Just because 2020 is over doesn’t mean that the search for the essential worker is over. So long as people are waiting for their vaccine, and ordering groceries online, and driving through testing centers, we’re still going to need to focus on continuing our hiring of those that kept us going through 2020, the brave, the courageous, the essential worker.

For those tasked with hiring essential workers – we have to think about all aspects of the hire, from where we find them, who we target, how we message them, when we can onboard, and what we do to keep them engaged.

Recently, my blogging has been centered around a theme of New Year's resolutions. But what comes after the New Year? Valentine's Day. So, in the name of love, I pivot.

I’m going to call back from not too far back in my past to my dating life (ah, remember dates?). I, like many of your friends, met my partner the old-fashioned way, using an app I downloaded on my iPhone. Tale as old as time, I tell ya. Before I met Mr. Wonderful, I went out on a myriad of first dates. So, when I tell you about the “good on paper” date, I doubt any of you are scratching your heads wondering what on earth I could mean by that. He’s the guy that seems to have all the right qualities you’re looking for – but you meet him, and none of what you want is there.

That’s what happens when your employer brand doesn’t match up with your candidate experience. Your brand is the date who’s good on paper. The experience you offer your candidate will decide if you’re going to get dumped.