Recruiting and Hiring Strategies

4 Outside-the-Box Recruitment Strategies From the Experts

2 min read

Mar 24, 2015

4 Companies With Unforgettable Recruitment Strategies Have you heard? There’s a war for talent on. Due to baby boomers leaving the workforce in droves, companies are scrambling to source streams of fresh talent to fill critical positions.

But organizations aren’t looking to hire just anyone — they want the best and brightest. Only one problem. Your competitors are going after the exact same candidates. Time to pull out the creative recruitment tactics.

The question of which company snags a promising up-and-comer often comes down to whose recruitment efforts were faster, better, and more inventive. Here are four examples of cunning recruitment strategies from companies winning the war.

1. OgilvyOne

Those who’ve seen The Wolf of Wall Street will remember the title character’s litmus test to determine a candidate’s selling skills: “Sell me this pen.” Advertising firm OgilvyOne ran with this idea to source high-quality sales candidates with their “Search For the World’s Greatest Salesperson” video contest. To be considered for a fellowship with the illustrious firm, candidates were asked to shoot a short video of themselves selling ... a brick. It’s red! It’s heavy! You can build things with it! Thanks to the social component of the campaign, it was effective as it was funny.

2. Marriott

For all the hype and inflated expectations shrouding gamification, inserting game mechanics into work situations can prove effective if done correctly. For a prime example, consider the recruitment game “My Marriott Hotel” launched by the hotel chain giant. Players ran a virtual hotel, earning points for satisfying customers and turning a profit. And if they felt themselves wanting to make virtual reality into actual reality, a “try it for real” button connected users to the company’s careers site.

3. Zappos

Ever wonder what it’s like to work at Zappos, the online shoe retailer known for its exceedingly happy customers and employees? Wonder no more. Twice a month, the company holds a Twitter chat on hashtag #InsideZappos. Not only do interested job candidates get perspective on the company culture from real employees, but recruiters aksi have the chance to familiarize themselves with potential applicants even before they have resumes in hand.

4. Gyro International

It’s true that the London-based ad agency’s name sounds like a sandwich. So why not go with it? To bulk up its creative department, the company researched where the creative talent from its main competitors went to lunch, and then paid restaurants to replace their sandwich wrappers with printed bags asking “Is my career going somewhere?” A call-to-action to visit Gyro’s career website was also included. Within weeks, the agency snagged a new creative manager.

When battling it out for quality talent, don’t be afraid to do what these companies did and get creative. A careers website is table stakes in today’s recruitment landscape. To get the brightest stars to sign on with your organization, you’ll have to craft recruitment strategies that shoot for the moon.