Prospecting for candidates 
Hiring the right person for the job is the first criteria to ensure top performance and productivity. Attracting and hiring the right candidate can be challenging and the first step is to advertise the position.
Drafting a job posting
A good job posting or advertisement must stimulate interest to attract your top candidates. The advertisement must be clear and explicit and should contain information on the following three points:
- the company
- the job/opportunity
- the candidate
The information should be drawn from the job description. Consult my article and video on writing a good job description.
Marketing 
Once you have drafted your posting or advertisement circulate it to the following sources:
- your employees {internal notice via email or bulletin board)
- personal contacts
- employment centres
- professional associations
- your company website
- social media(LinkedIn, Twitter etc.)
- Online forums and groups
- publications
- specialized journals
- suppliers
- customers
For best results you should use a combination of these methods. You need to act quickly as the job market for top employees is very competitive.
Probably 50% of jobs are filled through personal contact rather than through advertisement so it is a good idea to send out the job posting to your personal contacts, employees and suppliers as quickly as possible. Perhaps even a phone call to personal contacts who you think could be most helpful would be good.
In upcoming articles I will cover the interview and selection process, so I suggest you subscribe to my newsletter or blog.
Below are two examples of job advertisements. One is a traditional press release and the other takes a sales/marketing approach with the goal to stand out from the crowd. The second uses great sales copy and also asks the candidates to write a one-two page letter stating why they think they would be great for the job. This shows who is really motivated by the job opportunity.
Sample press release
Date:
From:
Re:
History of our company
Founded in 2001 Optimus Performance provides training, coaching and consulting services for hiring top employees, developing teamwork and managing performance to small and medium size companies. The company is affiliated with Profiles International, a global leader in employee and workplace assessment tools.
Our vision
We see a world where employees are empowered to work collaboratively in building a successful organization.
Our mission
To be a service provider of choice to small and medium-size businesses seeking to have the best performance from their employees.
The candidates function
To provide support to our clients in using our assessment tools to their full capacity when hiring and developing their employees.
The offer
The prospect of developing a long-term career that would result in a full partnership for the right candidate. A competitive and performance based compensation package.
The requirements
Practical knowledge of best human resource practices for hiring, training and managing employees. Measured experience in providing support and coaching to both executives, business owners and human resource specialists. The ability to quickly build trust and develop long-term relationships with customers. Mastery of written and spoken French and English. Autonomous, entrepreneurial attitude and complete self-confidence.
Please send your resume to the human resources department.
This next type of job advertisement was inspired by the book Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson.
An Exceptional Job Opportunity for a great Human Resource Coach/Consultant Specialist
This is what you’ve been looking for – an exciting, dynamic yet relaxed atmosphere to develop your coaching and counselling skills and rise to the top in one of the finest jobs; human resources coaching specialist. It’s a great profession for anyone who ever thought about excelling in human resources coaching and consulting. Great pay, high-growth potential and the chance to show how good you are at helping others develop the potential of their workforce. Plus you’ll be working as a team with attractive, intelligent people who are all committed to creating a great company in the human resources training and coaching industry. We are Optimus Performance, a leader in providing human resources training, coaching and consulting services to small and medium size companies. We work with forward thinking owners of great small and medium size companies in Canada are known for our expertise and great service. We are looking for a talented person to provide exceptional customer support for our assessment tools that are used for hiring, training and coaching employees. Experience helps but what we’re most interested in is intelligence strong work ethic, good business acumen and strong interest in people. Great jobs like this come along only occasionally, so don’t let this one slip by. Send us a one to two page letter telling us why you would be good for this job.
Stephen Goldberg