It’s the height of the election season.  Candidates and the parties are all a buzz about platforms – the set of actions and ideas they support in order to appeal to the voting public.

The idea of carefully and consistently communicating who you are and what you believe in order to appeal to others is an often overlooked component of attracting top talent in an increasingly competitive market.

While a political candidate has months (if not years!) to communicate and appeal to voters, hiring managers have only weeks (if not days!) to appeal to top talent.  Being presumptive about what prospective talent knows about you and your company is never a winning approach.  It gives others the opportunity to define you in the candidate’s mind.

Be prepared, in your first interaction with the candidate, to clearly define the vision and opportunity that is unique to what you offer.

Start with your company.  Lay the foundation for why your company is (and will continue to be) different and successful.  Don’t underestimate the need to reinforce the differentiation in your value proposition.  Candidates want to be convinced that you’ve got something special.  Or at least have a vision to get there.

Second, clearly layout the vision and opportunity for the role.  You need to appeal to the candidate’s individual career development goals.  This is where the conversation pivots from “us” to “you.” Since the best candidates are those that are highly motivated to grow, you will need to tell them why the role is important to the success of the firm.   It’s all about opportunity and rewards.

Finally, don’t underestimate the need to sell the hiring manager.  (And this might be yourself!)   Above all, give the candidate an early opportunity to see the passion, experience and vision you have for the firm and the role.  A candidate will not commit if they don’t see commitment from you.

Take the time to align yourself and anyone on the team who will engage with the candidate on what that person needs to know about you.  Tell them.  And demonstrate and live it in every touch-point.

It’s your platform.  Don’t give others the opportunity to define it for you.