How to Write an Effective Press Release for a New Hire
Publié le 19 January 2024
Share your company’s latest exciting announcement by knowing how to write an effective press release for a new hire.
Hiring a strong leader can send a positive signal to internal and external stakeholders and the public at large. However, announcing your hiring decision via a press release may be almost as challenging as bringing the new hire on board.
If you’re wondering how to write an effective press release for a new hire, don’t fret. This article outlines a five-step process that’ll help you write an engaging new-hire press release for your company.
1. Start with a Strong Headline
Whether announcing a new product release, touting the achievement of key business objectives, or introducing a new hire, your press release needs a compelling headline. In one sentence, and with up to 55 characters, the headline needs to do two things:
- pique interest; and
- instantly inform the reader about the type of company news you’re sharing.
Achieving this balancing act between making things interesting and informing, while using a few words, is what makes writing press release headlines challenging.
To make the process easier, consider adopting the following headline convention:
[Your Business’s Name] Hires/Taps [The New Hire’s Name] for/as [Job Title or Role].
The new hire press release examples below use this format:
Notice how concise both headline examples are? Make sure to keep yours short as well. The principle holds whether you’re announcing one hire or a wave of them after a mass recruiting drive.
Also, see the logo next to the headline in our example above (It’s highlighted with a red rectangle)? Including visual elements is another good tip for crafting compelling headlines. While your company logo could suffice, where possible, also use a headshot of your new employee.
Going back to the Centcom example, the company uses a spread before its headline:
Another rule of thumb to follow when writing your headline? Use the active voice. Unlike the passive voice, that one creates a sense of urgency that can make the reader want to read further.
One last thing: don’t go overboard when trying to pique interest. Using superlatives like “best” and “amazing” strikes an unnecessarily hyperbolic tone that’s unsuitable for sharing business news.
The headline is a crucial component of all press releases, so much so that if you get it wrong your target audience might not read further. Thus, it’s the first hurdle to clear when learning how to write a press release for a new hire. If press release headlines leave you stumped, consider seeking help from a PR services agency with experience in digital marketing to help you craft strong and compelling ones.
2. Introduce the New Hire in the Lead Paragraph
An engaging new-hire press release should introduce the individual in the lead paragraph. Press releases are written following the inverted pyramid structure. That means you should include the most important information in the first paragraph.
In your lead paragraph, you can include the following, in particular:
- Who They Are: Who is your company bringing on? Provide their full name.
- What They’ll Be Doing: What is the new hire’s job title?
- Whom They’ll Be Replacing: You don’t have to include this if the person to be replaced was unceremoniously fired and you don’t want the public to know the reason behind the dismissal. If you include this information, people will naturally ask why they were dismissed.
Check out this Unilever press release to see how you can incorporate this information into one paragraph:
Notice that the sentence structures are pretty simple. The terms used are easy to understand as well. That makes sense since your goal is to get your key information across in the first paragraph. You can’t do that if you use complex sentence structures and jargon.
If you’re struggling to write the lead paragraph of your new-hire press release, consider using a generative AI platform to get ideas before rewriting them to ensure a real human voice.
3. Provide Background Information
Your new-hire announcements should provide background information about the new team member.
This section warrants inclusion in the company news release for one crucial reason: it highlights the new employee’s experience and past achievements. Providing a brief description of the individual’s track record may also help to assuage stakeholder and customer doubts.
In no more than 200 words, describe the new hire’s expertise. Highlight what this individual brings to the table. So, you can touch on the following points:
- The person’s previous company/companies
- Previous positions held
- Number of years of experience in the industry
- Their educational background
- Certifications and awards earned (if any)
- Accomplishments in their industry (e.g., overseeing a merger or acquisition or being a founding member of a unicorn)
- Their status as a newcomer (to highlight inclusivity)
In the image below, Duke University describes new hire Emanuel Dildy’s coaching career in detail:
A secondary benefit of including this section is it makes your company look competent. When you highlight the new employee’s strengths, you demonstrate your business’s ability to make excellent hiring decisions.
To make the section more effective, you can also explain how the new hire’s appointment strengthens your business’s market position.
4. Include a Quote from the New Hire
You can add a human element to your employee announcement press release by including a quote from the new hire.
While straightforward, this section can provide a credibility boost to your company. The reason is, when quoted, new hires typically express their appreciation for the opportunity to assume a key role in your business. By talking up your company, it also reminds the press release’s readers of your business accomplishments.
The screenshot of Unilever’s press release is the perfect example. In the highlighted section, new hire, Hein Schumacher, makes positive comments about the company he’s been appointed to lead:
Regarding the section’s length, a decent word count to shoot for is between 50 and 100 words. If you want to keep things concise, the quote shouldn’t be longer than two paragraphs.
To make this section more interesting, consider adding a quote from key stakeholders in leadership positions at your company. You can quote a high-level executive like your company’s CEO.
Quotes from your company’s leadership give you an additional avenue to communicate the new hire’s personality and achievements. You can use it to show why the hiring decision makes for a newsworthy press release.
5. End with Company Information and Contact Details
End your new-hire press release with your company info and contact details.
This boilerplate section is necessary for a couple of reasons:
- It informs potential customers and future stakeholders about your company
- It reminds your existing customer base about your company; and
- It gives busy journalists information about your company at a glance
To keep it concise, aim for a company description with a word count that ranges between 20 and 80 words. Regarding what to include at the end of your press release for a new hire, the following should suffice:
- Your company objectives
- The number of years the company has been in business
- Names of founders of the company
- The executive team (current executives)
- Your business offerings (products or services)
- Any relevant awards the company has earned
WSP’s press release (pictured below) ends with a description of the company and its accomplishments:
You can also include a link to your website at the end of your new-hire press release, like WSP did:
Why not give journalists a copy of your press release as well? In the example above, for instance, journalists only need to click on the Download Press Release button to secure one. The printed press release can come in handy for newscasters who might need information on hand while announcing the company development.
You can provide more than just a copy of the press release.
How about adding an entire press kit journalists can easily download? A press kit is simply a collection of multimedia files with additional information journalists and media outlets will need to cover your story. Think JPEG files (company logo, the new hire’s headshot, etc.), more information about the company, and so on.
In Closing
Writing a press release for a new hire can be hard. But if you follow the steps I shared with you, you should do well.
Just start by crafting a strong headline. The headline must be concise, pique interest, and convey information about the document’s contents. Once done, introduce the new hire in the lead paragraph. Then delve into the employee’s background and accomplishments. Consider adding a quote from the new employee and key company executive to highlight the merits of this hiring decision. Finally, wrap up your new-hire press release with your company information.
Congratulations! Now you know how to write an effective press release for a new hire.
