Mobilizing Talent Nationwide

The company projected significant workforce growth over the next three years, with particularly high demand for a small number of operational roles across the country.

These were stable, well-paying, often unionized careers, but they were not always easy to recruit for. Candidates needed a realistic understanding of the working conditions, training requirements, schedules, and lifestyle associated with the jobs.

At the same time, the company was an iconic Canadian organization with a long history, but its employment brand did not always feel current or familiar to younger workers, newcomers, and other emerging talent pools.

The opportunity was to reposition the organization as a modern, aspirational employer while creating a dependable flow of qualified candidates in both major cities and smaller communities.

The strategy

I helped lead a two-part recruitment marketing strategy that combined the reach of a national employer brand campaign with the credibility and local knowledge of community-based partners.

I sourced an external agency and worked with the team to develop a refreshed employment brand and recruitment campaign.

The creative needed to be visually striking, memorable, and aspirational, while still accurately representing the high-volume jobs we were recruiting for. It featured a diverse candidate base, reflected the communities where we operated, and gave job seekers a clear, easy-to-remember destination for employment opportunities.

The national campaign included:

• Out-of-home advertising and billboards

• Multilingual local radio

• Digital and print advertising

• Social media promotion

• Market-specific campaign activity in priority regions

The campaign created awareness at scale, but mass media alone would not be enough to fill specialized roles across such a large and diverse country.

Building the grassroots network

To complement the national campaign, I personally researched and contacted more than 100 employment centres, diversity recruitment organizations, and newcomer associations in communities where we had multiple positions to fill.

I treated these organizations as recruitment partners rather than simply distribution channels.

Each partner received practical tools to help them understand the roles, identify suitable candidates, and answer common questions. Resources included detailed job profiles with qualifications and working conditions,

digital and printed recruitment materials for employment centres and candidates, and direct access to my team for questions and recruitment support.

The goal was to make it easier for frontline employment professionals to recognize strong candidates and connect them with the right opportunities.

This network was especially valuable in rural, remote, and diverse communities where local trust and relationships could reach candidates that a national advertising campaign might miss.

Bringing recruitment into the community

I also organized dozens of local recruitment events each year.

These events brought recruiters directly into target communities, giving prospective candidates the opportunity to:

• Learn about the organization

• Understand the realities of the available jobs

• Ask questions about training, schedules, and working conditions

• Meet recruiters and current employees in person

• Complete interviews on the same day

This approach helped shorten the distance between interest and action. It also gave candidates a more personal and realistic introduction to the company than advertising alone could provide.