Anybody considering working for you will look at your social presence, and for a small business it is usually the only insight available. What you already post about the work does most of the recruiting, without any of it being about hiring.

What a candidate is actually looking for

Not job advertisements. Evidence about what working there is like.

Somebody deciding whether to apply to a small trade business has almost nothing to go on: no employer reviews, no reputation beyond the local, and no way to know whether it is a decent place to work.

So they look at what you post, and they read it for signals you did not intend to send.

That last one is worth attention. A business posting complaints about difficult customers is telling prospective employees exactly what to expect.

Why this matters more for trades

Hiring is difficult in most trades, and the businesses that struggle least are frequently not the ones paying most.

They are the ones people have heard of, whose work others in the trade respect, and where somebody already working there mentioned it was decent.

Social presence contributes to all three without any of it being recruitment activity. A business whose work is visible in the local trade is a business people apply to.

What already works, without changing anything

The ordinary content that also recruits.

Work photographs, which show standards.

The crew, named, which shows people stay and are credited.

Anything showing a difficult job done well, which is what tradespeople actually judge each other on.

New equipment or vehicles, which signals investment and steady work.

Long service noted, since somebody who has been there nine years is the strongest recruitment signal available.

None of that is hiring content. It is the same material that serves customers, read by a different audience.

When you are actually hiring

A post rather than a formal advertisement, and it should say the things advertisements omit.

What to include: the actual pay range, the hours, whether it is year-round, what the work genuinely involves, what you provide, and who to contact.

The pay range is the one that matters. A post without one gets fewer applications and worse ones, because experienced candidates do not spend time on a conversation that may end at the number.

Being honest about the difficult parts helps rather than hurts. Saying the work is physical, or that winter is quieter, filters out people who would leave in three months.

Where your own staff come in

The most effective recruiting channel a small business has.

A post shared by employees reaches people in the trade, which is where the candidates are. It also carries an implicit endorsement no company post can.

Asking staff to share a hiring post is reasonable and should be asked rather than assumed, since not everybody wants their employer visible on their personal accounts.

Referral arrangements work in trades, and the simplest version, a payment after a new hire has stayed a stated period, avoids rewarding a bad introduction.

What to be careful with

Human rights legislation applies to recruitment, and job postings must not screen on protected grounds. That is straightforward in a written advertisement and less so in casual social posts, where wording drifts.

Phrasing implying an age preference, a physical requirement not genuinely necessary, or a cultural fit that means people like us are the common failures, and they are failures regardless of intent.

The same applies to looking at candidates' own accounts, which businesses do routinely. Information encountered there about protected characteristics cannot lawfully inform a hiring decision, and having seen it is difficult to unsee, which is an argument for restraint.

The practical position

Keep posting the work, name the people doing it, and let that be the recruitment.

When you need somebody, post it plainly with the pay range, ask the crew to share it, and accept that the candidates worth having are the ones who already recognised the name, which comes from the ordinary cadence described in posting consistently without it taking over.

Frequently asked questions

What are candidates looking for?

Evidence about what working there is like: whether the work looks competent, the equipment is decent, safety is taken seriously, and whether the business seems busy.

What signal do businesses send accidentally?

How they talk about customers. A business posting complaints about difficult customers is telling prospective employees exactly what to expect.

Does this need separate hiring content?

No. Work photographs, named crew, difficult jobs done well, new equipment, and long service all recruit while serving customers.

What should a hiring post include?

The actual pay range, hours, whether it is year-round, what the work involves, what you provide, and who to contact. Without a range you get fewer and worse applications.

Does being honest about the hard parts help?

Yes. Saying the work is physical or that winter is quieter filters out people who would leave in three months.

What needs care?

Human rights legislation applies to postings, so wording implying age preference, unnecessary physical requirements, or cultural fit is a problem regardless of intent.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Struggling to find people and not paying least?

We look at what your accounts already say about working there, which is usually the only information a candidate can find.

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