Writing the Perfect Recruiting Pitch
When candidates consider a new job, their decision boils down to two key reasons: the job is either better today or better for their future. If your recruiting pitch resonates with candidates on just one of these factors, you’ll spark interest and start a conversation. Nail both, and you’re looking at an 80%+ offer acceptance rate—even higher if your market pricing is above the 50th percentile.
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Why the Recruiting Pitch Matters
The reasons candidates leave a job for something better today often revolve around instant gratification. These are the tangible, short-term benefits that candidates can boast about to their peers, like better pay, a bigger title, unique perks, or even the prestige of working in a desirable industry. These factors are immediate and exciting, giving candidates something to brag about right away.
On the other hand, future-focused benefits influence long-term decisions and are more likely to come up in conversations with family or during introspection. These include equity valuation, realistic promotion timelines, career growth opportunities, and the company’s brand (what we call the Harvard effect). These are visionary reasons that create lasting value for candidates.
What Is the Recruiting Pitch Framework?
The Recruiting Pitch Framework aggregates all key selling points about your business into a single, cohesive document. This ensures that recruiters, hiring managers, and interview stakeholders deliver a consistent and compelling pitch to candidates. Consistency is critical: when candidates receive conflicting messages, they either discount them entirely, or price it into the comp needed to incur the risk of not really knowing who’s telling the right story
For example, if a hiring manager sells a candidate the opportunity for promotions & raises every year, but HR/Recruiting is selling 18 months, these factors at best will be omitted from their decision and priced into the compensation needed for them to incur the risk of not knowing.
The Three Key Components of the Unicorn Talent Recruiting Pitch Framework
The Company Pitch
The company pitch is a unified narrative crafted with input from marketing, HR, and executives. It communicates the company’s value to customers, employees, and the community, emphasizing key messages that resonate with candidates. This pitch evolves periodically to ensure relevance and alignment with the company’s current goals and branding. This is something that should be updated quarterly, so that the recruiting pitch matches the current narrative of the business.Responses to Public Information
In today’s world, candidates do their research. They read reviews, news, and other public information about your company. Addressing these head-on with consistent messaging builds trust. For good news, explain the factors that led to success. For negative news, have a plan to address concerns, outline improvements, and assure candidates that the issues won’t recur. A unified response from all stakeholders ensures that candidates receive a clear and trustworthy narrative.The Job Pitch
Each role has unique selling points that extend beyond the company pitch. These could include the manager’s leadership style, the stage of development within the department, the scope of the role, or access to key resources. Highlighting these specifics makes the role more attractive and relevant to individual candidates.
How the Recruiting Pitch Framework Improves Hiring Outcomes
Implementing this framework delivers measurable improvements across the hiring funnel:
Higher Source-to-Application Ratios: By clearly articulating the value of your roles, sourced candidates are more likely to apply. A well-crafted pitch resonates and compels action.
Reduced Funnel Attrition: Candidates who might otherwise opt out mid-process stay engaged when they receive consistent, compelling messaging from everyone they interact with during the hiring process.
Increased Offer Acceptance Rates: A consistent and well-executed pitch significantly enhances pre-close strategies, ensuring that more offers convert into acceptances.
Why Consistency Is Key
Inconsistencies in your recruiting pitch can erode trust. For example, if one stakeholder mentions a promotion timeline that differs from another’s, candidates are less likely to trust that promotions are a reliable part of the package. By standardizing your recruiting pitch, you eliminate confusion and build credibility. Here are 3 ways inconsistency will show up in your recruiting funnel.
Candidate withdrawals: Candidates will pull out of interview processes they don’t trust.
Offer to accept rates: Candidates will decline offers when they don’t trust that the package you’re offering will come true. This is especially true in roles with production based compensation like commission plans
Compensation negotiations: To account for the risk from an inconsistent pitch, candidates will negotiate salaries up to compensation for the perceived risk
The Unicorn Talent Recruiting Pitch Framework increases funnel conversion rates
The Unicorn Talent Recruiting Pitch Framework is a proven tool for increasing funnel conversion rates, reducing regrettable attrition, and driving offer acceptance. By aligning all stakeholders around a single source of pitch truth, your team can deliver a compelling and consistent narrative that resonates with candidates at every stage of the hiring process.