By Steffani K. Adaska

Recruiting top talent is not easy (I know this because I do it for a living). Attracting caring, compassionate staff is not for the birds. Effectively using job boards and posting “help wanted” ads requires creative planning and a strategic execution. Not only do you need to get them out there, you need to make your job postings stand out from the rest or you don’t stand a chance of attracting the talent you seek.

I truly believe there are some outstanding, talented people out there, but these gems tend to be the passive job seekers who look for jobs on an infrequent basis. The passive job seekers are the ones who haven’t been laid off in the last re-shuffle, or were not let go due to the company’s most recent downsizing. They are the candidates still working (probably harder than ever) and don’t visit the job boards or read classifieds every day to find the latest and greatest position the senior living industry has to offer.

Most employers have difficulty attracting theses passive job seekers (that’s why us recruiters stay so busy). It is not impossible to find them (or for them to find you) amongst the mediocre talent pool, but you need to know how. These gems don’t have time to look. If you do catch them peeking (lucky you) they are looking for a bigger, better challenge, not just another job. The good ones quickly get off the market (usually by an executive recruiter like myself), so when you actually get their attention, you need to keep it.

Your open positions need to STAND OUT! Your title needs need to grab the attention of the reader. Frequent job seekers will read (and respond to) most job postings, but the passive jobseeker will only browse until something catches their eye. This is your chance to highlight your company’s unique opportunity. After you’ve caught their attention, you need to back it up with a strong content-filled description.

Like the ‘grabber title’ you so creatively developed, you now need to compose a compelling description of what the candidate will be doing in his or her new position, not what they have already done.

Creative, forward-thinking professionals (your target audience) are motivated by opportunity, challenge, a chance to learn, and the chance to be part of an engaging team that is going places. Nobody wants to go from ABC company as CBW (that stands for Chief Bottle Washer) to go XYZ Company as their CBW. A true professional wants to leave ABC to join a “synergistic team of professionals at XYZ Company where you will be responsible for the creation and implementation of the coolest new bottle washing system available on the market.”

A few things you need to remember…