PR and Recruitment – Attracting Top Talent Through Your Story
When did you last apply for a job? Chances are, you didn’t just read the job spec — you scrolled the organisation’s website, checked their socials and – if you’re anything like me – Googled news about them. What stories are out there about your potential employer?
I regularly hear business owners and CEOs say they struggle to attract applicants of the right calibre. The roles are there, but the talent isn’t coming. While that could be down to several factors, PR most certainly plays a role. Why?
Well, PR isn’t just about driving sales or inquiries — it’s about all of your audiences, including prospective employees. Every press mention, article or social post shapes what people think about your organisation and whether it’s a place they want to work, or not.
Serious candidates don’t just want to know what the job entails — they want to understand the culture, the values, and what it would really be like to work there. After all, they might be leaving one long-term employer to join yours. They don’t want to make a mistake!
Candidate Turn-Offs
On the flip side, silence and mismatch can speak louder than words.
Imagine a company recently went through redundancies, which were reported, but no one from the management team was available to comment. How does that land with you? To me, it would be a red flag. Don’t they care about their staff? Why didn’t they pre-empt that announcement? They knew it was coming. Has there been any other coverage about the company since?
And when a candidate visits your LinkedIn or social channels, what will they find? If very little – or worse, nothing! – what does that tell them about your workplace culture?
Or think about the visuals you’re projecting: are all the photos on your socials or in press coverage of men in suits, while you claim to be a dynamic and inclusive place to work? Your candidates aren’t stupid. These signals will determine whether they want to work for you – or not.
Show Your Story on Your Terms
Through PR, you can intentionally showcase your organisation. Press and media coverage, including thought leadership pieces in the right places, not only allows you to communicate what happens in your organisation, but also why. In turn, why your mission is something worth being part of.
With a strategic PR plan, you can maintain a steady stream of coverage — from magazine features and radio discussions to local newspaper stories and business press spreads — building trust, credibility, and ultimately attracting the right talent.
Perhaps you could announce your recent ‘employer of the year’ award, highlight community engagement programmes, promote volunteering opportunities or share your team’s fundraising achievements? PR gets the story out before candidates even apply.
Targeted PR for Hard-to-Fill or Misunderstood Roles
Sometimes the challenge isn’t that candidates aren’t looking — it’s that they don’t understand certain roles or are influenced by misconceptions around what you do, why you do it and what the career opportunities might be. Again, strong comms can help you here. For positions that are harder to fill or roles that people often misunderstand, you can shape PR content specifically around that area.
Perhaps some case studies which explain what someone in that role does day-to-day, the skills they use and how they have progressed. Make the outcomes of your work visible and show how different roles contribute to meaningful results.
Summing up
By doing this, you’re not just creating PR for coverage — you’re building a broader comms ecosystem that strengthens your employer brand and helps job seekers understand why it would be worthwhile to work with you.
So, ask yourself this.
Are you giving the right impression?
What are the common misunderstandings about your organisation or sector?
What do you want candidates to discover before they hit “apply”?
And just as importantly, what impression does your silence give?
For support with your comms, particularly press and media engagement, give me a call on 07912 324 264 or drop me a line at claire@graingerpr.co.uk.