Tips for Writing a New Hire Press Release: How to Catch People’s Attention
A perfect new hire press release template?
If you’re short on time, we’ve created a useful new employee (or promotion) announcement press release template[1] that you can use. However, if you’re looking to create an exceptional new hire press release, let me show you watch to watch out for.
Let’s start with a mental exercise.
Here are two types of headlines: “A new PR Pro in The Company” and “John Smith joins The Company.”
In the first case, you get the impression that the person is “one of many.” The second headline suggests that the employee will strengthen the team because his/her name was announced in the headline. Which of these two new hire examples has got you thinking “who is it?” and thus aroused your curiosity?
A while back when I worked at the editorial office of one of the leading Polish PR platforms, I used to receive a new hire announcement press release virtually every day. These type of stories had their own section in our daily newsletter. Today, I still like to follow announcements on staff changes. They show the dynamics of the job market. I often think to myself, “This person started here and now he/she’s here.” After I have spent years of editing this type of news, I can see now that the way they’re crafted didn’t change much.
Someone may even come to think that a big name or a famous brand is a good enough recipe for a successful personnel change announcement. And though it is true, I know cases when the author missed this communication opportunity and presented the name of the new person… only in the second paragraph, following a rather lengthy description of the brand itself. I remember once I was so impressed with one announcement release I read that several days later I reached out to that person asking for an expert comment. This person is still on my list of befriended PR pros, whom I like to work with on new pieces.
Make sure your new employee (or promotion) announcement press release answers the following questions:
- Who is the new employee (or person being promoted)?
- What will be his/her function in the company?
- What was his/her previous job/position?
- How many years of experience does he/she have?
- Who did she replace in this position (or is it a newly created function)?
- (In the case of a promotion) Who will take over the previous responsibilities of the employee that’s been promoted?
Use an interactive press release to spread the word about your new hire announcement
Once you’ve got all the details down about your new staff, it’s worth sharing your news in a way that’ll improve your chances of the media publishing and talking about your story.
Digital, interactive press releases[2] are a great way to do this.
Although journalists may be a little bit hesitant in the beginning, your news will definitely stick in their memory. Unlike traditional press releases, a digital press release is easy to copy, easy to download and difficult not to notice. If you’re unfamiliar with this type of press release, check out this new hire press release template[3] or the examples below, and you’ll quickly understand their PR potential.
New team member press release example:
Multiple new hire announcement press release example:
Employee promotion announcement press release example:
Getting more personal – additional questions you can ask your new hire
You can also try writing a different kind of new hire press release, which apart from the standard details, gives you the opportunity to add some extra personal background information: what this person specializes in, what he/she likes to do every day, what his/her interests are. A seemingly insignificant description inspired me to write a lifestyle piece on how PR pros spend their time after work.
I recommend avoiding descriptions such as, “He/she prefers her coffee white, enjoys Scandinavian literature, and films by Almodóvar, Altman, and Allen. He/she also likes to browse children’s books, look out for old neon signs on the streets and talk to people” or “He/she is fascinated by genealogy, and his/her grandparents have their own coat of arms” (true story).