Seven top tips for creating a winning RAD Awards entry

Entries for next year’s RAD Awards – which champions the best in recruitment communications – open on 4 September. If you’re proud of your creative approach to attracting and hiring great talent, what’s the best way to tackle the entry process?

Let your work do the talking

Your submission should not exceed 500 words, so it’s important to ensure your entry is explained concisely, your objectives are outlined succinctly and you avoid jargon. Make sure you read the instructions for uploading your visual work or links – a maximum of five PDFs can be uploaded and you must link to, rather than upload, video files.

Tell a good story

Structure your entry: say what the issue was, how your campaign intended to solve it, and what the outcome was. Winning entries in the past have shown that telling a story can capture the judges’ attention – for example how campaigns to recruit social workers have had a positive impact on children in a local authority’s care.

What’s the business case?

How did your initiative relate to the needs of the wider business? If you’re talking about employer value proposition (EVP), for example, can you make a tangible link to the business or is it just a vague idea? If you’re entering multiple categories, don’t be tempted to repeat the same entry for each one – tailor it to the questions being asked of each.

Give evidence

Provide solid evidence against the criteria for each category – these can be found on the RADs website. To give your entry the best possible chance, include some statistics about your campaign’s impact such as a percentage increase in applications received, or how much your approach saved in recruitment costs. Show how these trends are linked to your recruitment advertising initiatives.

Keep timescales in mind

Stick to the rules when it comes to the qualifying period for your work. Entry to the 2018 RAD Awards is open to any company, agency, creative or individual producing work in the period from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017. If you need to supply physical materials to support your entry, remember to build in time for postage and ensuring they have arrived safely.

Proofread your entries

Make sure your entry has been carefully read by at least one other person who was not directly involved in compiling it before you send it in. Spelling mistakes and typos can ruin an otherwise sound entry, and it’s also helpful to get a sense-check on what you’ve written. Is it easy to understand for someone who is not part of your own team?

Start early

Give yourself plenty of time to present a solid entry, particularly when it comes to compiling your visual materials and statistical evidence.The awards deadline for entries is 29 September so there are only a few weeks to build an award-winning story that will captivate our judges.