After you’ve decided to expand your team, the next is actually finding them. As of this post, we now have 7 full-time people working for SSM. Here are a few tips for hiring a freelancer I've picked up along the way…
Put Yourself In Their Shoes
It’s likely that you will make a beeline for the most popular job board, but while it attracts thousands of job seekers, it also means its attracting just as much people hiring. In which case, your ad might get drowned out by all the noise.
Put yourself in your perfect candidates shoes and pick a platform that will reach them. If you’re looking for a freelancer, go to a site that specializes in gathering freelance artists or writers. Check out Facebook Groups specific to what you are looking for or visit forums and see where they all gather. I've personally found great candidates using Elance, OnlineJobs.ph & Craigslist.
Job Description = “Sales Page”
The purpose of your post is to describe what you need—to do that, you need to describe the job itself. BUT, your post has to be written in such a way that you’re attracting candidates to not only read but take action (whether it’s to click apply or send you an email.)
Write your post like you would a sales page—focus on catching their attention and holding it, offering information about your company in bite-sized, easy to understand pieces that are clear and concise.
Titles Matter
You have the option to make job titles as creative as you want them to be, if only so you can capture the attention of your audience by optimizing their job titles for search. Sure, ‘content writers’ may be exactly the same as your organizational chart’s ‘junior copywriter,’ but if no one is Googling openings for it, no one will even get to see your ad.
Make Your Ad Work Harder
You can use your job post to sift through unqualified candidates—note down non-negotiable requirements that are important to the position so that you don’t get too overwhelmed by the volume of applicants.
Here’s another tip: Add a very specific, random instruction to determine if they are actually reading your post.
For example, you can add that interested applicants may send their email to johndoe@xxxxxx.com with the subject line ‘ABC Hiring March’ + Applicants Name. Anyone who does so already means they are detail-oriented and know how to follow basic instructions.
Don’t Rush
Yes, hiring can be a long and tedious process, but before you go and try to publish it, have someone else read it. Nothing says unprofessional like typos or grammar mistakes. If you can, have someone who shares similar job responsibilities read through it to get more constructive feedback.
If you have questions, ask in the comments section below. And feel free to share this article with anyone you know who’s looking to hire!
– Mercer
