Like It

If you didn’t know, a ‘brier’ is a fancy way to describe a shrub full of thorns. And Rosalind isn’t wrong – sometimes our jobs do feel like wading through a thicket of thorns. But that’s not what we want to advertise to potential employees, is it?

“Thus did I keep my person fresh and new.” – Henry IV

Use your employer brand to highlight those fresh and new roses amongst the thorns. Changing jobs can be one of the most stressful things we go through in our life, up there with signing a mortgage and planning a wedding. If you want to attract high-quality talent, and entice them to believe your company is worth the stress of change, shine a light on all the things, big and small, that makes working at your company different from every other brier bush.

“How far that little candle throws his beams.” – The Merchant of Venice

3. Your employer brand needs to be authentic

“Lilies that fester, smell far worse than weeds.” – Sonnet 94

There’s no point selling something to potential future employees that the company isn’t actually delivering. There’s no point selling a story that won’t match the testimonials and reviews of current and ex-employees. The contradiction will only ‘fester’ on the reputation of your employer brand.

“An honest tale speeds best being plainly told” – Richard III

Top talent often comes equipped with a healthy dose of intelligence and insight – that’s usually exactly why we want to hire them— and when presented with a fake and phoney sales pitch for your company, that same insight can create scepticism against you. Turns out too, that sharing the good and the bad actually has positive effects on how your employer brand is perceived.

“This above all – to thine own self be true…” – Hamlet

4. Show them your employer brand – don’t just tell them

“If to do were as easy to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches,
and poor men’s cottages princes’ palaces…” – Merchant of Venice

The best way to keep your employer brand authentic is to let your actions speak for themselves. Why waste copy telling people how important your employees are to your business, when you can share a video that shows how much you value them.

“…for in such business action is eloquence,
and the eyes of th’ ignorant more learned than the ears…” – Coriolanus 

Voluminia here agrees that people will far better believe what they see of your employer brand, than simply what they hear.

“Be great in act as you have been in thought.” – King John

5. Your employer brand is ever-changing, adapting and evolving

“O this learning, what a thing it is!” – The Taming of the Shrew 

Just like the personality of a person evolves and changes from childhood, through to adolescence and adulthood, so too should the personality or employer brand of your company. So don’t expect the same branding to apply from when you were just founded through the years as the number and motivations of your employees grow and change.

“Wise men ne’er sit and wail their loss, but cheerily seek now to redress their harms.” – Henry VI

And if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s how important adaptability to circumstance is within an organisation. While a strong employer brand should be as applicable and consist through challenging times as it is times of prosperity, if flaws do start to pop up under the strain, they should be clearly and openly addressed with employees.

“…happy are they that hear their detractions and can put them to mending.” – Much Ado About Nothing 

6. Consistency is key for a strong employer brand

“Take but degree away, untune that string, and hark what discord follows!” – Troilus and Cressida

Imagine, as Ulysses describes, the sound of a guitar with just one string out of tune – not great is it? This is the lesson of consistency. Except in our example, the strings of the guitar are the potential platforms you can share your employer brand across, and the resulting sound is the candidate experience. Your employer brand needs to be clear, prominent and consistent across all platforms otherwise your experience is going to be discordant and just… not great.

“’Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but to support him after…” – Timon of Athens

Ok, I’m stretching this one a little to fit my purpose I’ll admit, but there’s something to be said for consistency not just across platforms, but within them as well. Your company and employer brand don’t need to be on every possible social media platform, if you don’t mean to continue with them beyond the first few posts.

“…superfluous branches we lop away, that bearing branches may live.” – Richard II

7. Your employees are the best advocates of your employer brand

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother…
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here…” – Henry V

While King Henry is talking about the glory his army will attain for fighting with him, his speech echoes the same sense of culture and family that can be created between colleagues, and how enviable that feeling can be to those that don’t have it. If this type of ‘band of brothers [and sisters]’ culture thrives in your company – make sure it’s front and centre in your employer brand.

“In them I trust, for they are the soldiers. Witty, courteous, liberal, full of spirit.” – Henry VI

Your employer brand is supposed to reflect the shared work culture of ALL your employees, not just HR or marketing. So why not get everyone involved in sharing content? You no doubt hired them for their ‘witty, courteous spirit’, so trust in these qualities and let them share their pride for their workplace too.

“…many strokes, though with a little axe, hews down and fells the hardest-timbered oak.” – Henry V

Shakespeare’s legacy persists precisely because his characters remain relatable and timeless despite changing contexts and time periods. His perspective on human nature offers inspiration and guidance on the course to ambition, success, failure, courage, and yes even employer branding.

“Are these things then necessities? Then let us meet them like necessities.” – Henry IV

The post 7 Employer branding tips Shakespeare can teach us appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Office managers and CEOs around the country are receiving increasing numbers of applications to allow pets into the workplace. And with the findings of the latest Job Seeker Study revealing that workplace culture is still very important to more than a third of employees, employers need to be taking notice of the growing body of research into the ways allowing dogs into the workplace can benefit productivity and healthy, positive office culture.

What skills can they bring to your workplace?

“I believe my non-verbal communication skills, friendly and approachable demeanour, and ability to really listen and empathise with people will make me an excellent asset to your team…”– Bella’s cover letter reads. 

Despite the wet tongue lolling out of her mouth, Bella’s profile image brings out her warm and intelligent eyes.

Although the trend of bringing pets to work seems may seem like a fad, dogs have been working side-by-side with humans for thousands of years. Canines have undeniable skills in outdoor occupations such as shepherding or hunting, and their instincts for detection have been utilised for uncovering drugs, explosives, cancer, epilepsy, and even forensic tracking. Dogs are capable of learning new skills, of conveying information, and like humans they possess individual personalities and temperaments. So how can these skills transfer to your workplace?

What other factors do you need to take into consideration?

Much like making any new hire, there are many factors to bear in mind when bringing a dog into the workplace.

Research conducted by the Animal Behaviour, Cognition and Welfare Group of the University of Lincoln, identified not only the size and breed of the dog as important factors to consider, but that the size and type of your organisation also play significant roles in the success of bringing a dog into your workplace.

But while not-for-profit organisations were more likely to have employees bringing their dogs to work than educational organisations, all employees who brought their dog to work often had higher rates of vigour, dedication and engagement at work than those who brought their dogs only sometimes or never.

“I have obtained training certificates in obedience, and hold myself to exemplary hygiene and behavioural standards for which the provided references below will attest.” – Bella’s cover letter continues. 

But there’s a glitch. As your eyes flick down to see the details for a puppy preschool completion certificate, you also note the lack of accreditation as an Assistance Animal.

Certain pets with Assistance Animal certifications are required by the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 to be reasonably considered within a workplace when requested by an employee with a physical or mental disability. However, even those of sound body and mind can reap the benefits from the unconditional love and companionship of an animal.

The Emotional Support Co is a team of specialists that advocate the physical and mental benefits of emotional support animals such as lower levels of stress, increased activity and reduced blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Further experimental studies detailed last year in the Journal of Human Relations found that the presence of dogs within a group has a positive effect on the positive emotions and prosocial behaviours of the group, even increasing creativity and the effectiveness of collaboration.

However, while their benefits are undeniable, emotional support animals are not recognised to be carrying out any specific tasks to assist their owners, and as such are not protected by Australian Law in the way an Assistance Animals are. This means the decision to allow Miss Bella into your organisation lays completely in the hands of your organisation’s leadership team.

While the possible health and safety implications of any employees with allergies or phobias need to be considered, so too must the potential improvements to employee engagement, productivity and retention.

Like any potential hire, there needs to be a consideration for not only workplace culture-fit, but culture-add, and Miss Bella may just be the good girl your organisation needs.

Jacynta Clayton puts her degrees in psychology and professional writing to good use at Lightbox Communications, Brisbane. As the Content & Projects Co-ordinator, she helps give organisations a resounding voice to their recruitment marketing and employer branding content.

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