Some hiring managers are remarkable at selling the dream of working for their company. They are able to paint a picture and articulate the possibilities in a way that makes candidates drool for the job. This is an important element, especially if you want to attract the top talent in your field.

Other hiring managers excel at executing the ever-important recruitment process with flair. The recruitment process is the ideal way to help the candidate understand exactly what they are getting into and helps manage expectations, which can improve both performance and retention of talent in the long term.

Both! You don't want to simply sell the dream and not manage expectations or you will end up hiring people who are terminally disappointed when challenges arise in their job-challenges that should have been addressed in the interview process.  On the other hand, just putting candidates through a series of endless hoops and interviews can be repetitive, and frankly, uninspiring. This could cause you to lose great applicants who become frustrated with your process. The ideal is a combination of both. Try this:

Not sure how to sell the dream? For ideas, check out how the big dogs do it with video (Google, Microsoft and Cisco) and come up with ways you can sell the dream in your company.

Google Recruitment Video

Cisco Recruiting Video

Microsoft Recruiting Video