“Refocusing your resources on hiring better will have a higher return than almost any training program you can develop.” – Laszlo Bock, CEO and co-founder of Humu.
Being a leader will put you in charge of two brands: personal and business. Too many leaders fall into the trap of thinking that they’re the same thing. While your personal brand and business brand will overlap, you need different things to make both shine.
Hiring is one area of your business where candidates will scrutinize the company brand. People want to know that they’re entering an environment that meets their needs and is conducive to the type of work they’ll be responsible for. And those are the candidates you want! Scrutiny doesn’t mean judgment – it means critical thinking, and you want that from all of your hires.
But how do you convey these things in the hiring process? Well, it would be easy to leave recruitment solely to the HR department, but then you’d be missing out on a huge opportunity. Why? Because potential hires also want to know that there is a solid leadership structure. They want to know that they are being led by people whose values align with theirs and the companies.
So how can you convey this?
Leverage your brand
It starts with your personal brand. Brand here doesn’t mean logos, color palettes, designs, or even a mission statement – that’s the corporate identity. Your brand is the impression people have of you after engaging with you. So to showcase that brand to potential hires, you have to make yourself available to them.
Just being involved in the hiring process shows that you’re invested in who is being brought into the workplace. It allows you to interact with candidates, as questions, and answer some of their own. Even before this phase, it’s a chance to engage with HR properly and ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Even if this is a task you’re willing to delegate, you want to leave it in the hands of people who understand your vision and have the skills and support to execute it. That’s leadership.
Connect Directly With People
But say you make yourself available in the hiring process, what does it mean to engage with candidates? Well, it doesn’t have to start when you’re sitting across a table from each other. LinkedIn connects about 303 million active members every month. Chances are, most of your business contacts are there already. Most of your eligible candidates will be there too.
But LinkedIn isn’t just a place to review people’s CVs – candidates could send you those on their own. Instead, see it as a place to connect, start conversations, and build relationships. LinkedIn is also available in 200 countries – which gives you much more flexibility if you’re recruiting for remote jobs and location isn’t an issue.
Leadership Comes From Setting The Example
But the beauty of a personal brand is that you don’t have to get up on a stage and explain what it is. Leadership should be part of your personal brand, and leadership is about setting the example. By being involved in the recruitment process, you’re showing your staff that you understand the importance of their roles and that you’re an active part of supporting that.
Candidates will see a leader who is attentive and involved. It also gives you a chance to directly assess candidates to ensure they fit in with the vision and ethos of the workplace.
Being involved in the recruitment process means you can also see where the blind spots are and if resources need to be allocated to fix them. It’s about being a leader on the ground and letting your personal brand set the example. When new hires walk through the door, you want to be the example they see, so they can take that into their role.
That’s what leadership is all about.
To hear more about Personal Brand and Leadership, listen to Today’s Top Leaders Episode 34.
As a career coach, I can support you with some of these big decisions for your career or your team. Let’s set up a consultation call and talk about what it can look like to help you get the answers you’re looking for.
I look forward to hearing from you and wish you much success in your excellent career.