So, how do you get them to choose you? If you compare the job postings they pretty much look the same. 401K (CHECK), Top Pay (CHECK), Lunch on Fridays (CHECK), Medical Insurance (CHECK), Education (CHECK), Vacation/Time Off (CHECK), Bring your dog to work. (CHECK).. Wait, no, Scratch that last one.

Well, just like selling any other product or service, reviews are king. A lot of shops are paying their team members a bonus to go out and spread the word to their friends who might also be in the business. They want their team to tell their friends how great it is at their place. But, that's not really what you hired them for. And they can't be everywhere all the time. Plus, most don't really want to pitch job openings on their time off.

​In person recruiting works pretty well too. Many shop owners take it upon themselves to go out and visit other shops in their community to actively target top talent. Although this is a great model that works really well, it is pretty time consuming and sometimes it can get a little personal between owners. And, not all shop owners are great recruiters. Plus you've got a business to run.

So what next? Well, I was pretty curious about what technicians do when they are looking for a new job too. So... I asked. I know, what a crazy idea.

​I started with the idea that you don't necessarily want the guy who's looking for a job. Maybe you want to entice the guy who hadn't really thought about where to go next. So, all the cool marketing tactics that people are doing today are a good start. Advertisements of all kinds. I heard about YouTube ads more than once. Radio Ads too(Streaming Service). Those stickers on oil filters got a mention or two. Flyers at local pubs and restaurants seemed like a good idea too. I would ask your team members where they hang out online and in real life so you get an idea of where to put your ads.

Next, I asked once the shop has your interest, what do you do. Well, they go check out the job posting sure. But, then they go to the shop's website and social media to see if they can get some idea of what the place is like. They want to see if they know anyone there. They want to see if it looks like a place they would even want to work at every day. They looked at pictures of the shop to see if it's clean. What the layout is and if people seemed like they like working there.

Many mentioned that if they saw a shop that seemed to have great reviews and pictures of the shop or staff, it got them interested. If the shop has a careers page that tells them about what it is like to work there, not just a form to fill out, it makes them feel like someone took the time address their needs. It wasn't just another job posting page.

People like to know a lot about a business before they even think about calling or filling out an application online.

After each person told me what they would look for, I asked them what if they could ask people who worked there now what they thought about the business. Most said that would be great, but it was somewhat unrealistic because they weren't going to go visit a shop and talk to the guys working there.

So I showed them a shop's career page that had a video of the team talking about what it was like to work there and what they liked best. The video showed the work environment so you could see that it was clean, well lit and organized. I showed them how that same shop had a video of their customers telling why they loved coming there. I showed them a video of the shop owner telling his story about how he got started and how he treats his team and customers.

Well, every person I interviewed told me that they would work at that shop if they didn't already love where they were today.

​Many businesses have the resources in house to record, edit, produce and then host videos like these themselves. But, if you don't, it's best to leave the work to a professional video production service. Just like the difference between the repair services that you provide and those of the DIY or shade tree mechanic, professionally produced video can make a difference.
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​There are a few things to keep in mind when you set out to produce a great recruiting video. First and foremost, what is the image you want to show to potential new hires. You'll want to present the most professional first impression you can. Include interviews with your team but show the shop and customers too. People want to get the full experience. A good story draws the viewer in like they are part of the action. And then when you're ready to show people give some thought to how you present the video on your website. YouTube is a great video platform but a YouTube video on your website might take your visitors off your website to watch Cat videos or SpaceX for hours.
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​A storytelling video that showcases your values, your shop culture and, the authentic stories of the people who work a there is, without a doubt, the best way to recruit the best talent.