Are you finding it more challenging to find good employees?  Gone are the days when we would get dozens of applications for every opening.  Happily the days are also gone when we would pay the newspaper an exorbitant fee for a classified help wanted ad in an impossible-to-read 6 pt. type.  

We now mostly use Craigslist, as well as the job boards at local colleges.  And of course we put up signs on the door, because we know that someone familiar with our store is more likely to want to work there.  We’ll even sometimes send out a job posting in an email blast to our customer list.

Facebook is an excellent way to reach those who have “liked’ your store with event and new product messages, and it turns out it is also a worthwhile way to reach potential job applicants. It’s easy to create a special graphic like the one accompanying today’s blog to put in your news feed. I used Canva, my favorite new online designing program, which in its basic form is completely free.  You can upload a photo from your store to use in the background and simply add words.  Be sure to create a “potential employee” target market on Facebook to boost the post to.

Facebook Business started a new program in February of this year that allows you to create a special Job Post. (In fact, if it looks like you are posting about an opening, it will ask if you want to use this format.)  The job post has an automatic — but editable — heading of “We’re hiring! Apply now,” and fields for the job description and other details. Candidates can apply for your job opening directly through Facebook, although we specify that we want them to come apply in person.

If you use this feature, you’ll be adding the new Jobs bookmark to the menu on the left side of your Facebook page.  Past postings are kept there for future use, and you can easily display one again on your page simply by clicking on Renew Job Post.  

It’s helpful to ask candidates where they heard about your job openings so that you know which approach is most effective for you. Because we all know that chances are good that we’ll be trying to get the “help wanted” message out again some day.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder