Why We Hate Using "We're Hiring" for LinkedIn Headlines
By Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza
One standard recruiting checklist for companies with open positions is this: Post the job on LinkedIn, share the post (#werehiring), tell employees to share it with their networks too.
Consider this an opportunity missed. With every open position, you can show candidates what your company values, what it’s like to work there, and how you take care of employees. Inert announcements like “we’re hiring” fade into the noise of LinkedIn, and you miss the opportunity to really appeal to your audience.
Some companies do go one step further and provide employees with a template they can use on social media. It usually goes something like this:
My company Basic Inc. is hiring! We’ve been rated one of the best companies to work for in the North East and have been named the number-one best company for women by MadeUp Magazine for three years in a row. We can’t wait for you to come grow with us! Check out our open positions here.
It sounds like a positive message, but the meaning is hollow, it lacks sincerity. A bow on a box filled with nothing.
Prospective hires can spot a boilerplate a mile away, and seeing templatized endorsements can actually scare off ideal candidates—those who value autonomy and individuality.
I once worked for a company that, during a hiring surge, made the whole team update their LinkedIn banner photos to a stock image superimposed with the company logo and their profile summaries to a too-good-to-be-true, company-promoting boilerplate. It made the whole company look like a spooky zombie farm. It fooled no one. And it pissed off the employees too.
Candidates need to know that #yourehiring, but they all need to know #whytheyshouldapply, and the answer is not because Glassdoor says you’re a great place to work.
LinkedIn is a social network filled with people, and your audience wants to know about the experience of working in your organization. Employees who are well taken care of will be natural evangelists for you as an employer.
If you want to use LinkedIn show candidates what it’s like to work in your organization, here’s a better checklist:
Ask your team members to film themselves talking for 30 seconds about a project they’re really proud of, how they got their job, or what they love about a coworker. Get a few ideas from Nike’s careers site.
Share that love around
Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza writes about workplace culture, DEI, and hiring. Her work has appeared in Fast Company, From Day One, and InHerSight, among others.
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