The BBC has revamped the style of its newspaper
advertisements and its website as part of a drive to make the company more
attractive to potential recruits.
John Clarke, online recruitment manager for the BBC,
speaking at the CIPD’s recruitment conference last week,
believes organisations’ marketing strategies should include efforts to attract
new staff and bond existing employees.
Clarke said the BBC has changed its job advert style to
increase its impact on the page and emphasise the BBC brand.
It has done this by giving recruitment staff, and those who write job adverts training, style guides and
access to a copywriting service.
"We looked at visual impact, wording, key messages and
making the space sell for us," added Clarke.
He said the new job adverts are highly–visible and easy to read compared to past advertising copy
which tended to be too long, with the
relevant bits buried.
The BBC has also invested in developing its online
recruitment site, which contains between 50 and 100 vacancies, to highlight its
employer values.
The site also features interviews with staff talking about
their jobs and the opportunities for career development at the BBC.
"People can see them working, here them talk, read some interviews, and see what
qualifications they need," explained Clarke.
Clarke told delegates that the BBC’s recruitment offices
have been refurbished to give candidates a good first impression of the
organisation:
"Their first impression should be a
pretty dynamic one," he said.
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