If Your EVP Appeals to Everyone, It Appeals to No One

The Talent Revolution

Notes from Tom:

Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is something a lot of companies struggle to get right. They try to compete with the loudest, best-known voices in the market—but, of course, those companies are fundamentally different.

This kind of EVP yields candidates who don’t want to work for your company in particular; they just want to work in general. They’ll take home a paycheck, deliver mediocre work, and leave the moment a competitor offers them more money.

But here’s the good news: you can compete with the best and brightest in your industry for top-level talent. You just can’t do it by playing the same game as everyone else.

If your EVP includes elements like salary, paid leave, and a ping pong table, it’s time to take another look. Those things don’t separate you from any other listing on a job board.

Your EVP should answer questions like: How do you get people excited about working for your business? What can you offer that’s unique in your industry?

Your recruitment marketing should tell a compelling story. Show candidates who they’ll become as a direct result of working for you, and what their skill set and career will look like when they leave.

Start this in the first interview. Ask how you can help them figure out if your company is the right place for them to be. Then try to screen yourself out.

Putting off the wrong people is a great thing. It gives you more time to invest in the candidate experience of people you want to work with, and who want to work with you.

Get your ideal candidate excited, and illuminate the exit for everyone else. Play a different recruitment game than everyone else, and you’ll have a much better time.

See Also:

TTR, Episode 5 - Why Your Job Ads Should Repel Candidates
TTR, Episode 6 - Why Recruitment is All About Selling, Not Buying