At least three times this week I spoke with partners at professional services firms who are telling me that they have more work than they know how to serve, they have a backlog, or they’re not taking on any new clients - all because of recruiting struggles.  Your firm’s future success hinges on finding top candidates to join the team now - BUT! - you want to have your choice of applicants for every opening, not to have to settle for “good enough” because you’re desperate to find someone to fill an open position. 

Recruiting is perpetually a challenge for professional services firms. If you’ve been leaving recruiting in the hands of HR or recruiters, it may be time to consider asking for a helping hand from your marketing team. Marketing helps firms address many of the common recruiting challenges that keep them from attracting top talent.

Challenge #1: Candidates aren’t applying because they don’t know who you are.

The top job candidates tend to have the most options. They don’t necessarily have to go digging through online job boards or do Google searches to find openings. They’ll often get placed by recruiters, use their networks to identify opportunities, or focus their job searches on the most prestigious firms in the area. If you don’t have name recognition and an established brand, some of those job seekers will never seriously consider your firm—or ever even know it exists.

Marketing creates brand awareness, helping you make candidates aware of and curious about your firm. When someone from your team meets a top candidate at a networking event, or reaches out directly about applying for a position, you want that candidate to already have a positive impression of your firm and be open to learning more.

Challenge #2: Candidates care about more than just salaries.

Obviously, compensation is a core priority for job seekers. But due to the Mass Equal Pay Act, you can’t just throw an extra $5k at someone to get them to choose you. Instead, you have to find other ways to woo candidates toward your firm vs your competitors.

Marketing helps you highlight the other benefits and perks of joining your team. Maybe you have a fantastic benefits package, flexible work arrangements, or you offer student loan repayment assistance, or have programs in place to support working parents. Maybe you have an awesome mentorship program that has helped younger employees develop new skills and get promoted quickly. Share what your firm is doing on your website and social media.  As your employees like/share, your message spreads to their networks.

Challenge #3: Candidates want meaningful work.

In addition to compensation, many of today’s job seekers are prioritizing purposeful work. A 2018 survey by BetterUp found that nine out of 10 workers would sacrifice future earnings if it meant they could do meaningful work. It can be a challenge for professional services firms to explain how their work helps make the world a better place. 

Marketing helps candidates understand what’s unique and meaningful about the work that your firm does and the impact that work has for your broad and interesting clientbase. How does the work you do serve your clients in meaningful ways? Or, approaching the issue from another angle, does the firm help your community or support any particular charitable causes? These are the kinds of things you can spotlight with your marketing strategy, to help candidates picture themselves being fulfilled as a member of your team.

Challenge #4: Candidates aren’t job-hunting in the old ways.

If your firm is still recruiting using the same strategies and online tools it was using 10 years ago, you’re already out of step with today’s job seekers. There are so many avenues for candidates to identify new jobs. A firm can’t just post job listings on its website’s Careers page, on the job boards, and on LinkedIn and hope that some highly skilled applicants will reply. 

Marketing helps your firm throw a wide net to reach a wide range of candidates, wherever they may be looking. Your employees are connected with former colleagues, alumni from their university, and networking contacts. Think about how you can use those connections to meet new people. You need to be publishing compelling content across multiple platforms and using proactive approaches to identify  and connect with the prospects that you most want to hire. The best workers are working - not looking for jobs.  You’ll need to convince them to make a move. 

Challenge #5: Candidates want more flexibility than firms have traditionally allowed.

Even before the pandemic, a lot of job seekers were looking for flexibility. They wanted to be able to do things like create their own schedules and leave the office for personal obligations without being penalized. COVID made flexibility a must-have for many of today’s candidates. They’ve been working or finishing school from home. They may have established a healthier balance between their work and home life than they had pre-pandemic, and don’t necessarily want to take jobs that require them to spend 40+ hours a week in the office plus a commute. 

Marketing helps your firm highlight the flexibility you do offer. If you allow for flextime and remote work, create content about the ways in which different employees take advantage of that flexibility. Sharing examples of real employees helps candidates imagine themselves in their shoes.

Challenge #6: Candidates dread tax season (or any seasonal work burdens).

Even tax accountants who love their work are burned out by the end of April. CPAs at firms of all sizes listed “seasonality/workplace compression” as a top-five concern in the AICPA’s most recent CPA Firm Top Issues Survey. Candidates looking for careers in the accounting and financial industries are well aware of the high-stress months that many of these jobs entail. You can’t promise most people 40-hour weeks —but neither can many of your competitors. What you can do is create reasonable expectations and highlight the ways your firm supports employees during those periods.

Marketing can help your firm articulate and highlight the policies and assistance you’ve put in place to make the busy season fair and manageable for all. Do you bring in temporary support like paid interns to lighten everyone’s load? Does the firm offer perks like catered meals? Do you do anything to support employee mental health and prevent burnout during this period? Are employees encouraged to take time off when the busy season is over? Promote these kinds of benefits with your recruitment materials. 

Marketing isn’t just about attracting the right clients: It’s also about attracting the right people to help you serve those clients. A good marketing strategy can help your firm accomplish both.  Contact me with any questions about improving recruitment through marketing.