July 18, 2024 • 39 mins
In this episode, Rhona and Anna Morgan discuss the importance of personal branding for recruiters and how it can help build trust with candidates and clients. They share their own experiences and provide strategies for recruiters to establish their personal brand. They emphasize the need for authenticity, engagement, and consistency in content creation. They also discuss the alignment of personal brand with the employer brand and the benefits it can bring.
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//TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 INTRODUCTION
06:42 Building Trust through Authenticity and Engagement
09:56 The Importance of Relatability and Grace in Recruiting
17:49 Practical Steps to Start Building Your Personal Brand
29:14 Aligning Personal Branding with the Employer Brand
37:45 The Power of Messy Action over Perfect Inaction
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rhona Pierce (00:01):
There's a powerful strategy that can level up your
recruiting career, and my guesttoday has proven it works.
Anna Morgan (00:08):
I was hired three times by the same employer. You
know why? They couldn't stopseeing my mug on LinkedIn.
Rhona Pierce (00:15):
That's Anna Morgan, a recruiter who
transformed her career bymastering personal branding.
Over the past decade, she's gonefrom selling print advertising
to becoming a sought aftertalent acquisition consultant.
In this episode, she'll take usthrough her process of building
a personal brand that thatattracts both candidates and
(00:36):
employers.
Anna Morgan (00:37):
When people see us having public conversations,
they are going to trust to haveprivate conversations. The more
you give to others, the morecomes back to you.
Rhona Pierce (00:47):
From finding your unique voice to balancing
personal and employer branding,Anna shares actionable
strategies that any recruitercan use to stand out in the
digital age. Whether you're juststarting out or looking to level
up your career, this episodewill show you how to leverage
the power of personal brandingin recruiting. Welcome to
(01:07):
Throughout the Playbook, thepodcast for recruiters tired of
hearing that hiring is brokenand ready to do something about
it. I'm your host, Rhona Pierce.Let's dive into my conversation
with Anna.
So let's rewind a little bit.And I always like to ask all of
my guests, what initially drewyou to talent acquisition?
Anna Morgan (01:29):
Great question. I was selling print advertising
for a local publication, and Ihad just come out of a retailer.
And I was like, I don't likedoing this work. And I look up,
and there's a retail staffingagency above a pizza shop. And I
walk in, and I'm like, I don'thave an appointment, but I would
(01:51):
like a career that is anythingexcept selling advertising.
And I'm still friends with theAugust coordinator today. Her
name is Nelly. And she was like,okay. And so she gets me an
interview. It was with a firmcalled Apple One.
They're still around. You know,used to be a very big player in
the market. And I got hired onthe spot, and I started learning
(02:16):
recruiting from that day forwardwhere I was selling and
recruiting and absolutely fellin love with it. Just being
curious about people, I waslike, wait. I get to talk about
like, with people and learnabout them and then figure out
where I could put them?
Sign me up. So
Rhona Pierce (02:35):
That is so cool. And so many people come from
sales into recruiting. Othersmove from recruiting into sales.
When did you realize, like, theimportance of building your
personal brand?
Anna Morgan (02:50):
You know, I've always been like a I'm a Gen x
with kind of a little millennialGen z interest in social media,
and I always found recruitingfascinating. And I would, you
know, share things on Facebookprimarily because I'm like, I
wanna remember this becausethese stories are wild. The
people that I get to meet arewild. The situations that happen
(03:13):
where temps don't show up, how Ihad to let someone go, like, and
so I just organically startedsharing little more humorous
things than anything, and thenit just kind of expanded from
there. I ended up moving on to amore start up staffing firm
where I helped to build outtheir administrative, clerical,
(03:34):
and transactional accountingdepartment.
And I joined LinkedIn in 2006.So primarily use LinkedIn as a
business prospecting or huntingtool, but continued sharing some
of those wins and successes andpictures of my employees that I
would walk in on their 1st day.And before I knew it, several
(03:57):
years have passed, and here weare today being recognized for
certain authority with LinkedInand having coached hundreds of
job seekers and helpedorganizations as well amplify
their employment brand. So itreally just happened organically
and really originally from a funinspired place.
Rhona Pierce (04:18):
We've got so many fun stories. Just any day, any
random day in recruiting,there's always something that
stands out. That's a story thatyou can tell.
Anna Morgan (04:29):
Exactly.
Rhona Pierce (04:30):
Obviously, keeping confidentiality and people's
privacy, but it's there's alwayssomething interesting. Never a
dull moment in a day as arecruiter.
Anna Morgan (04:40):
Never. I mean, one of the situations we had and,
you know, I think that's how Ialso got into coaching is that
you would prep your candidatesabout the client and their hot
buttons and what's important tothem. And so you would coach
them on some best practices,especially we were meeting
people in the office. Right? Soyou would see how they spoke,
how they presented, you know,what their style was, and so you
(05:02):
would coach to some of thosethings.
And we had, one young lady thatI don't know what her situation
was, but showed up inessentially like a prom dress to
an interview. But, you know, I'malways about it's better to be
overdressed than underdressed.You've had I mean, just wild
stories. I think all recruiterssay this. We should write a
(05:22):
coffee table book about all thefunny things that have happened.
No one has done it yet. And Ikeep saying, like, I wanna be
the person to gather all thesestories and create this this
coffee book. So, you know,that's my other shiny object
kind of fun project that I thinkI should do someday. So
Rhona Pierce (05:40):
It would be a hit. I've heard the, we should start
a reality show one. No one hasstarted it yet. But No. That's
also something that we do good.
Anna Morgan (05:51):
A potential bias and there's a lot of things that
go into being able to show upfor an interview, and we've all
been on the side of the desklooking for a job. I remember
having to run to Kinko's andprint out my resume on nice
paper because I didn't have aprinter. There's a lot to that.
In theory, we think, oh, well,you know, here, just show up at
(06:11):
this place at this time andcrush the interview and not
keeping in mind that their momsand spouses and daughters and
all the other things that gowith the logistics in making
something that like that happenas well as making the decision
to accept or move forward withan opportunity.
Rhona Pierce (06:31):
Yeah. How has personal branding helped you
build trust with candidates andwith your clients as well?
Anna Morgan (06:40):
Absolutely. I mean, I think when people can relate
to you because leadership isrelatable, and what we share on
social media oftentimes is ahighlight reel. But when you do
get feedback that people arelike, you're exactly like you
seem online. That's a greatsign. And when I have moved
(07:03):
through these positionsinternally and externally and
into entrepreneurship, you know,you have people walk by your
cube and say, I love what you'redoing on LinkedIn.
And you're like, I didn't evenknow that we were connected or
that you were following me. It'selevated my internal brand
equity. It builds trust withcandidates. If they see you
(07:23):
publicly having conversationsand providing value, they're
more likely to respond to yourInMail to set up an appointment
with you. And trust andrelatability is what
accelerates, you know,opportunities for those job
seekers to have conversationswith the hiring managers.
So being able to shorten thatbridge of connection comes down
(07:46):
to that personal brand. And whenyou're sharing information
that's valuable as a coach, as achallenger, as a questioner what
was the other one? It was coach,challenger, and creator. Right?
And also sharing your journeythat because people love to
follow you along.
(08:06):
And so many, like, of mycandidates have ended up being
clients or hiring managers. Soit's helped in a variety of
different ways. I would say it'sa little bit tough sometimes to
measure with a candidate pieceagainst, say, your peer that is
not as active on social media.But the feedback that I've heard
(08:30):
from the candidates, themessages that I've received post
phone screen and follow-upreally speak volumes to building
longer term relationships and inrecruiting long term
relationships that especially ifyou're a niche recruiter is
extremely valuable.
Rhona Pierce (08:47):
I think, like, for me, kind of like what you were
saying, you have people come andtell you, like, hey, I saw what
you're doing on LinkedIn. I'vealso I'm an introvert, so I'm
not the best at small talk andstuff like that. But as a
recruiter, you kinda have to dothat during an interview to,
like, get the the candidatecomfortable. Anytime a candidate
(09:09):
has seen, like, one of my videosor has seen some post, they feel
that they know me. There's thislevel of comfort that actually
helps me not be in that, like,nervous.
Oh my gosh. I'm meeting someonefor the first time. Because I
think candidates don'tunderstand that sometimes, like,
well, not sometimes. We arehuman. I know that I get nervous
(09:29):
before an interview.
Anna Morgan (09:31):
Sometimes we're recruiting for roles that we've
never recruited for. So, like, Ifilled a plant pathologist role
last year, and I was like, howin the world am I gonna get I
couldn't even pronounce a thirdof the words in the job
description. So, I mean, I waslooking I was definitely nervous
(09:51):
when I was getting on the phonewith these very intelligent
scientific candidates. And Ijust used humor and
relatability, and I'm certainthat my brand helped them relax
with me. And then they alsoleveled me up by explaining it
in easily understandable,Annemorgan terms.
So.
Rhona Pierce (10:12):
Yes. Candidates are so much more open to, like,
give you grace. So I do mostlyrecruiting in the tech world.
And, yes, I am a former softwareengineer, software project
manager, but I haven't coded inyears. So, basically, me talking
to an engineer right now, Idon't know any of the new
things.
(10:32):
I just I know it from arecruiter standpoint. I don't
know it as a technical person.So maybe I can ask a few more
questions. But most of the time,I'm like, wait. Can you explain
this a little bit more to me?
But just because they they'veseen that there's that personal
brand, there's that trust, theydon't feel the way that I see
them treat other exactly. Otherpeople on the team and they're
(10:55):
like rude. It's like, well, youshould know this. It's they're
so open to be like, oh, let meexplain this to you type of
thing.
Anna Morgan (11:01):
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And then, you know,
being consistent on theplatform, again, it just builds
that know, like, and trustfactor, which is everything in
recruiting and in stayingemployed in recruiting as well,
I believe.
Rhona Pierce (11:19):
Yeah. So what steps should recruiters take if
they wanna start working onestablishing their personal
brand?
Anna Morgan (11:28):
Yeah. So I think it's a combo question. Right?
Like, the advice that I wouldhave for recruiters about, like,
how to get started prior to howto start building their brand.
Because a lot of recruiters arelike, what am I good at?
You know, they need thatclarity. Right? So what is your
sweet spot? What's your lane?What's your niche?
Like, list out the topics thatyou're passionate about. Think
(11:49):
about the books you read, thepodcast that you listen to. What
are you researching? Think aboutwhat you're doing outside of
work, where you're volunteering,or do you coach a softball or or
baseball team? And then thinkabout, like, what is the legacy
that you wanna leave behind,like, first?
And a very basic exercise. I dothis with job seekers and
(12:12):
encourage this of recruitersthat are thinking about what is
my brand. Text your pastcoworkers and bosses and say,
hey. I'm working on my personalbrand. What are 5 words that you
would use to describe me?
And then look for trends andthen lean into those words and
start there. Like, have thatclarity and then own it. Let
(12:35):
those things be you, and don'tbe afraid to showcase those
things. Because back to therelatability factor is we could
care less if you can recruitengineers. But are you a yogi?
Do you drink coffee? And do youlove dogs? I will definitely
respond to your direct message.Right? So I think that's step 1.
(12:57):
Like, how to get started. Andthen once you're there, you have
to be able to tell that story.So have a profile that speaks to
that. Start with your coverimage. Your cover image can do
so much for you.
It's real estate. Have aheadline that is SEO and search
friendly, but also show somepersonality. And then engage.
(13:19):
When people see us having publicconversations, they are going to
trust to have privateconversations. The more you give
to others, the more comes backto you.
And my personal experience is Inever saw myself as a creator.
I, like, had to take English 101twice. I fell failed out of
college in 96, finished mydegree later. You know, I was,
(13:43):
like, I'm never gonna write as aprofessional or put out creative
content, but here we are. Andhow I found my voice was by
engaging with others.
I found my voice in thecomments. So if there's a
recruiter that's, like, lookingfor that first step, comment on
other people's content. Give tothem. The search bar on LinkedIn
(14:05):
is powerful. Search up topicsthat you're comfortable talking
about.
I don't care if it's knitting.Find hashtag knitting on
LinkedIn and go comment on thatcontent. You're gonna start to
build community of people thatare talking about the same
things. And then you'll start torun into some of the same people
in the comments, kind of likehow you and I ran into each
(14:27):
other on a shared post and herewe are. I'm, like, huge fan, and
then you invited me to yourpodcast or I was recommended by
2 different people.
So the commenting and engagingpiece is such an underutilized
aspect of the platform, and it'sa very sustainable strategy. Not
everyone has to be a creator.People think they wanna throw up
(14:49):
all this content and it's like,just have public conversations
and be yourself.
Rhona Pierce (14:53):
Yes. There's a lot like, I'm not a big commenter
also. So so there's two sides ofit because, like I said, I'm
not, like, big on small talk andstuff like that. But when I
create content and peoplecomment on it, those are so easy
for me to reply to. But onething, when on days where
(15:15):
because it's true.
As a creator, there are dayswhere I have zero creativity. I
have no clue what to post, and Ihave this thing for myself where
I only post things that I wouldwant to consume. I don't just
post for posting. Well, on thosedays, I go and look at people's
content and I start commenting.And it's so incredible the
(15:38):
amount of people that I've metin the comments.
I can tell you right now, Iprobably am going to have, by
the time this is released, like8 or 9 podcast episodes. All of
them have been people that Ifound in the comments.
Anna Morgan (15:54):
Yes. Like, I am team commenting. I mean, going
back to also, like, gettingstarted and thinking about your
legacy and who you wanna be, theother thing I think about
because people are like, I don'twanna do self promotion. It
feels braggy. Put your servantleadership hat on.
Think about the woman or the manor the kid that you needed when
(16:18):
you were starting out in yourrecruiting career. Let me just
tell you. If I saw cool, badass,bold women like us showing up on
LinkedIn, I would be like, Iwant more of that. Right? And
that goes back to being a coach,being a creator, being a
challenger.
Do you have strong opinions? Ihave strong opinions about, you
(16:39):
know, cover letters. But it'sgoing from, like, that are you
familiar with the drama trianglewhere it's the drama triangle to
the new leadership triangle? Soit used to be, are you creating
content to be a helper, rescuer,the victim prosecutor mindset?
And now it's the coach creatorand challenger kind of mindset.
(17:00):
So and that's how people canfind their voice. Challengers
ask curious questions. Creatorsshift from needing permission to
taking action and sharing theirmistakes along the way, like I
share about my entrepreneurialjourney. And then coaches, like,
they empower people to takeaction. And sometimes it's based
(17:20):
on the action that they're doinggives others permission to take
that first step.
Rhona Pierce (17:25):
There's something that I've spoken to recruiters
about, especially just people inthe DMs. Everyone thinks that
the type of content thatrecruiters have to create has to
be for job seekers. It has to betype of, like, job search
advice. Or the other side ofthat coin is advice for
(17:46):
recruiters. What advice do youhave for recruiters who are
unsure about how to positionthemselves and, like, what type
of content to start creating?
Anna Morgan (17:56):
I think it goes back again to, like, what your
interests are, and my belief isleadership can show up in a lot
of different ways. I commentedon a a post of a peer who was
celebrating her son's 7thbirthday, and she gave 7 tips to
him, but that were also relevantto a link our LinkedIn
community. And, you know, I saidparenting is one of the most
(18:18):
humbling leadership lessons thatwe're ever gifted. Right? So it
could be parenting.
It could be mental health. Itcould be your love of yoga. It
could be your favorite coffeebrands. Again, when I think back
to my agency days and I was outknocking on doors and delivering
donuts and having intakemeetings with prospective, you
(18:39):
know, clients. It was thosethings that we were talking
about, the pictures on theirdesk, their activities out of
work, outside of work.
It wasn't the fact that theysold spirally widgets and
whatever. So think about thosethings and share about those
things. And if you can turn itinto a leadership lesson, do it.
(18:59):
And then don't be afraid of whatother people think. I mean, so
many people I tend to attractsocial media introverts, which
is really fascinating to me.
And they're like, well, what domy coworkers think? What will my
boss think? And I was like, whocares? And you have to be able
to kind of step into thatenergy. My experience has been
(19:21):
nothing but positive wherepeople, like I said, were like,
I love what you do on LinkedIn.
Thank you for sharing that andso forth and so on. Now I'm sure
other people have had differentexperiences, but LinkedIn is
your playground. It is aprofessional networking site.
Leverage it. Have fun.
Be yourself.
Rhona Pierce (19:41):
And you touched a bit about a little on this about
being consistent. How do youokay. I'm a recruiter. I've
decided I wanna start sharingcontent to build my personal
brand. What content creationstrategies can you give to
listeners because contentcreation is just one piece of
(20:03):
recruiting.
Anna Morgan (20:04):
It really is. And, again, I mean, when you're busy
running a full desk and a heavyrec load, My solution was I'd
had LinkedIn up on a secondscreen. In between calls, I
would make some comments. Iwould make a note about anything
I saw about a post that I wantedto do, and I would take comments
(20:25):
and turn those into post priorto the new function that they
have, hashtag old school. And, Iwould just keep a running
document of that.
And then at night or on theweekends, I would decide, okay.
I'm gonna do a text post or apicture post, or this makes
sense for a carousel, or maybeI'll do a TikTok and repurpose
(20:47):
it on the platform. For me, itwas basically, like, things that
were coming up in the moment.Like, the other day, I have a
draft saved because I'm I'mtrying to get more active on
TikTok. And I was looking at arecruiter's profile, and I'm
like, yes.
She is the director ofrecruiting. She, you know, had
this much GM. She was managingthese people these many people.
(21:08):
And then her position beforethat, she's selling the company
that she used to work for. Soit's all about this company, da
da da da.
And so my thought was, I need tomake a piece of content to tell
recruiters to check theirexperience section, talk about
what a badass they are, and stopmarketing for their old
(21:28):
employers. Bam. You know, like,little things that would come up
like that.
Rhona Pierce (21:32):
Very cool. So I'm sure you ran into this, but some
recruiters wanna live a veryprivate life, and they don't
really wanna be out there onsocial media. Are there other
strategies that people can useto build a personal brand if
they don't wanna be on socialmedia?
Anna Morgan (21:51):
Okay. That's a really hard question, especially
for someone that loves socialmedia. I would say to go to
candidate centric events. Soreally try to find ways that you
can do recruiting, have yourcompany sponsor events,
certainly be involved in collegerecruiting or trade shows, join
(22:14):
professional associations. So ifyou are working roles that are
more light industrial, you know,building partnerships with trade
schools or other tradeassociations, then speaking
engagements are a way that youcan really amplify an employment
brand, highlight the employer,and showcase your leadership
(22:35):
skills.
The only other thing I thoughtabout is you could publish,
like, an ebook or a guide orother resources that might
amplify, you know, for theemployment brand. I think
there's things that you could dowithin the organization where
then maybe the marketing teamcould push it out on the company
(22:56):
page? That's a tricky question.I would be curious what are some
of your thoughts because I kindafeel like, who is it Han Solo
from Star Wars? Like, socialmedia is the way.
This is the way.
Rhona Pierce (23:10):
So I'm a 100% team social media for many reasons.
It's just it's 2024. This is howwe do it now. This is how you
win. Sorry.
I also do that. I sing a lot ofthe things that I say. So but,
yeah, this is how it's done now.And, yes, you can go to
(23:30):
conferences a 100%. I've doneit.
I love going to conferences. Ittakes because I'm an introvert,
it takes a lot of my energy.Those 3, 4 days where you have
to be on talking to candidates,doing this, doing the other,
like really selling, but it's away of doing it. Now it always
(23:50):
helps if people have seen yourcontent, if people know who you
are, things like that. So it'snot impossible.
There are a few people thatrecruit, especially in very
niche fields, and they don'thave a social media presence, I
love that for them. I don'tthink that's something that the
(24:11):
majority of us can do. I don'tthink it's something that's
going to scale. And unlessyou're pretty ready for
retirement or to not be inrecruiting, you really have to
jump on some level of socialmedia. I always tell people you
don't have to post every day.
You don't have to do whateveryone else is doing, but you
(24:33):
have to find something thatworks for you and do it.
Anna Morgan (24:37):
And that's sustainable. And maybe come up
with a pattern or a processthat's just yours that you can
stick to. But, again, the reasonI'm like team comment because
when in doubt, if your lifefalls apart, if you're
overwhelmed with wrecks, you canat least find 30 minutes to make
(24:57):
10 comments that day. And if youdo that, LinkedIn's gonna reward
you with that visibility. So Iabsolutely believe in
sustainability when it comes toshowing up on LinkedIn, but
there's so few recruiters thatdo it.
And it's so powerful, and it'seven more powerful for ensuring
(25:20):
their well-being. Forget theemployment branding for them so
that they are top of mind, sothat they are sought out. So
when they get laid off, theirbounce back is so much faster.
That's why I talk about careerinsurance.
Rhona Pierce (25:36):
Yeah. And you mentioned employer branding,
which is important. It's notreally the focus of this
conversation. However, a bigpart of employer branding is
also the brand of the employeesthat are attached to that
company and recruiters being atthe forefront of that employer
brand. What strategies canrecruiters use to align their
(26:01):
personal brand with the employerbrand, and should they be doing
this?
Anna Morgan (26:05):
Yeah. I mean, our jobs as recruiters are to sell
the organization, and we have tounderstand the business. So the
first thing you wanna do as arecruiter is you want to just
absorb as much information asyou can. So that could be, like,
multiple intake meetings withhiring managers. That could be
(26:27):
shadowing team members.
That could be site visits, youknow, and really getting behind
the scenes and reallyunderstanding all the different
levels, you know, not just fromthe hiring manager perspective,
but sit down and interview themerchandising coordinator and
get an idea of of where theycame from school, what their
core competencies are. Thosewill only help you recruit more
(26:50):
effectively for the roles. Thenyou're most likely not gonna be
working for an organizationwhere there's a massive values
misalignment between you and theorganization. So you're already
gonna have some of that there.And then that what shows up in
your content, the valuesalignment.
Right? Because you might createa a cover image that highlights
(27:14):
yourself and then also the brandthat you're representing. Right?
It can show your audience, like,what you do. It shows you in
action.
It amplifies your brand and thecompany's brand. They could say
we're hiring, so people knowyou're signaling to them to
engage. Obviously, use thehiring banner. Big fan of that
(27:35):
if you're in recruiting. So manypeople miss that opportunity as
well as encouraging their hiringmanagers to use the hiring
banner.
Like, that is such a great wayto get referrals and visibility.
So giving clear direction ofwhere people need to go is
important. I'm trying to thinkstrategies that they can use to
(27:58):
amplify their brand and theemployer brand. I mean, show
yourself in action. Recordlittle micro pieces of content
at company events.
Participate in the communityoutreach and different programs
that the company offers so thatthey your candidates and
internal stakeholders, see themelding of those values. And
(28:22):
then ask for feedback. And don'tbe afraid to think get feedback
of what your colleagues and yourpeers think. And I think those
are some good suggestions to,you know, kick things off. You
know, I could go a lot deeper inthat.
But
Rhona Pierce (28:39):
Yeah. No. Those are great things out. Exactly.
And those are great suggestions.
And I think it's very important,and it would be a disservice to
listeners if I don't mentionthis. But, yes, there has to be
a balance between the promotion,the branding that you do for
your employer and your branding.Because as you've spoken about
(29:02):
insurance, that careerinsurance, that's why I do
personal branding. I see a lotof recruiters think, okay.
Personal branding means postingon LinkedIn, and all they do is
post all of the brandingmaterial that either marketing
or the employer brand team orrecruitment marketing team has
created.
And everything you see on theirprofile is about the company
(29:24):
that they work for. That is notbuilding trust. They don't know
who you are. The way that I seethis is you showing up
authentically, everything thatwe've spoken about, like,
choosing something that you likeand everything. And, yes,
sprinkling some post about yourhiring.
I mean, that's why you're doingit. Right? You you wanna get
Anna Morgan (29:45):
Yeah.
Rhona Pierce (29:45):
Candidates. But the real way to enhance and
boost an employer brand and havethat career insurance for
yourself is to lean on thepersonal side of personal
branding. Don't just heavilyfocus on the company for many
reasons. But one importantreason is, as we've all known
(30:07):
and seen in the past couple ofyears, you might not be there
tomorrow. So if all of yourbranding
Anna Morgan (30:14):
Yes. Yes.
Rhona Pierce (30:15):
Yes. If all of your branding is for a company
yeah.
Anna Morgan (30:19):
And I think a lot of people and maybe it's easier
for more creative folks to seethis. Right? You can co brand
yourself as a recruiter for aFortune 500 company and brand
your side hustle or brandyourself or all 3. I've I've
done all 3. And it takes someingenuity and it's LinkedIn is
(30:41):
always evolving.
Right? And it's testingdifferent things out. What
worked for me in 2020 is notgoing to work for me today.
There are different methods, butit's it's having fun with it and
just testing different thingsout and just showing up, not
being hung up on the metrics,not being focused on gathering x
number of followers or this manyimpressions. You know, like we
(31:05):
tell job seekers, it only takes1 person to open that door, one
person to say yes, and it onlytakes one person to be like, I
want her on my team the nexttime she's available for an
opportunity.
And I was hired 3 times by thesame employer. You know why?
They couldn't stop seeing my mugon LinkedIn. So they were like,
(31:26):
oh, Anna's not here. We're notfilling our positions.
Get Anna back. My phone rings.And what happens? Like, each
time I came back, like, myauthority, my expertise, and my
price tag went up. And that'sthe result that I wanna create
for all TA and HR professionalsaround the world.
Rhona Pierce (31:43):
Heavy on the price tag part. So the last job that I
got, I actually connected withmy manager at that company,
who's the most awesome managerI've ever had. I absolutely love
Tara Turcanes. We connected. Wemet on Twitter.
And when I saw a random postthat she was hiring, I wasn't
(32:04):
looking for a job, but I waslike, I like this person. So her
personal brand made me want toapply for the role, and my
personal brand made her want todo everything she had to do to
hire me. Because I live inOklahoma, and the company we
(32:25):
were working for or she wasworking for at that time was not
open in Oklahoma because of thestrong personal brand and the
affinity and because we haveknown each other, known each
other online. She did what shehad to do to make sure that she
could hire me.
Anna Morgan (32:43):
Amazing. I mean and I have I mean, just story after
story. Like, this most recentone is I have been following a
fractional CHR row. I probablycalled on her back in my Tampa
recruiting days. We're talking2,008 maybe.
Anyway, we've stayed connected.We've run into each other on
(33:04):
different comments. We were atsimilar events. We ended up
being on a couple showstogether. She calls me up.
She's on a project. She needs aninterim TA professional to help
build out an HR ops team. Didn'thave to interview, didn't have
to do anything except give herthe information, my w nine, or
(33:27):
negotiate my monthly rate andget started. So it was like
guaranteed income coming intothe 1st of the year. You can't
put a price on that.
And then it puts you, therecruiter, in a position of
power where you can have firstright of refusal, and then you
have options instead of havingjust to take the first thing
(33:47):
that comes your way or being inthat application forced
networking energy, which is atough place to be in where a lot
of people are, unfortunately.Because this work, this
branding, this type ofnetworking doesn't come
naturally to everyone. Andthat's why it's important that
we're having these conversationsso that we can unlock and
(34:10):
hopefully inspire others to juststart small.
Rhona Pierce (34:13):
So we've talked a lot about the importance, the
the benefits, how it helps youbuild trust. What can listeners
do? Like, what steps can theytake to start today? Recruiters,
Anna Morgan (34:25):
we're talking about. Right? Yes.
Rhona Pierce (34:27):
To start building their personal brand.
Anna Morgan (34:29):
Yeah. I mean, I would go back to really looking
at getting that clarity andbuilding some lanes that you
wanna be known for and thenengaging. That's where I built
my muscle. Maybe take some ofthose comments and turn them
into a post. And then, you know,start really simple.
You could do lighter pieces ofcontent celebrating other people
(34:52):
in the industry. Right? Doing aroundup post of your top female
recruitment voices that youadmire on the platform, your top
recruiting podcast that youlove. You could share a
testimonial from a candidate.Right?
This is one thing that I wouldencourage recruiters to do if
(35:13):
they're starting building theirbrand. When you're wrapping it
up an offer and you're like,your start date is this, and I'm
so glad once they get started,ask those candidates for a
recommendation. If other jobseekers see that candidates had
given you shout outs publicly onyour profile, they are
definitely going to trust to,you know, respond and engage
(35:36):
with you. So start with lightcontent. I mean, it could be a
day in the life.
It could be, again, you know,your exercise routine. Like, I
love one of my fellow Ask ARecruiter stage members, Erin,
Murphree. She does these videosof her recruiting on her little
walking treadmill, and that'smemorable. And that doesn't have
(35:57):
anything to do with recruiting,but she's one of the first
people I think of that has oneof those and obviously makes me
one one as well. So, you know,start light.
Start with the stuff that'sclose to you. Start with
engagement, and then be bold. Bebrave. Be the woman or man that
you would have liked to see onsocial media 5 or 10 years ago.
Rhona Pierce (36:20):
Amazing. How could listeners connect with you?
Anna Morgan (36:23):
LinkedIn all day. So you just search Anna Morgan.
I think it's Anna Morganrecruiter dash career b f f. And
then I basically create contentfor LinkedIn and then repurpose
it, Facebook, Instagram,sometimes TikTok. I'm trying to
get more visible on there.
Trying to get over my own fearin creating content there. So
(36:44):
we're all supporting each otheralong that journey.
Rhona Pierce (36:48):
Perfect. And I'll also have your contact
information in the show notesand on the description for those
watching on YouTube for sure.
Anna Morgan (36:55):
Absolutely. And I'm always looking to doing some
market research. So I'm justgonna throw this out there with
full cycle recruitmentprofessionals. On my profile,
they can book a call rightunderneath my headline. I am
looking to do some interviewswith some recruiters around some
of these topics.
So that is an open link and openin invitation. I'll not only
(37:19):
support you in your search, andthen we can, wrap up with just a
couple market researchquestions. So that'd be great.
Rhona Pierce (37:26):
Perfect. And I'll also include that link in the
show notes.
Anna Morgan (37:30):
Perfect.
Rhona Pierce (37:30):
Thank you so much for being here today. This was
an amazing conversation.
Anna Morgan (37:36):
Likewise. Thank you for having me. And for those out
there, you know, messy action isbetter than perfect action. So,
you know, just start.
Rhona Pierce (37:45):
Love it. And that wraps up my conversation with
Anna Morgan. We've covered somuch ground today from the power
of personal branding to buildingtrust with candidates through
authenticity. Remember, likeAnna said, messy action is
better than perfect inaction.Whether it's commenting on post,
sharing your experiences, orsimply being yourself online.
(38:08):
I encourage you to startbuilding your personal brand
today. It's the best insurancefor your career. And speaking of
building trust with candidates,I've got something special for
you. If you enjoyed this episodeand wanna take your recruiting
game to the next level, checkout my free 7 day email course,
storytelling for recruiters.This course teaches you how to
(38:29):
proactively answer the questionsthat job seekers really wanna
know about your company.
It's based on an anonymoussurvey I ran asking job seekers
what they'd ask in an interviewif they knew their chances of
being hired wouldn't beimpacted. To sign up, visit
rhonapierce.com/storytelling.The link is in the show notes.
(38:51):
If you wanna learn more aboutbranding as a recruiter, check
out episode 7, where JamesEllis, an expert in employer
branding, shares how to measurethe impact of your employer
brand and how to get managementon board with your branding
effort. Thanks for listening,and I'll chat with you next
week.
There's a powerful strategy that can level up your
recruiting career, and my guesttoday has proven it works.
Anna Morgan (00:08):
I was hired three times by the same employer. You
know why? They couldn't stopseeing my mug on LinkedIn.
Rhona Pierce (00:15):
That's Anna Morgan, a recruiter who
transformed her career bymastering personal branding.
Over the past decade, she's gonefrom selling print advertising
to becoming a sought aftertalent acquisition consultant.
In this episode, she'll take usthrough her process of building
a personal brand that thatattracts both candidates and
(00:36):
employers.
Anna Morgan (00:37):
When people see us having public conversations,
they are going to trust to haveprivate conversations. The more
you give to others, the morecomes back to you.
Rhona Pierce (00:47):
From finding your unique voice to balancing
personal and employer branding,Anna shares actionable
strategies that any recruitercan use to stand out in the
digital age. Whether you're juststarting out or looking to level
up your career, this episodewill show you how to leverage
the power of personal brandingin recruiting. Welcome to
(01:07):
Throughout the Playbook, thepodcast for recruiters tired of
hearing that hiring is brokenand ready to do something about
it. I'm your host, Rhona Pierce.Let's dive into my conversation
with Anna.
So let's rewind a little bit.And I always like to ask all of
my guests, what initially drewyou to talent acquisition?
Anna Morgan (01:29):
Great question. I was selling print advertising
for a local publication, and Ihad just come out of a retailer.
And I was like, I don't likedoing this work. And I look up,
and there's a retail staffingagency above a pizza shop. And I
walk in, and I'm like, I don'thave an appointment, but I would
(01:51):
like a career that is anythingexcept selling advertising.
And I'm still friends with theAugust coordinator today. Her
name is Nelly. And she was like,okay. And so she gets me an
interview. It was with a firmcalled Apple One.
They're still around. You know,used to be a very big player in
the market. And I got hired onthe spot, and I started learning
(02:16):
recruiting from that day forwardwhere I was selling and
recruiting and absolutely fellin love with it. Just being
curious about people, I waslike, wait. I get to talk about
like, with people and learnabout them and then figure out
where I could put them?
Sign me up. So
Rhona Pierce (02:35):
That is so cool. And so many people come from
sales into recruiting. Othersmove from recruiting into sales.
When did you realize, like, theimportance of building your
personal brand?
Anna Morgan (02:50):
You know, I've always been like a I'm a Gen x
with kind of a little millennialGen z interest in social media,
and I always found recruitingfascinating. And I would, you
know, share things on Facebookprimarily because I'm like, I
wanna remember this becausethese stories are wild. The
people that I get to meet arewild. The situations that happen
(03:13):
where temps don't show up, how Ihad to let someone go, like, and
so I just organically startedsharing little more humorous
things than anything, and thenit just kind of expanded from
there. I ended up moving on to amore start up staffing firm
where I helped to build outtheir administrative, clerical,
(03:34):
and transactional accountingdepartment.
And I joined LinkedIn in 2006.So primarily use LinkedIn as a
business prospecting or huntingtool, but continued sharing some
of those wins and successes andpictures of my employees that I
would walk in on their 1st day.And before I knew it, several
(03:57):
years have passed, and here weare today being recognized for
certain authority with LinkedInand having coached hundreds of
job seekers and helpedorganizations as well amplify
their employment brand. So itreally just happened organically
and really originally from a funinspired place.
Rhona Pierce (04:18):
We've got so many fun stories. Just any day, any
random day in recruiting,there's always something that
stands out. That's a story thatyou can tell.
Anna Morgan (04:29):
Exactly.
Rhona Pierce (04:30):
Obviously, keeping confidentiality and people's
privacy, but it's there's alwayssomething interesting. Never a
dull moment in a day as arecruiter.
Anna Morgan (04:40):
Never. I mean, one of the situations we had and,
you know, I think that's how Ialso got into coaching is that
you would prep your candidatesabout the client and their hot
buttons and what's important tothem. And so you would coach
them on some best practices,especially we were meeting
people in the office. Right? Soyou would see how they spoke,
how they presented, you know,what their style was, and so you
(05:02):
would coach to some of thosethings.
And we had, one young lady thatI don't know what her situation
was, but showed up inessentially like a prom dress to
an interview. But, you know, I'malways about it's better to be
overdressed than underdressed.You've had I mean, just wild
stories. I think all recruiterssay this. We should write a
(05:22):
coffee table book about all thefunny things that have happened.
No one has done it yet. And Ikeep saying, like, I wanna be
the person to gather all thesestories and create this this
coffee book. So, you know,that's my other shiny object
kind of fun project that I thinkI should do someday. So
Rhona Pierce (05:40):
It would be a hit. I've heard the, we should start
a reality show one. No one hasstarted it yet. But No. That's
also something that we do good.
Anna Morgan (05:51):
A potential bias and there's a lot of things that
go into being able to show upfor an interview, and we've all
been on the side of the desklooking for a job. I remember
having to run to Kinko's andprint out my resume on nice
paper because I didn't have aprinter. There's a lot to that.
In theory, we think, oh, well,you know, here, just show up at
(06:11):
this place at this time andcrush the interview and not
keeping in mind that their momsand spouses and daughters and
all the other things that gowith the logistics in making
something that like that happenas well as making the decision
to accept or move forward withan opportunity.
Rhona Pierce (06:31):
Yeah. How has personal branding helped you
build trust with candidates andwith your clients as well?
Anna Morgan (06:40):
Absolutely. I mean, I think when people can relate
to you because leadership isrelatable, and what we share on
social media oftentimes is ahighlight reel. But when you do
get feedback that people arelike, you're exactly like you
seem online. That's a greatsign. And when I have moved
(07:03):
through these positionsinternally and externally and
into entrepreneurship, you know,you have people walk by your
cube and say, I love what you'redoing on LinkedIn.
And you're like, I didn't evenknow that we were connected or
that you were following me. It'selevated my internal brand
equity. It builds trust withcandidates. If they see you
(07:23):
publicly having conversationsand providing value, they're
more likely to respond to yourInMail to set up an appointment
with you. And trust andrelatability is what
accelerates, you know,opportunities for those job
seekers to have conversationswith the hiring managers.
So being able to shorten thatbridge of connection comes down
(07:46):
to that personal brand. And whenyou're sharing information
that's valuable as a coach, as achallenger, as a questioner what
was the other one? It was coach,challenger, and creator. Right?
And also sharing your journeythat because people love to
follow you along.
(08:06):
And so many, like, of mycandidates have ended up being
clients or hiring managers. Soit's helped in a variety of
different ways. I would say it'sa little bit tough sometimes to
measure with a candidate pieceagainst, say, your peer that is
not as active on social media.But the feedback that I've heard
(08:30):
from the candidates, themessages that I've received post
phone screen and follow-upreally speak volumes to building
longer term relationships and inrecruiting long term
relationships that especially ifyou're a niche recruiter is
extremely valuable.
Rhona Pierce (08:47):
I think, like, for me, kind of like what you were
saying, you have people come andtell you, like, hey, I saw what
you're doing on LinkedIn. I'vealso I'm an introvert, so I'm
not the best at small talk andstuff like that. But as a
recruiter, you kinda have to dothat during an interview to,
like, get the the candidatecomfortable. Anytime a candidate
(09:09):
has seen, like, one of my videosor has seen some post, they feel
that they know me. There's thislevel of comfort that actually
helps me not be in that, like,nervous.
Oh my gosh. I'm meeting someonefor the first time. Because I
think candidates don'tunderstand that sometimes, like,
well, not sometimes. We arehuman. I know that I get nervous
(09:29):
before an interview.
Anna Morgan (09:31):
Sometimes we're recruiting for roles that we've
never recruited for. So, like, Ifilled a plant pathologist role
last year, and I was like, howin the world am I gonna get I
couldn't even pronounce a thirdof the words in the job
description. So, I mean, I waslooking I was definitely nervous
(09:51):
when I was getting on the phonewith these very intelligent
scientific candidates. And Ijust used humor and
relatability, and I'm certainthat my brand helped them relax
with me. And then they alsoleveled me up by explaining it
in easily understandable,Annemorgan terms.
So.
Rhona Pierce (10:12):
Yes. Candidates are so much more open to, like,
give you grace. So I do mostlyrecruiting in the tech world.
And, yes, I am a former softwareengineer, software project
manager, but I haven't coded inyears. So, basically, me talking
to an engineer right now, Idon't know any of the new
things.
(10:32):
I just I know it from arecruiter standpoint. I don't
know it as a technical person.So maybe I can ask a few more
questions. But most of the time,I'm like, wait. Can you explain
this a little bit more to me?
But just because they they'veseen that there's that personal
brand, there's that trust, theydon't feel the way that I see
them treat other exactly. Otherpeople on the team and they're
(10:55):
like rude. It's like, well, youshould know this. It's they're
so open to be like, oh, let meexplain this to you type of
thing.
Anna Morgan (11:01):
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And then, you know,
being consistent on theplatform, again, it just builds
that know, like, and trustfactor, which is everything in
recruiting and in stayingemployed in recruiting as well,
I believe.
Rhona Pierce (11:19):
Yeah. So what steps should recruiters take if
they wanna start working onestablishing their personal
brand?
Anna Morgan (11:28):
Yeah. So I think it's a combo question. Right?
Like, the advice that I wouldhave for recruiters about, like,
how to get started prior to howto start building their brand.
Because a lot of recruiters arelike, what am I good at?
You know, they need thatclarity. Right? So what is your
sweet spot? What's your lane?What's your niche?
Like, list out the topics thatyou're passionate about. Think
(11:49):
about the books you read, thepodcast that you listen to. What
are you researching? Think aboutwhat you're doing outside of
work, where you're volunteering,or do you coach a softball or or
baseball team? And then thinkabout, like, what is the legacy
that you wanna leave behind,like, first?
And a very basic exercise. I dothis with job seekers and
(12:12):
encourage this of recruitersthat are thinking about what is
my brand. Text your pastcoworkers and bosses and say,
hey. I'm working on my personalbrand. What are 5 words that you
would use to describe me?
And then look for trends andthen lean into those words and
start there. Like, have thatclarity and then own it. Let
(12:35):
those things be you, and don'tbe afraid to showcase those
things. Because back to therelatability factor is we could
care less if you can recruitengineers. But are you a yogi?
Do you drink coffee? And do youlove dogs? I will definitely
respond to your direct message.Right? So I think that's step 1.
(12:57):
Like, how to get started. Andthen once you're there, you have
to be able to tell that story.So have a profile that speaks to
that. Start with your coverimage. Your cover image can do
so much for you.
It's real estate. Have aheadline that is SEO and search
friendly, but also show somepersonality. And then engage.
(13:19):
When people see us having publicconversations, they are going to
trust to have privateconversations. The more you give
to others, the more comes backto you.
And my personal experience is Inever saw myself as a creator.
I, like, had to take English 101twice. I fell failed out of
college in 96, finished mydegree later. You know, I was,
(13:43):
like, I'm never gonna write as aprofessional or put out creative
content, but here we are. Andhow I found my voice was by
engaging with others.
I found my voice in thecomments. So if there's a
recruiter that's, like, lookingfor that first step, comment on
other people's content. Give tothem. The search bar on LinkedIn
(14:05):
is powerful. Search up topicsthat you're comfortable talking
about.
I don't care if it's knitting.Find hashtag knitting on
LinkedIn and go comment on thatcontent. You're gonna start to
build community of people thatare talking about the same
things. And then you'll start torun into some of the same people
in the comments, kind of likehow you and I ran into each
(14:27):
other on a shared post and herewe are. I'm, like, huge fan, and
then you invited me to yourpodcast or I was recommended by
2 different people.
So the commenting and engagingpiece is such an underutilized
aspect of the platform, and it'sa very sustainable strategy. Not
everyone has to be a creator.People think they wanna throw up
(14:49):
all this content and it's like,just have public conversations
and be yourself.
Rhona Pierce (14:53):
Yes. There's a lot like, I'm not a big commenter
also. So so there's two sides ofit because, like I said, I'm
not, like, big on small talk andstuff like that. But when I
create content and peoplecomment on it, those are so easy
for me to reply to. But onething, when on days where
(15:15):
because it's true.
As a creator, there are dayswhere I have zero creativity. I
have no clue what to post, and Ihave this thing for myself where
I only post things that I wouldwant to consume. I don't just
post for posting. Well, on thosedays, I go and look at people's
content and I start commenting.And it's so incredible the
(15:38):
amount of people that I've metin the comments.
I can tell you right now, Iprobably am going to have, by
the time this is released, like8 or 9 podcast episodes. All of
them have been people that Ifound in the comments.
Anna Morgan (15:54):
Yes. Like, I am team commenting. I mean, going
back to also, like, gettingstarted and thinking about your
legacy and who you wanna be, theother thing I think about
because people are like, I don'twanna do self promotion. It
feels braggy. Put your servantleadership hat on.
Think about the woman or the manor the kid that you needed when
(16:18):
you were starting out in yourrecruiting career. Let me just
tell you. If I saw cool, badass,bold women like us showing up on
LinkedIn, I would be like, Iwant more of that. Right? And
that goes back to being a coach,being a creator, being a
challenger.
Do you have strong opinions? Ihave strong opinions about, you
(16:39):
know, cover letters. But it'sgoing from, like, that are you
familiar with the drama trianglewhere it's the drama triangle to
the new leadership triangle? Soit used to be, are you creating
content to be a helper, rescuer,the victim prosecutor mindset?
And now it's the coach creatorand challenger kind of mindset.
(17:00):
So and that's how people canfind their voice. Challengers
ask curious questions. Creatorsshift from needing permission to
taking action and sharing theirmistakes along the way, like I
share about my entrepreneurialjourney. And then coaches, like,
they empower people to takeaction. And sometimes it's based
(17:20):
on the action that they're doinggives others permission to take
that first step.
Rhona Pierce (17:25):
There's something that I've spoken to recruiters
about, especially just people inthe DMs. Everyone thinks that
the type of content thatrecruiters have to create has to
be for job seekers. It has to betype of, like, job search
advice. Or the other side ofthat coin is advice for
(17:46):
recruiters. What advice do youhave for recruiters who are
unsure about how to positionthemselves and, like, what type
of content to start creating?
Anna Morgan (17:56):
I think it goes back again to, like, what your
interests are, and my belief isleadership can show up in a lot
of different ways. I commentedon a a post of a peer who was
celebrating her son's 7thbirthday, and she gave 7 tips to
him, but that were also relevantto a link our LinkedIn
community. And, you know, I saidparenting is one of the most
(18:18):
humbling leadership lessons thatwe're ever gifted. Right? So it
could be parenting.
It could be mental health. Itcould be your love of yoga. It
could be your favorite coffeebrands. Again, when I think back
to my agency days and I was outknocking on doors and delivering
donuts and having intakemeetings with prospective, you
(18:39):
know, clients. It was thosethings that we were talking
about, the pictures on theirdesk, their activities out of
work, outside of work.
It wasn't the fact that theysold spirally widgets and
whatever. So think about thosethings and share about those
things. And if you can turn itinto a leadership lesson, do it.
(18:59):
And then don't be afraid of whatother people think. I mean, so
many people I tend to attractsocial media introverts, which
is really fascinating to me.
And they're like, well, what domy coworkers think? What will my
boss think? And I was like, whocares? And you have to be able
to kind of step into thatenergy. My experience has been
(19:21):
nothing but positive wherepeople, like I said, were like,
I love what you do on LinkedIn.
Thank you for sharing that andso forth and so on. Now I'm sure
other people have had differentexperiences, but LinkedIn is
your playground. It is aprofessional networking site.
Leverage it. Have fun.
Be yourself.
Rhona Pierce (19:41):
And you touched a bit about a little on this about
being consistent. How do youokay. I'm a recruiter. I've
decided I wanna start sharingcontent to build my personal
brand. What content creationstrategies can you give to
listeners because contentcreation is just one piece of
(20:03):
recruiting.
Anna Morgan (20:04):
It really is. And, again, I mean, when you're busy
running a full desk and a heavyrec load, My solution was I'd
had LinkedIn up on a secondscreen. In between calls, I
would make some comments. Iwould make a note about anything
I saw about a post that I wantedto do, and I would take comments
(20:25):
and turn those into post priorto the new function that they
have, hashtag old school. And, Iwould just keep a running
document of that.
And then at night or on theweekends, I would decide, okay.
I'm gonna do a text post or apicture post, or this makes
sense for a carousel, or maybeI'll do a TikTok and repurpose
(20:47):
it on the platform. For me, itwas basically, like, things that
were coming up in the moment.Like, the other day, I have a
draft saved because I'm I'mtrying to get more active on
TikTok. And I was looking at arecruiter's profile, and I'm
like, yes.
She is the director ofrecruiting. She, you know, had
this much GM. She was managingthese people these many people.
(21:08):
And then her position beforethat, she's selling the company
that she used to work for. Soit's all about this company, da
da da da.
And so my thought was, I need tomake a piece of content to tell
recruiters to check theirexperience section, talk about
what a badass they are, and stopmarketing for their old
(21:28):
employers. Bam. You know, like,little things that would come up
like that.
Rhona Pierce (21:32):
Very cool. So I'm sure you ran into this, but some
recruiters wanna live a veryprivate life, and they don't
really wanna be out there onsocial media. Are there other
strategies that people can useto build a personal brand if
they don't wanna be on socialmedia?
Anna Morgan (21:51):
Okay. That's a really hard question, especially
for someone that loves socialmedia. I would say to go to
candidate centric events. Soreally try to find ways that you
can do recruiting, have yourcompany sponsor events,
certainly be involved in collegerecruiting or trade shows, join
(22:14):
professional associations. So ifyou are working roles that are
more light industrial, you know,building partnerships with trade
schools or other tradeassociations, then speaking
engagements are a way that youcan really amplify an employment
brand, highlight the employer,and showcase your leadership
(22:35):
skills.
The only other thing I thoughtabout is you could publish,
like, an ebook or a guide orother resources that might
amplify, you know, for theemployment brand. I think
there's things that you could dowithin the organization where
then maybe the marketing teamcould push it out on the company
(22:56):
page? That's a tricky question.I would be curious what are some
of your thoughts because I kindafeel like, who is it Han Solo
from Star Wars? Like, socialmedia is the way.
This is the way.
Rhona Pierce (23:10):
So I'm a 100% team social media for many reasons.
It's just it's 2024. This is howwe do it now. This is how you
win. Sorry.
I also do that. I sing a lot ofthe things that I say. So but,
yeah, this is how it's done now.And, yes, you can go to
(23:30):
conferences a 100%. I've doneit.
I love going to conferences. Ittakes because I'm an introvert,
it takes a lot of my energy.Those 3, 4 days where you have
to be on talking to candidates,doing this, doing the other,
like really selling, but it's away of doing it. Now it always
(23:50):
helps if people have seen yourcontent, if people know who you
are, things like that. So it'snot impossible.
There are a few people thatrecruit, especially in very
niche fields, and they don'thave a social media presence, I
love that for them. I don'tthink that's something that the
(24:11):
majority of us can do. I don'tthink it's something that's
going to scale. And unlessyou're pretty ready for
retirement or to not be inrecruiting, you really have to
jump on some level of socialmedia. I always tell people you
don't have to post every day.
You don't have to do whateveryone else is doing, but you
(24:33):
have to find something thatworks for you and do it.
Anna Morgan (24:37):
And that's sustainable. And maybe come up
with a pattern or a processthat's just yours that you can
stick to. But, again, the reasonI'm like team comment because
when in doubt, if your lifefalls apart, if you're
overwhelmed with wrecks, you canat least find 30 minutes to make
(24:57):
10 comments that day. And if youdo that, LinkedIn's gonna reward
you with that visibility. So Iabsolutely believe in
sustainability when it comes toshowing up on LinkedIn, but
there's so few recruiters thatdo it.
And it's so powerful, and it'seven more powerful for ensuring
(25:20):
their well-being. Forget theemployment branding for them so
that they are top of mind, sothat they are sought out. So
when they get laid off, theirbounce back is so much faster.
That's why I talk about careerinsurance.
Rhona Pierce (25:36):
Yeah. And you mentioned employer branding,
which is important. It's notreally the focus of this
conversation. However, a bigpart of employer branding is
also the brand of the employeesthat are attached to that
company and recruiters being atthe forefront of that employer
brand. What strategies canrecruiters use to align their
(26:01):
personal brand with the employerbrand, and should they be doing
this?
Anna Morgan (26:05):
Yeah. I mean, our jobs as recruiters are to sell
the organization, and we have tounderstand the business. So the
first thing you wanna do as arecruiter is you want to just
absorb as much information asyou can. So that could be, like,
multiple intake meetings withhiring managers. That could be
(26:27):
shadowing team members.
That could be site visits, youknow, and really getting behind
the scenes and reallyunderstanding all the different
levels, you know, not just fromthe hiring manager perspective,
but sit down and interview themerchandising coordinator and
get an idea of of where theycame from school, what their
core competencies are. Thosewill only help you recruit more
(26:50):
effectively for the roles. Thenyou're most likely not gonna be
working for an organizationwhere there's a massive values
misalignment between you and theorganization. So you're already
gonna have some of that there.And then that what shows up in
your content, the valuesalignment.
Right? Because you might createa a cover image that highlights
(27:14):
yourself and then also the brandthat you're representing. Right?
It can show your audience, like,what you do. It shows you in
action.
It amplifies your brand and thecompany's brand. They could say
we're hiring, so people knowyou're signaling to them to
engage. Obviously, use thehiring banner. Big fan of that
(27:35):
if you're in recruiting. So manypeople miss that opportunity as
well as encouraging their hiringmanagers to use the hiring
banner.
Like, that is such a great wayto get referrals and visibility.
So giving clear direction ofwhere people need to go is
important. I'm trying to thinkstrategies that they can use to
(27:58):
amplify their brand and theemployer brand. I mean, show
yourself in action. Recordlittle micro pieces of content
at company events.
Participate in the communityoutreach and different programs
that the company offers so thatthey your candidates and
internal stakeholders, see themelding of those values. And
(28:22):
then ask for feedback. And don'tbe afraid to think get feedback
of what your colleagues and yourpeers think. And I think those
are some good suggestions to,you know, kick things off. You
know, I could go a lot deeper inthat.
But
Rhona Pierce (28:39):
Yeah. No. Those are great things out. Exactly.
And those are great suggestions.
And I think it's very important,and it would be a disservice to
listeners if I don't mentionthis. But, yes, there has to be
a balance between the promotion,the branding that you do for
your employer and your branding.Because as you've spoken about
(29:02):
insurance, that careerinsurance, that's why I do
personal branding. I see a lotof recruiters think, okay.
Personal branding means postingon LinkedIn, and all they do is
post all of the brandingmaterial that either marketing
or the employer brand team orrecruitment marketing team has
created.
And everything you see on theirprofile is about the company
(29:24):
that they work for. That is notbuilding trust. They don't know
who you are. The way that I seethis is you showing up
authentically, everything thatwe've spoken about, like,
choosing something that you likeand everything. And, yes,
sprinkling some post about yourhiring.
I mean, that's why you're doingit. Right? You you wanna get
Anna Morgan (29:45):
Yeah.
Rhona Pierce (29:45):
Candidates. But the real way to enhance and
boost an employer brand and havethat career insurance for
yourself is to lean on thepersonal side of personal
branding. Don't just heavilyfocus on the company for many
reasons. But one importantreason is, as we've all known
(30:07):
and seen in the past couple ofyears, you might not be there
tomorrow. So if all of yourbranding
Anna Morgan (30:14):
Yes. Yes.
Rhona Pierce (30:15):
Yes. If all of your branding is for a company
yeah.
Anna Morgan (30:19):
And I think a lot of people and maybe it's easier
for more creative folks to seethis. Right? You can co brand
yourself as a recruiter for aFortune 500 company and brand
your side hustle or brandyourself or all 3. I've I've
done all 3. And it takes someingenuity and it's LinkedIn is
(30:41):
always evolving.
Right? And it's testingdifferent things out. What
worked for me in 2020 is notgoing to work for me today.
There are different methods, butit's it's having fun with it and
just testing different thingsout and just showing up, not
being hung up on the metrics,not being focused on gathering x
number of followers or this manyimpressions. You know, like we
(31:05):
tell job seekers, it only takes1 person to open that door, one
person to say yes, and it onlytakes one person to be like, I
want her on my team the nexttime she's available for an
opportunity.
And I was hired 3 times by thesame employer. You know why?
They couldn't stop seeing my mugon LinkedIn. So they were like,
(31:26):
oh, Anna's not here. We're notfilling our positions.
Get Anna back. My phone rings.And what happens? Like, each
time I came back, like, myauthority, my expertise, and my
price tag went up. And that'sthe result that I wanna create
for all TA and HR professionalsaround the world.
Rhona Pierce (31:43):
Heavy on the price tag part. So the last job that I
got, I actually connected withmy manager at that company,
who's the most awesome managerI've ever had. I absolutely love
Tara Turcanes. We connected. Wemet on Twitter.
And when I saw a random postthat she was hiring, I wasn't
(32:04):
looking for a job, but I waslike, I like this person. So her
personal brand made me want toapply for the role, and my
personal brand made her want todo everything she had to do to
hire me. Because I live inOklahoma, and the company we
(32:25):
were working for or she wasworking for at that time was not
open in Oklahoma because of thestrong personal brand and the
affinity and because we haveknown each other, known each
other online. She did what shehad to do to make sure that she
could hire me.
Anna Morgan (32:43):
Amazing. I mean and I have I mean, just story after
story. Like, this most recentone is I have been following a
fractional CHR row. I probablycalled on her back in my Tampa
recruiting days. We're talking2,008 maybe.
Anyway, we've stayed connected.We've run into each other on
(33:04):
different comments. We were atsimilar events. We ended up
being on a couple showstogether. She calls me up.
She's on a project. She needs aninterim TA professional to help
build out an HR ops team. Didn'thave to interview, didn't have
to do anything except give herthe information, my w nine, or
(33:27):
negotiate my monthly rate andget started. So it was like
guaranteed income coming intothe 1st of the year. You can't
put a price on that.
And then it puts you, therecruiter, in a position of
power where you can have firstright of refusal, and then you
have options instead of havingjust to take the first thing
(33:47):
that comes your way or being inthat application forced
networking energy, which is atough place to be in where a lot
of people are, unfortunately.Because this work, this
branding, this type ofnetworking doesn't come
naturally to everyone. Andthat's why it's important that
we're having these conversationsso that we can unlock and
(34:10):
hopefully inspire others to juststart small.
Rhona Pierce (34:13):
So we've talked a lot about the importance, the
the benefits, how it helps youbuild trust. What can listeners
do? Like, what steps can theytake to start today? Recruiters,
Anna Morgan (34:25):
we're talking about. Right? Yes.
Rhona Pierce (34:27):
To start building their personal brand.
Anna Morgan (34:29):
Yeah. I mean, I would go back to really looking
at getting that clarity andbuilding some lanes that you
wanna be known for and thenengaging. That's where I built
my muscle. Maybe take some ofthose comments and turn them
into a post. And then, you know,start really simple.
You could do lighter pieces ofcontent celebrating other people
(34:52):
in the industry. Right? Doing aroundup post of your top female
recruitment voices that youadmire on the platform, your top
recruiting podcast that youlove. You could share a
testimonial from a candidate.Right?
This is one thing that I wouldencourage recruiters to do if
(35:13):
they're starting building theirbrand. When you're wrapping it
up an offer and you're like,your start date is this, and I'm
so glad once they get started,ask those candidates for a
recommendation. If other jobseekers see that candidates had
given you shout outs publicly onyour profile, they are
definitely going to trust to,you know, respond and engage
(35:36):
with you. So start with lightcontent. I mean, it could be a
day in the life.
It could be, again, you know,your exercise routine. Like, I
love one of my fellow Ask ARecruiter stage members, Erin,
Murphree. She does these videosof her recruiting on her little
walking treadmill, and that'smemorable. And that doesn't have
(35:57):
anything to do with recruiting,but she's one of the first
people I think of that has oneof those and obviously makes me
one one as well. So, you know,start light.
Start with the stuff that'sclose to you. Start with
engagement, and then be bold. Bebrave. Be the woman or man that
you would have liked to see onsocial media 5 or 10 years ago.
Rhona Pierce (36:20):
Amazing. How could listeners connect with you?
Anna Morgan (36:23):
LinkedIn all day. So you just search Anna Morgan.
I think it's Anna Morganrecruiter dash career b f f. And
then I basically create contentfor LinkedIn and then repurpose
it, Facebook, Instagram,sometimes TikTok. I'm trying to
get more visible on there.
Trying to get over my own fearin creating content there. So
(36:44):
we're all supporting each otheralong that journey.
Rhona Pierce (36:48):
Perfect. And I'll also have your contact
information in the show notesand on the description for those
watching on YouTube for sure.
Anna Morgan (36:55):
Absolutely. And I'm always looking to doing some
market research. So I'm justgonna throw this out there with
full cycle recruitmentprofessionals. On my profile,
they can book a call rightunderneath my headline. I am
looking to do some interviewswith some recruiters around some
of these topics.
So that is an open link and openin invitation. I'll not only
(37:19):
support you in your search, andthen we can, wrap up with just a
couple market researchquestions. So that'd be great.
Rhona Pierce (37:26):
Perfect. And I'll also include that link in the
show notes.
Anna Morgan (37:30):
Perfect.
Rhona Pierce (37:30):
Thank you so much for being here today. This was
an amazing conversation.
Anna Morgan (37:36):
Likewise. Thank you for having me. And for those out
there, you know, messy action isbetter than perfect action. So,
you know, just start.
Rhona Pierce (37:45):
Love it. And that wraps up my conversation with
Anna Morgan. We've covered somuch ground today from the power
of personal branding to buildingtrust with candidates through
authenticity. Remember, likeAnna said, messy action is
better than perfect inaction.Whether it's commenting on post,
sharing your experiences, orsimply being yourself online.
(38:08):
I encourage you to startbuilding your personal brand
today. It's the best insurancefor your career. And speaking of
building trust with candidates,I've got something special for
you. If you enjoyed this episodeand wanna take your recruiting
game to the next level, checkout my free 7 day email course,
storytelling for recruiters.This course teaches you how to
(38:29):
proactively answer the questionsthat job seekers really wanna
know about your company.
It's based on an anonymoussurvey I ran asking job seekers
what they'd ask in an interviewif they knew their chances of
being hired wouldn't beimpacted. To sign up, visit
rhonapierce.com/storytelling.The link is in the show notes.
(38:51):
If you wanna learn more aboutbranding as a recruiter, check
out episode 7, where JamesEllis, an expert in employer
branding, shares how to measurethe impact of your employer
brand and how to get managementon board with your branding
effort. Thanks for listening,and I'll chat with you next
week.
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