The world has changed so it's critical to get the right talent in your dealership. Hiring and retaining valuable employees has never been an easy task. Now is not the time to get burned by a poor hiring decision – follow these proven steps to hire (and keep) the right employee!

1) Create an Ad Description Based on Knowing What Job Seekers Are Really Looking For

When crafting your ad, remember the perspective of the person you're looking to hire. Keep your ad tailored towards them. Don't just talk about the job requirements and salary; entice applicants about how the dealership's culture and benefits are superior to others. A common mistake is that people try to sell the applicants on the dealership, not on themselves.

Make sure to avoid any negativity in the ad! You don’t want to say things like “we are not looking for people who do this.” Show the qualifications that you are looking for, but do not make your dealership look like you want to push people away.

2) Where to Place the Ad and the Value of Keywords

No matter how well you make your ad, it won’t do anything if the right people don’t see it. Placing your ad in the right place is of the utmost importance. Creating a career tab on your website is the first step. You can place your job opening on your website. After doing this, you can link that page to a career aggregator, like Indeed or ZipRecruiter. Then, when a potential employee sees your job application on those recruitment sites, it will bring them directly to your website’s job page, which is now functioning as an interactive job board. And since they are on your website, they will have the resources to answer any questions about the company that they may have.

In your ad, keywords are extremely important for finding the right employees. Using different words in your ads can attract different types of people, and you want to use this to your advantage. Use words that specific groups of people would use on their resumes; for instance, if you are looking for college graduates, mention that in the ad, and maybe even offer a student loan repayment program to really motivate applicants.

Be selective about the keywords you choose, and be sure they cannot be taken negatively. If you mention that you have a large inventory, that could be understood as the dealership is having a problem selling. If you mention that the opportunity is intense and high-volume, that may be communicating to prospects that the job has too much going on to concentrate. It is important for you to incentivize them to come to the interview, not to avoid it.

3) Interview Planning and Incentivizing

A common mistake is interviewing each candidate differently. Craft an interview format and make sure every single interviewee gets the same questions and has the same experience. Having a scripted interview makes comparing candidates easier, since they were all given the same exact process.

However, if you are trying to hire a team member whose skills are highly sought after but difficult to attract, you'll need to use a different tactic than the scripted interview. Do your homework on what besides money would lure specific talent, and then determine a way to incentivize them to join your dealership. For example, if you need to immediately hire a mission-critical tech, you could incentivize him by offering a 4-day work week.

So now you’ve attracted the best talent... what happens next is the most important!

After all your hard work, you’ve got the right talent walking through your door. How do you close the deal? How do you keep them? In Steps 4 and 5, I share with you the secrets to be sure you sign the employee who is not only the right fit but will be dedicated to your dealership for years to come. Just fill out the form below, and I’ll send you an email with the last two steps that will positively change the way you hire, with far better results than you’ve ever seen. Plus, we'll reach out to help you get the people you need right now, as well as send you updates on new strategies on how to properly staff your dealership as the times force our industry to evolve.

Don’t miss out – let us help you get the staff your need!