Around the turn of this century, McKinsey coined the term “The Global War for Talent” (article), as companies increasingly realised their ability to thrive vested primarily in their employees. In recruitment, this has shifted the balance of power away from employers towards potential employees, and especially towards those with scarce skills or outstanding attributes. We started to hear stories about candidates ending their interviews, saying, “Thank you so much for the interview; I’ll get back to you and let you know if I’m interested – or not…”!

We have seen competition to attract top talent give rise to rivalling Employer and Employee Value Propositions and to new expertise in this area.

This century we experienced economic downturns that motivated corporates to upskill their internal Talent Acquisition Specialists, hoping to rely less on external providers. Other employers replaced their internal recruitment teams with outsourced providers, who have fought to make themselves indispensable in the growing Gig Economy (article)

Of course, we cannot ignore the rise of technology and social media, which has nudged the role of attracting top talent significantly off the shoulders of Marketing Departments. Marketing and branding has become the heightened responsibility of every employee and applicant as people engage not only in person, but with one another’s virtual profiles, making snap judgements based on what they see.

And let’s not forget that the stage for all of this has been a VUCA world (video); more recently termed VUCA (DD), referring to the added ‘Digital Disruption’.

Time to reflect

1. How do you believe our VUCA (DD) world impacts the way we attract and engage talent?
2. How can you further build your personal brand to attract, source and select top talent in our current landscape?

More about branding and communication as a Talent Acquisition Specialist…
I have worked with Annie Moyo for many years and admire her tenacity and values evident in her recruitment, branding and communication.
In this interview, Annie shares about pivotal points to consider if you want to brand yourself to attract top talent. Take 15min to watch the interview below. Keep the following questions in mind while you watch the video:
1. What is the impact of social media on creating first impressions with people?
2. If you are going to be recruiting top talent, what is important to consider about your own social media profiles?
3. What is your personal ‘why’ for recruiting top talent?

Video: Brand Yourself as a Talent Specialist – Jane Moors interviews Annie Moyo

Call to Action

1. Google yourself! What comes up?
2. Why would you say your first impression makes you a ‘talent magnet’, or not? If not, what steps will you take to brand yourself according to your ‘why’? (When will you start? Do you need to enlist help or support in this area?)
3. How can you use social media to help you build your network of potential employers/ employees for the future?

If you want more help or support in branding, advertising and communications to attract top talent, I can recommend the following experts in South Africa:
Elzette Fourie – Recruitment Advertising and Branding Specialist
Vanessa Raath – Sourcing Specialist| Career Branding Specialist