Modern talent Branding: How to attract technical talent through video
4 mins, 42 secs read time
Technical talent: Two words we’re all too familiar with. But even with the familiarity, finding avenues to actively engage with them is still an uphill battle.
As it turns out, there are solutions and ways to get in front of technical talent through a different lens. In our latest Hiring Hacks webinar, How to Supercharge Your Talent Brand to Attract Technical Talent, Tarek Pertew, Co-Founder and CCO of Uncubed, an employer branding and sourcing platform, shares how much of an impact video makes in developing your employer brand and attracting tech talent to your company.
Read on to learn how you can utilize video to begin telling your company’s story—and gain more tech applicants because of it!
Be sure to check out our full Hiring Hacks webinar, "How to Supercharge your Talent Brand to Attract Technical Talent."
Make work more “human”
If you take a step back and look at companies that you aspire to be, it’s the people that really shape those companies. There’s a candid and transparent “human element” that makes them stand out from other companies.
As a recruiter, your goal is to bring in the best talent. What better way to attract that talent than by showcasing who you are on screen?
Tarek shares that millennials (ages 18-34) make up the largest workforce demographic and two-thirds of those millennials would rather watch a video than read text. Therefore, what better way to reach a candidate's attention than by a form of media they’re already consuming? Begin by showcasing your company culture, or if you want to get a little more granular, take one of your engineers and showcase the type of problems they’re solving for. Capturing a day in the life of your technical team will allow candidates to get more familiar with the work, be better informed around the role, and be more qualified when they decide to apply to your job post.
Tarek goes on to explain how companies that you wouldn’t necessarily associate with technology are telling their story to get in front of other engineers and developers.
You probably don’t think of engineers when you think of Rent the Runway, a fashion company, but in fact, the company is doing some pretty amazing things behind the scenes. Rent the Runway’s distribution center uses a robotic system that their engineers built, enabling it to be connected to users through the company’s mobile app.
Other organizations like Oscar, a healthcare insurance provider, showcases how they use Mesos and Aurora applications to support long-running services which keep their platform running smoothly (and their engineers happy). What better way than by having one of your own engineers literally speak the same language in a short clip. The level of intimacy you get through video is something you can’t compare with any other forms of media. It’s easily consumed and allows the viewer to imagine if that is the type of culture they want to be in and learn from.
Ready, set, action!
So, how do you go about putting a video like this together? Before hitting the record button, make sure you know your topic. Ask yourself, what are you hiring for? What do you want your company to be known for? What is your company amazing at? Starting thinking about these answers and then your story will begin to take shape.
As you begin setting up the stage, you’ll need to find the right person to tell this story. Choose someone at your company who is comfortable being on camera and remember, diverse teachers will attract more diverse candidates. Ask one of your engineers who doesn’t mind the bright lights and enjoys speaking at universities or other engagements.
Some other helpful video tips: Once you have your subject chosen, make sure they resist the urge to wear their favorite striped shirt or graphic tee, as the camera doesn’t respond well to busy patterns. Also, no glasses. (Who wants to see a glare anyways?!). Also, when recording, make sure you’re keeping the camera high and are shooting down on your subjects, as this is the most flattering angle.
This may sound like a lot to digest, but don’t worry, you don’t need to have a full production team coming into your office. You are more than capable of being the director for the day! You’ll just need a few things:
A microphone: This is something that Tarek definitely recommends investing in. What’s the point in filming if you can’t hear the story?
1-2 tripods: Having more than one tripod will allow you to film from a variety of angles and show more than one perspective on your subject, which makes the video more visually appealing.
Editing software: This will help you slice and dice the content, enabling you to only keep the truly compelling stuff. If you still end up having a longer video, no problem—just break it up and create a two-part series! Having two or more videos to promote will increase engagement.
Video is something that more companies are gravitating to. As you start to dive deeper into this sphere, make sure you’re asking yourself “Why?” and “What?”—Why does your company need to make this video today, and what are you looking to get out of it? Make sure you know the purpose.
Once the video is created and you’re promoting it on external channels, don’t forget to also share it internally with your own employees. Others will start to see the work and want to be involved in future videos or share the current one with their networks.
