How Do You Incorporate Storytelling Into Your Recruitment Process?
Recruitment Interviews
How Do You Incorporate Storytelling Into Your Recruitment Process?
Weaving stories into the recruitment process can profoundly impact a candidate's experience, so we've gathered insights from top HR professionals and recruiters. From sharing real-life employee growth stories to involving the team in multi-level recruitment, discover how five experts, including a Recruitment Team Lead and an HR Manager, use storytelling to attract top talent.
- Share Real-Life Employee Growth Stories
- Highlight Company's Family-Oriented History
- Build Credibility Through Personal Career Stories
- Offer Unique Company Experience Anecdotes
- Involve Team in Multi-Level Recruitment
Share Real-Life Employee Growth Stories
We incorporate storytelling into our recruitment by sharing real-life success stories from current employees during interviews and on our careers page. These stories highlight career growth, team culture, and impactful projects.
For example, we featured a story about a junior technician who progressed to a senior project manager role. This narrative showcased our commitment to career development and a supportive work environment. Candidates found this story relatable and inspiring, leading to increased interest and a higher acceptance rate of job offers. This approach has made our recruitment process more engaging and memorable.
Highlight Company's Family-Oriented History
I always include a bit of our history in the interview at the beginning. I talk about how our owner started this business in his garage with him and his wife as the only employees. Then I move on to the fact that we are now run by the second generation, 45 years later, and have grown the garage business into a multi-million-dollar company that still has very much a family feel. I also make sure that the applicant knows that all three of the children who now run the business are in here each and every day, working 40+ hours per week.
I think that this dedication of the family shows how much the family wants this company to be best in class and still retain that family feel with the employees. Most applicants are impressed that the owners are actually 'working' team members.
Build Credibility Through Personal Career Stories
As a veteran recruiter in the advertising/marketing niche, I take great pride in building longstanding relationships with my clients and candidates. The surest way to do so is with credibility. For such a huge global industry, advertising/marketing is quite small. Anyone can be vetted out very quickly. Therefore, it's vital to keep a clean reputation. Integrity, ethics, and confidentiality are of paramount importance.
When I'm first getting acquainted with someone, I want them to feel comfortable working with me. I break the ice by telling them about my career in Client Services before becoming a recruiter. They appreciate knowing that I have been in their shoes. I also share references of others I have previously recruited for.
I encourage them to talk with other recruiters and ask them to compare me to my competition. I am confident that my passion and knowledge will shine.
Offer Unique Company Experience Anecdotes
To attract top talent, highlight the unique experiences your company offers that candidates won't find elsewhere, such as a sabbatical after five years of service or the opportunity to participate in company-sponsored mission trips.
A company I used to work for selected around 10 people each year to travel to an international location and work with an underserved population for a short time. Vietnam and Nepal were two of the spots, and stories of these trips were shared with candidates. They loved the idea of the potential opportunity.
Involve Team in Multi-Level Recruitment
Even as a CEO, I'm heavily involved in our company's recruitment process. Sifting through many unique talents is challenging, but a multi-level approach is a successful strategy we've incorporated into our hiring process. It's not just the HR or me, the CEO, who talks with candidates, but we also incorporate other team members in meeting the candidates to see how well they'll blend into the company culture and build rapport with their potential teammates.
By getting multiple perspectives about a candidate from existing team members, we narrow down who best fits the role and the corporate environment we're trying to foster. We also allow each member to share their own work stories with the interviewee as we see fit, letting them know what they're in for should they join the team. So far, we've been able to create a pool of talents with amazing work relationships who share the same vision and business mindset, all while immersing perfectly into our work culture.
