You know what I realized while chatting with Brandon Jeffs recently? Most of us are thinking about candidate nurturing all wrong.
We get caught up thinking we need to tell candidates EVERYTHING about our company in EVERY message. Or we focus only on active candidates and forget about our past applicants and passive talent. Or worse - we try to automate everything without a strategy.
​Brandon, who's spent a decade building high-performing teams, shared something that completely changed my perspective: successful candidate nurturing isn't about telling every story at once – it's about sharing the right story at the right time, with the right people.
Here's What This Looks Like in Practice
Brandon breaks it down into three types of stories. But here's the thing - you don't blast all of them at once. Instead, you strategically share them based on where candidates are in their journey with you.
Story #1: The Product Story
Think of this as your "why we exist" story. But here's where most people mess up - they send it to everyone, all the time. Instead:
For Active Candidates:
- Share it before technical interviews
- Use it when discussing specific projects
- Include it in pre-screen info packages
For Passive Folks:
- Send it when you hit major product milestones
- Share it when you solve interesting technical challenges
- Use it to highlight customer impact stories
Story #2: The Growth Story
This is your "where we're going" story. The timing here is crucial:
For Active Candidates:
- Share before or after career path discussions
- Use it when talking about team expansion
- Include it when discussing development opportunities
For Your Talent Pool:
- Share when you open new departments
- Highlight internal promotion stories
- Use it to showcase learning opportunities
Story #3: The Financial Story
This is your stability and success story. But careful - this one needs the most strategic timing:
For Active Candidates:
- Save it for later interview stages
- Use it during offer discussions
- Share it when addressing stability concerns
For Passive Talent:
- Share public funding news
- Highlight market expansion
- Use it to demonstrate business momentum
Making This Work For You
Here's where tools like Teamtailor's Nurture feature become your best friend. Instead of trying to manually keep track of who needs what story when (impossible!), you can set up automated campaigns that:
- Send the right story at the right time
- Keep your passive talent warm
- Re-engage past applicants
- Support active candidates through their journey
Here's Your Homework
-
First, Look at Your Talent Pool
- Who are your past applicants?
- Who's active in process?
- Who's passive but interesting?
- Who were your silver medalists?
-
Map Out Your Stories
- What's your product story?
- What's your growth story?
- What's your financial picture?
- Schedule a demo with the folks at Teamtailor! You know I don’t promote products I don’t believe in and use myself.
Brandon's Genius Idea
Want to know what really caught my attention? Brandon sends a comprehensive info package BEFORE the first conversation. Genius! It:
- Saves time during initial calls
- Shows respect for the candidate’s time
- Makes conversations more meaningful
- Demonstrates you're organized and candidate-focused
Let's Talk About This
I'm curious - what story do you typically lead with in your recruitment outreach? Hit reply and let me know. I read every response!
Talk to you next week!