5 Ways to Sell Your Job to Top Candidates

Does paying more automatically make a company more attractive to a potential employee? Not according to Daniel Pink, whose seminal work Drive (Pink, Daniel H., Drive (2009), The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Riverhead Books New York, New York) argues that motivation is largely intrinsic, highlighting the importance of autonomy, mastery and purpose in driving higher performance and satisfaction. While higher pay and bonuses may work for tasks that are mechanical and process-driven, the opposite is true for work that demands creativity, cognitive skills and higher-order thinking – that is, skills that are most in-demand today.

With the caveat that an organisation pays an employee a fair living wage, these three aspects are more likely to ensure an individual continues to contribute strongly to a company’s well-being in the long run. Above and beyond that, they are also powerful triggers for a jobseeker to check out a particular company. So if you’re looking to attract great talent to your organisation, you may want to include one or more of these aspects when you pitch your vision to them.

Yes, it’s not just potential candidates who should be ready to “sell” their capabilities and track record to companies; savvy employees know that creating and emphasising the uniqueness of their brands gives them an edge in acquiring higher-value talent.

Start by asking a few simple yet crucial questions:

1. “Why would top candidates want this job?”

Remember, it’s not about the money and perks, especially if you’re up against companies with bigger budgets and more comprehensive incentives. You may want to focus on fulfilment, empowerment and impact instead.

2. “What are the wider prospects for the position?”

Maybe the candidate will have complete autonomy to create something revolutionary, or learn from the top minds in a particular field of interest. It’s not just about the job now, but what it can evolve into in the future.

3. “What major initiatives will the person be involved in?”

This is particularly important, as it sets a context for the potential candidate on what they will actually be working on, and what they will be able to contribute. Driven, passionate individuals need a real, tangible mission or cause to identify with; what’s yours?

4. “Why is it better than competing jobs?”

As mentioned before, it’s not just dollars and cents, even though fair remunerations and benefits do matter. It’s more likely that factors such as direct access to top decision-makers, a flat hierarchy, time flexibility and other lifestyle considerations that have emerged in line with the remote economy will be the real clinchers.

5. “What will the person learn, do and become?”

At the end of the day, it’s not just about the job; potential candidates also want to know about how they will evolve as people, what their expansion opportunities are, and how they fit in the future of the company – essentially their part in your vision.

We understand that visioning is a complex exercise, and one that has more to do with people than positions. That’s why KABEL, a cutting-edge human-centric job-matching platform, comes with a simple guided process for hirers to craft an authentic vision that can be personalised to specific positions. You can try this out, along with other powerful people-driven recruitment tools, by downloading KABEL here.