Using Radio for Recruitment

My friend Ian loves his job. He is good at it. He’s dedicated. He’s also very happy in his current position. Ian does not look at the recruitment pages on the internet or in the papers. Why would he? He’s not looking for a job. But one day he heard a radio commercial. The radio commercial was a recruitment ad for a rival company. They were looking for people just like him… and were offering some better conditions than his current employers and a chance to progress. For him it wasn’t about the pay, it was about the opportunity to develop his career. He was not looking to move…. but he was given a good reason to rethink.

For recruitment, radio reaches people who are not necessarily wanting to change jobs, but would move if they were given a good reason. Frankly, most of the people who scour the recruitment pages of newspapers or website are people who are either dissatisfied and de-motivated in their current position, about to leave their current job for whatever reason, or are not yet qualified job seekers that will apply for any job in the hope they can bluff their way through the interview. Radio will work well with your newspaper and web recruitment ads… they can give all the details and the application process… radio will reach people who are happy and motivated. These are much more desirable staff.

There are a few things to remember with recruitment advertising on the radio. Just like a product ad campaign, think clearly about how you want people to respond. Concentrate on 1 point of contact… if it’s to email a CV make sure it’s a “Radio Friendly” email address. Give the listener a really good reason to respond. With radio it’s worth spending a bit of time to ensure you only get the right kind of applicants. It’s better to have 6 applications qualified for a position, than 100 with only 1 suitable candidate. Don’t try to sell the whole job in your radio ad…. leave a bit of space and curiosity.

Also, you need to sound like someone who people want to work for. Formal language announcements on radio may have been fine 30 years ago, now you need to speak to people in a language they respond to. Don't try to make a job sound "important" by using language no one uses. Talk to the individual you are trying to recruit.

Radio recruitment advertising is very powerful.

If you want to talk to me about putting a radio recruitment campaign together, give me a shout!

simon@(remove)molamolacreative.com

www.molamolacreative.com