First off Happy New Year! And let’s get the obligatories out of the way: Set some great goals. Do what it takes to meet them. Rinse, Repeat.
Ok. We’re all set there now, I trust. (Just thought I’d join the somewhat-boring chorus on that one.)
But here’s what is NOT boring: a killer Craigslist posting for bringing in some seasonal help.
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Before I get there, let me remind you about our brand new Direct Mail dashboard which makes sending ROI-positive direct mail super-easy. I’ve personally designed some proven templates in there for you to use, and with tax season bearing down on us, I highly recommend you put in a request for us to mail for you ASAP. Here’s the link to the video explaining it — TaxProMarketer.com/target — as well as the entry point for the tool itself.
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Now, back to Craigslist.
One of our longtime CPA clients, Kyle Nagy (who is actually a local friend of mine here in Kansas City) put together an incredibly effective ad to find seasonal help — with a little help from my team. But he really embraced our advice and has graciously allowed me to share it with YOU.
Firstly, if you have never tested using Craigslist as a recruitment tool, you’re missing out. Two of our best team members here at TaxProMarketer (Becky and Nicole) came to us through that channel, and you can find some diamonds in the rough there.
But you have to do Craigslist right, otherwise you’ll get inundated with a bunch of chum not worth your time. So, here’s how to do it right: (click to enlarge)
Here’s why this posting is so smart…
1) He made the respondents jump through unusual hoops. This is for an admin position, which requires a person who can pay attention to detail and not just blindly go through the motions. You wouldn’t believe how much junk comes to you when you post an admin position on Craigslist. But these small hoops provide the perfect first-look filter for your applicants. After all, if they can’t follow these instructions (while APPLYING FOR A JOB, no less), they’re not going to be much good in an admin position!
2) Resumes are filled with lies and distortions. And you don’t really need them for this position. Social Media profiles can be too, but there’s enough of a crowd-pressure for that to be less the case. By asking the respondents to connect up on Facebook and LinkedIn, you see what people are really about (you can always reject the requests or unfriend people later if you worry about your social profiles getting gummed up). Further, he simplified and shortened his intake process by not having to churn through said falsified resumes.
3) By asking the respondent to give him a gift idea, Kyle was able to lightly probe their research skills. After all, they’re now connected to him on FB and LinkedIn, so they *should* be savvy enough to come up with personalized gift ideas. This way, Kyle got to see how this person might go “above and beyond” and think outside the box (if you’ll forgive those apt but annoying cliches).
In the midst of it, Kyle still received some stinkers. But he told me that he has at least a dozen legit inquiries, and will easily be able to fill his position with someone of quality as a result. There’s a few other smart ideas in there (offering the carrot of a longer-time gig but not promising it up front, using a deadline, etc.) but those I highlighted are the really fresh things.
Anyway, feel free to swipe and deploy within your own practice … but please don’t pester my man, Kyle. He’s up 40% in revenue this year after working with us all of 2013, so he’s kinda busy. 🙂
Oh, and don’t forget that direct mail dashboard: TaxProMarketer.com/target
God bless you, and your firm…