Given the fierce competition in the real estate industry, it can be tough for your agency to stand out to qualified candidates. So how can you convince top talent to choose your company over the rest, especially in today’s candidate-driven job market?
The answer is simple: do everything you can to gain their trust and win them over. This means you’ll need to work on building your company’s reputation by tweaking your existing online presence. To learn how to pull this off, read on for three effective tips you can apply to your current recruitment strategy.
Create a Strong Brand Identity
If you want to differentiate your agency from all the others, you’ll need to work on creating a solid brand identity. That’s because 75 percent of job seekers look up a company to assess their reputation before deciding whether or not to send in an application.
Indeed, a strong and memorable brand can not only attracts potential clients but also prospective new recruits. However, polishing your agency’s brand isn’t something you can rush through. You’ll need to take the time to evaluate your core identity, conduct market and competitor research, as well as assess people’s perception of your brand. Then, you’ll have to develop detailed personas of your ideal candidates as well as determine your agency’s unique selling proposition.
To do all these, it’s best if you have a real estate recruitment software that allows you to analyze your broker metrics to act as your quantitative data. As for qualitative data, it’s a good idea to conduct surveys and focus group discussions among your employees and clients.
Once you’ve gathered all this information, only then can you work on your brand’s visual identity, such as your logo and calling cards, among others. However, putting together some text and a stock photo won’t do the trick. In most cases, you’ll want to look for a professional designer to give your branding a facelift.
Truly, crafting your agency’s brand identity may take a lot of time and effort. That’s why you should view it as a long-term strategy that will eventually pay off in the long run.
Optimize Your Agency’s Website
As previously mentioned, one of the first things that any interested candidate will do is search for your brand online. Thus, a polished and professional-looking website is key to making a great first impression. But not only should it look good, but it should also contain all the pertinent information that a potential recruit will want to know. Think of your website as your digital calling card: it should not only get a candidate’s attention, but it should also provide them with clear instructions on how to apply.
Additionally, your website is another opportunity to help strengthen your brand identity. So include pages that elaborate on your agency’s mission, vision, and core values. You can also add pages that talk about your agency’s history, introduces your team, and gives viewers a sneak peek into your corporate culture.
Once you’ve captured your candidate’s interest, make sure that it’s easy for them to get in touch with you. Firstly, make it easy for them to know when you have openings at your agency by creating a dedicated employment page. You can also include an online form that they can easily fill out and attach their resume or CV to, streamlining the application process for both you and the applicant.
Write Better Job Descriptions
For a candidate, nothing is more frustrating than an incomprehensible ad. When it comes to job hunting, they can’t waste their time trying to decipher a poorly written job description. In fact, it’s highly likely that they’ll simply ignore it and move on to the next one. That said, if your agency has been using the same job descriptions for years without getting the desired results, then it may be long overdue for a makeover.
To start off, you’ll want to ensure that your job ad provides a clear and concise summary of the day-to-day responsibilities, qualifications, as well as soft and hard skills that the role will entail. Then, add some intrigue by highlighting the most expecting aspects of the job. If it’s a real estate internship you are providing (read more on this at the Fi Introvert blog), then mention in concise terms what skills you are looking for, and talk about the experience candidates will gain when working as an intern.
This doesn’t necessarily mean focusing on employee perks, such as free meals or partial work-from-home schedules. Rather, put a spotlight on how the role can help them grow as a real estate agent. For instance, you can focus on how your company regularly provides free training and mentorship programs for its recruits. Mention other things that may differentiate your agency from the competition; for example, that you work with other professionals, like a transaction coordinator from Close Concierge, to improve efficiency.
As you tweak your job description to make it sound more enticing, try to avoid using buzzwords or adding unnecessary fluff. Remember: your job seeker has many other agencies vying for their attention, so your ad should hook them in at first glance. It should also be easy to understand to encourage them to apply immediately.
The real estate recruitment landscape is constantly evolving, with many agencies incorporating elements of digital marketing to help boost their campaigns. Hence, it’s important to keep an eye on the latest trends so that you don’t get left behind. Incorporate these strategies into your real estate recruitment campaign and you’re sure to see results.