When employee turnover is high and the job market is especially competitive, small businesses like yours may feel disadvantaged. However, a limited recruitment marketing budget or a one-person hiring team don't have to hold you back. Small businesses actually have several ways to stand out to job seekers, and larger companies often don't have what it takes to succeed on these particular fronts.
Here's how even the smallest business can stand out to job seekers.
Why small businesses have an advantage
Large companies have recognizable names, broad marketing techniques, popularized work cultures and more. You likely won't be able to compete with them in these ways — but if you manage your assets properly, you may not have to.
Small businesses have many unique advantages that bigger companies can't compete with. For example, a "mom-and-pop shop" may have a long history of engaging with and supporting the community, which, in turn, can inspire and encourage local applicants to send in their resumes. No huge brand-name reputation can compete with fond memories experienced firsthand, which is why small businesses often flourish by using community involvement to their advantage.
As a small business, you may also have unique challenges to overcome — like budgeting for the right balance of required and optional employee benefits, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Nonetheless, you may still be able to offer benefits that bigger companies can't match, especially those outside the financial realm (like growth opportunities or chances to support a local cause).
How to stand out in a bustling job market
Here are a few ways to make use of your small business' assets and stand out to job seekers:
1) Create a local reputation
If possible, use nostalgia and familiarity to your advantage. Your goal should be to make your small business a noteworthy part of your local community — that way, applicants may feel that working for you would be like going home.
2) Make work an unforgettable experience
Small businesses can offer opportunities and learning experiences that other companies don't focus on. For example, you might keep an employee for their entire career, training them and helping them move up through your company, while a bigger business might see each worker as nothing but a number. That's an unforgettable experience, and it's one your applicants will be excited to see for themselves.
3) Personalize your interviews
Interviews are your chance to meet job seekers as individuals. For a moment, neither you nor the applicant has to play a specific role; instead, you get to connect personally and learn about one another. As a small business, you can benefit from a friendlier, more casual approach than your competitors would risk, which can help job seekers feel more comfortable being themselves during an interview.
4) Be polite
Local opinion can work for you, but it can also work against you. To make sure you remain a fan favorite, be careful how you handle the more difficult parts of the hiring process — like rejections. If you turn down applicants in personalized, polite and professional ways, you won't lose future job seekers due to a negative reputation — after all, "It's a small business world and news travels fast," according to Business.com.
Although you have the tools to stand out in a tough hiring market, finding the right people can still be difficult for a small business. To simplify the process and end up with that dream team, let YES Partners help. Click here to see just a few of the roles we've successfully placed.
Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people for all company functions, across many industries.
