This is a story of how one recruiter came to use narrative to attract more candidates and fill more positions. This is how storytelling can be used as an effective recruitment strategy.

Meet Bob Finder

Once upon a time, there was a recruiter, named Bob Finder, who was new to the industry. He never actually wanted to be a recruiter. Like so many before him, he had studied something completely different at university, unaware that you could be paid to hire others. His dream was to become a writer, which is why he had taken a literature course and some psychology classes after school. When he received his degree, he started searching for a job. Finally, he started working for a small company, which sold recruitment media. His job was to write the blog and any other company content.

He spent countless hours researching recruitment trends and recruitment media to write his articles. Through the social media channels, Bob discussed the future of work and the job market. He met content writers like himself, as well as recruiters and hiring managers. One thing led to another, as they usually do in life, and he found himself considering a career in recruitment more and more. “You should come down to my firm”, his friend James said, “they’re always looking for fresh blood and I could put in a good word for you”.

The process didn’t take long: Bob was invited to an interview, questioned about his past experience and taken onboard for a trial period. This brings back to the beginning of this story, when Bob was still in his trial period. He had another month to go and it wasn’t looking good. So that’s how Bob Finder came to be a recruiter.

See how Bob used storytelling

With only a month left to prove that he had what it took to be a recruiter, Bob was struggling to fill a particularly tough position:

Data Scientist

Lyon

01/06/2019

Aktor Interactive is a consulting agency in media recruitment and HR communication. To develop our expertise and improve our data collection, we are looking for a data scientist…

This was it for Bob. If he didn’t find the right candidate for this job, he would lose his own. If that wasn’t stressful enough, Bob was dealing with a number of personal issues too. He was behind on his rent, he owed money to his friends, he was avoiding his family (he owed them money too) and his cat Timtim had just passed away.

Even though he wasn’t one to wallow, life was getting him down. “If only there was a way to let candidates know just how important this assignment is to me”, Bob thought. “Maybe if they knew my situation, they would consider the job offer more seriously. Maybe they’d open my InMail or visit the company website. I need them to care… How do I make them care?”.

All of a sudden, it hit him. That was it! He needed a more personal approach. Candidates would show more of an interest in the position if he made them realise how important it was for the company. If they knew about the history of the company, they might find the story relatable or inspiring! Bob needed to tell the story of Aktor Interactive.

Bob researched the company, looking though “About Us” pages, LinkedIn profiles and online interviews. He discovered witty employees, an interesting backstory and an optimistic future. As a literature major, storytelling came naturally to him, so it wasn’t difficult to transform the job offers into job dreams.

His message was inspiring. Candidates were no longer applying to a simple Data Scientist job; they were offering their services to shape the future of employment. Without them, the entire recruitment industry could fail. “If you choose to accept this mission, the fate of recruitment media rests on your shoulders”.

Thanks to his own expertise, he knew exactly where to post the job description and how to share it on social media. Would the storytelling strategy work? He didn’t have long to wonder before applications started coming in. Data experts from all over the world wanted to learn more about working for Aktor Interactive; they wanted to meet their future colleagues; they asked about Lyon and living in France. Bob Finder had done it! He had found a way to attract interesting candidates.

Be like Bob

Bob went on to become a successful recruiter. Everyone in the industry knows Bob Finder. His storytelling techniques are used by many, and he teaches his team to use narrative to create a bond between the candidate and the agency, or the candidate and the company. Multimedia and text are used to build a brand, which candidates relate to and respect.

Human beings are designed to share stories and they have been doing it for centuries. So be like Bob: find the narrative for your company or agency and tell it to the world. Let candidates hear your story, much like the one we have shared with you today.

PS: It turns out Timtim was just sleeping.

Author: Ali Neill

As the job board tester and blog editor for the Jobboard Finder, Ali works on job boards from all around the world and keeps a close eye on the recruitment trends thanks to a number of sources, including the website’s social media pages.

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