The employee journey through your Brand begins when they see how you're recruiting and presenting yourself on social media, and by talking with friends and family who may have worked with your company before. That means the way you're presenting yourself online isn't just to potential EXTERNAL customers but to your future INTERNAL customers too (aka, employees), and it's important to be thoughtful about how you do it.

Here are a few tips and tricks to representing your Brand right from the moment someone comes across your company.

• Share authentic photos of your company and employees on social media, not just stock photos of hypothetical fake happy people. Let everyone see that employees genuinely enjoy working for you. 
• When someone comes in for an interview, give them a surprise. Instead of beating on all the details of legalese or inevitable drug tests, see how the applicant responds to the "interesting." For example, how do they react when you ask them to sing you a song like Happy Birthday or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? This will bring a sense of levity, and it demonstrates to potential employees that you're not just any old boring company. It will give you an idea of how they'll respond in a surprising situation, without being so deadly serious that it throws them off or turns them away from your Brand altogether.
• Make sure you communicate intentionally what it means to represent your Brand, and what will happen if they don't.
• We all know that people can "break the system" with an interview process, telling you exactly what you want to hear without meaning any of it. You won't know what they're really like until they're on the job. By being upfront about your Brand, you can get to the heart of the matter during the initial contact points. Don't just ask if they can do the necessary tasks, but ask yourself if this someone you can see representing your Brand.

Once you've brought someone onboard, you can continually reinforce your Brand. But taking these steps FIRST will give you a head start on bringing in the right people who you know will be happy to join you on your path.