I’ve talked in this entry and this one about how employers are increasingly telling the story of what it’s like to work in their organizations. Video is frequently the medium deployed.
Recruiting guru Dr. John Sullivan recently talked about The Power of Stories for Employment Branding and Referrals, asserting that:
No recruiting ad, brochure, website, or recruiter pitch can have the same power and effectiveness as current employees telling powerful stories about what it’s like to work at their firms.
Observing that “employees need access to powerful stories about the firm in order to use them in attracting potential referral candidates,” but that “most companies have no book or central depository that contains a list of all the firm’s stories about their people and management practices,” Sullivan recommends making stories available “through a corporate or business unit ‘story inventory.'” He suggests a formalized process for gathering and distributing stories. Without that, he says, “you are limiting your ability to recruit and brand by letting 75 percent of your stories remain in limited distribution.”
Many of his 17 Steps to Make Your Branding Stories As Powerful as Possible (see extended entry) could also be flipped around and applied as personal branding stories for job-seekers.
17 Steps to Make Your Branding Stories As Powerful as Possible
- Comparison with Industry Average/Best in the Industry
- Comparison with Last Year’s Goals
- Quantifying Program Results
- Defining What is a Good and Bad Number
- Awards Received
- Degree of Participation
- Stories Involving Ordinary People
- Stories Involving Diverse People
- Demonstrating the Amount Spent or the Program Costs
- A Great Program Name
- Concern for the Environment
- Compelling Quotes
- Testimonials from Individuals
- Add a Video Clip
- Add a Picture
- Add a “Wow”
- Add a Web Link