If your careers site is just a couple of candid photos and a simple jobs list – you’re not doing enough! Over the past decade, the standard of corporate careers sites have skyrocketed, as companies do all they can to wow top-quality talent and stand out as an employer-of-choice. If your careers site isn’t on par with other industry players, or is underwhelming compared to the rest of your website… it’s time for a refresh!
Here at MyRecruitment+, we believe that a beautifully designed, hyper-functional careers site is an absolute necessity for securing top talent. Here’s why…
#1 They are an opportunity to pitch your EVP & elevate your employer brand
A careers site should wholeheartedly embody your employer brand, and offer job-seekers a taste of who your company is, and what it would be like to work there. Your careers site should be inspiring, and connect with job-seekers on an personal level.
First and foremost, your careers site should pitch your EVP to potential candidates. What is an EVP, you ask? It’s an employee value proposition. Essentially, an EVP appeals to the needs and wants of an employee, and what they require in order to achieve success at your company. A careers site is the perfect place to articulate what makes your EVP attractive, and what makes your company different from the rest. The following components of the employee experience should be detailed on your careers site, in order to effectively express your unique EVP:
Workplace Culture
This is a major factor that aids candidate decision making. You spend more time at work than anywhere else! Knowing a company fosters a supportive, fun and inviting workplace culture is what every candidate desires when submitting a job application. How can the careers page demonstrate this culture in an authentic manner? Make it visual! Include videos of current staff members sharing their experiences, photos from team-building activities and employee events, or even just images capturing the day-to-day workplace atmosphere. Including high-quality images and videos into your careers site will engage job-seekers, and give them a sneak-peak into life at your company.
Company Values
Company values are a deal-breaker for candidates when applying for jobs. Candidates don’t just consider general ‘workplace’ values anymore; they want to know their potential employer’s stance on pressing societal and cultural issues. This especially rings true when hiring Millennials, as 78% believe that the values of their potential employer should align their own. The values outlined on the careers page must be genuine, and have weight behind them. For example, if you claim that one of your values is diversity, ensure that it’s supported by statistics, quotas or details of programs in place to ensure the value is being nurtured.
Employment Perks
This is a no-brainer when it comes to showcasing your EVP. It’s only natural for job-seekers to be thinking ‘what’s in it for me?’ when contemplating applying for a new job. Does your company offer candidates a salary above the market rate? Maybe you give employees paid birthday leave? Or even free lunch! Whatever your perks are, make sure they are known to people when browsing your careers site. This is an opportunity to showcase why your company is amazing – don’t leave anything out. You never know what perks best resonate with people; the smallest benefit could be the final straw that pushes your dream candidate to apply!
Opportunities for growth and career development
Top-quality candidates want to better themselves, and work for a company that supports that process. Your careers site should shed light on how you support your employees in their development, both in their skills, and in the opportunity to progress into more-senior positions in the company. This could involve any internal recruitment schemes, training and development programs, or case studies of current employee’s progression through your company!
Your careers site is your ultimate EVP asset to sell your employer brand. Ensure that it represents your company as the employer-of-choice, in order to target the best candidates the job market has to offer.
#2 You control the information your candidates see
Don’t make candidates spend hours browsing Glassdoor, social media or forums, in order to find out about your employee experience. Depending on the size of your company, reputable employee testimonials can be few and far between, and can paint the employee experience in an unfavourable light. Through covering the topics outlined above, your careers site will be the ultimate source of information for job-seekers. They won’t need to look anywhere else!
If you want to provide candidates with an extra level of clarity, utilise the careers site to outline the steps in the recruitment process. Let job-seekers know what will occur at each phase prior to an offer of employment; for example, they may need to complete an online assessment, video interview, in-person interview and a trial before they are accepted. Candidates will appreciate the transparency, and feel comfort in knowing what to expect when applying for a job at your company. This information will allow your candidates to adequately prepare and manage their expectations, contributing to an overall positive candidate experience!
#3 They encourage organic visibility
A well-optimised careers site can do wonders for organic visibility and can drive traffic to your page. Including plenty of frequently-searched keywords related to your industry will boost SEO, and help to direct job-seekers in your direction!
Top tip: it’s great to be creative, but not when it comes to job titles. Keep it simple, or else you risk inhibiting your SEO potential, and miss out on reaching active job-seekers.
Incorporating HTML backlinks will contribute to the overall professionalism of your careers site, while prompting job-seekers to explore other areas of your website. This will allow candidates to learn more about your company, mission, functions and products. The more they know about the amazing work you do, the more invested they will be in becoming apart of the team.
#4 They reduced time-to-hire
Candidates don’t like messing around when it comes to applying for and accepting a new job. If the recruitment and hiring process is lengthy and drawn out, fresh talent be put-off, and will likely be snapped up by time-efficient competitors! There are two key ways in which a well-designed careers site can help reduce the time-to-hire:
– A careers site provides candidates with a seamless application funnel. This makes for a streamlined and easy-to-navigate process. Candidates won’t procrastinate submitting an application, because everything they need to know is laid out in front of them!
– Careers site users have the ability to enable job alerts, so that eager candidates can register to receive automatic email notifications once a job opening becomes available. These digital alerts motivate candidates to apply to a role straight away. This gets the recruitment ball rolling, right from when the job is posted.
#5 They reduced advertising costs
Online job boards are excellent ways to communicate current job openings with job-seekers, however, they can be costly. The most popular job boards charge over $250 for a single job posting – before any boosting or extra advertising! If you’re regularly posting ads across a multitude of job boards, the costs really start to add up.
Advertising job openings doesn’t have to break the bank. When using modern recruitment software, posting jobs on your careers site is virtually free, beyond the initial set up and minimal maintenance costs. Job openings can be posted directly to your careers website, and promoted organically on through job-alert email databases and social media. This can assist in cutting down on the number of paid job boards used, while still reaching a wide audience of job-seekers. By maximising your careers site capabilities, you’re looking at significant savings!
#6 They have the capability to be mobile-friendly
When designed with modern recruitment software, careers sites can be fully compatible with mobile devices. Job-seekers want to be able to browse your careers site on-the-go, and not have to wait until they have access to a computer. Mobile browsing actually accounts for over fifty-percent of all internet web traffic worldwide – so it’s a pretty big deal. If your careers site isn’t designed for mobile, it’s sure way to lose top-quality talent. For all you know, your ideal candidate could spend their morning commute searching for jobs on their phone!
The benefits of mobile compatibility go both ways, as users are also able to review applications submitted through the careers site on their mobile device. That’s what you call a win win!
#7 They provide you with a recruitment ‘home-base’
Everything mentioned in this blog post could be summed up by the idea that your careers site is the one-stop-shop for all things talent acquisition and recruitment. In a singular online location, your careers site can:
- Be accessed from anywhere
- Assist in creating a beautiful candidate experience
- Provide job-seekers with a wealth of information about your company
- Be the first phase of a seamless recruitment funnel, compelling candidates to continue with the application process all the way through.
Here at MyRecruitment+, we work with hundreds of clients to help them create beautiful careers sites. Does your careers site need a some TLC? Contact us to get started.
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