Cheezhead Recruiting News and Opinion

Most marketers know who Seth Godin is. A former Yahoo! exec, he’s a top author on topics such as new media marketing and the Internet. And he’s released an e-book I thought had a lot of relevancy to the HR industry and online recruitment.

In it, Godin says, "A Web site must do at least one of two things, but probably both: 1) Turn a stranger into a friend, and a friend into a customer, and 2) Talk in a tone of voice that persuades people to believe the story you’re telling.

Now think about how this pertains to Internet recruiting and corporate Web sites.

How many employers’ sites out there  "turn a stranger into a friend"? Hardly enough. The large percentage of online resumes submitted to companies fall into an abysmal black hole never to be seen or heard from again.

Companies need to do better.

And I’m not talking about an automatic response Thank You e-mail. That’s not turning a stranger into a friend. Every resume submitted to your company is a real person. Someone who deserves respect.

How about a streaming video from the company head of HR or CEO thanking candidates for visiting and submitting a resume? Instead of an automatic response (or no response at all), how about a quarterly newsletter that keeps candidates in the loop about the company and what’s going on?

Let’s connect a little bit. It’s not that scary, is it?

Like it or not, your corporate Web site is the face of your company. Just supplying job listings isn’t good enough anymore. Automated responses aren’t good enough anymore.

Plus, keep in mind that people have memories. They remember how they were treated by companies, fairly or not. They make buying decisions down the road based on their experience. They talk to others.

Candidates are your customers. And the employment section of every company Web site is at the forefront of this process.

I challenge anyone reading this to submit company Web sites that effectively "turn a stranger into a friend."

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