Where & How to Post Jobs to Attract MSP Talent
Sourcing requires a two-pronged approach. You want to A) cast a wide net and B) do laser-focused sourcing. Casting a wide net is called a “pull tactic”; you send energy out into the world so that it’s always working for you by pulling people into your orbit as talent trickles in. Laser-focused sourcing is a “push” tactic, pushing out targeted energy to ideal candidates. It’s a personal approach—most of the truly talented people out there only respond to this method and don’t bother fishing where everyone else fishes when looking for a job.
Post on Indeed.com to Cast a Wide Net
Post 5 jobs, each with different versions of the same job but with different job titles. This generates a higher number of impressions (the number of times your job description shows up in search results) and casts a wide net. There is a $25 minimum per ad on Indeed.com, but to be competitive, you should spend at least $100 per ad (so 5 ads = $500). Make sure you select “balanced campaign” as the setting for the type of ad instead of “maximum campaign.” This ensures you will stretch your budget over 30 days as opposed to having a “flash in the pan” job advertisement that only stays up as long as you generate clicks to hit your budget.
LinkedIn.com – Laser Focused
Send invites with tailored messages inviting people to connect with you on LinkedIn. Create 5 different versions of an intro message. Here’s how:
- Click Connect and Include a Note.
- The content should read something like this: I own a business that does XYZ, my business is booming (sell it!), and most importantly, connect the dots on why that person would likely be good at performing this job. Caveat: you can only include 300 characters, so be concise!
- Search for MSP professionals.
- Send invites to a total of 75 people (5 per day, 25 per week for 3 weeks) and include one of your 5 different messages in your invitation.
Indeed.com ReachOut – Laser Focused
Recycle your messaging from LinkedIn invites to send to MSP candidates who’ve posted their resumes on Indeed.com.
Craigslist – Hedge Your Bets
Recycle your job descriptions and post on Craigslist.
Referrals
Keep your head on a swivel, and ask people if they might know anyone interested in your job. Pay it forward by telling people you’re offering a referral fee ($500 – $1,000) if they can introduce you to someone looking for a job in the MSP industry that might align with your open position.
Takeaways
Execute both a push and pull sourcing strategy. Remember to stick with the laser-focused approach; it’s time-consuming and has a low response rate, but it absolutely works because most of the best MSP talent is passive. There isn’t a silver bullet solution to sourcing and hiring—sourcing is a derivative of time and volume. You might have to “kiss a lot of frogs” to get results, but MSPs are customer service companies first, and technology companies second. Hiring mistakes are costly, and scaling a business requires doing all these little things consistently and correctly; otherwise, you’re opening yourself up to costly mistakes.
Give yourself a timeline of 3 weeks to execute these steps.
