Creating an amazing company career page
04/07/12
Company career pages are often overlooked when trying to attract talented new employees. We all assume that salary is the only thing that matters when candidates apply for job but the ability to envision themselves at that company is a key part of the decision making process. As an experienced recruiter I have had so many candidates choose a lower paying job over a higher paying one because they felt the company was a better fit. They made this decision based upon the information provided to them during the interview process and the information on company’s website and career pages. If you don’t want to miss out on the next generation of talented professionals who help your business stay ahead of the competition then its time to make sure you career page is top notch.
How then can you use your website to attract top talent?
To start with you need to start selling your company culture and personality before even mentioning salaries, benefits and bonuses. Make it clear what personality types fit your company whether that is outside the box thinkers or entrepreneurial executives. By doing this you will find that the applications you receive don’t just have the right skills and experience but the right attitude and visions that will comfortably integrate into your existing team.
Here are a few quick tips:
- Sell your company culture – make your company’s values and vision clear and you will attract candidates who share these values.
- Include testimonials from existing employees; these can be simple quotes, detailed back stories or video interviews. Videos testimonials can make you stand out from the crowd and create a really strong first impression.
- Include any awards you’ve won that showcase a positive company culture such as Investors in People, The Times Best Companies to work for and other more regional awards. Let you prospective employees know what you expect from them, winners attract winners.
- What happens outside of business hours - do you have your own sports team; are you always raising money for charity? These extras can really differentiate your company culture from others.
- Give a quick idea of bonuses and benefits you offer. Do you run an employee of the month scheme and what are the rewards? Most companies have processes to boost motivation and increase morale but don’t sell these to potential new employees.
- Distinguish between the rest of your website and your career section with your choice and language and imagery. Be authentic, this isn’t the time for buzzwords and hype.
- If you publish an internal company newsletter include it in your career section or start a blog and publish articles from your newsletter online.
Here are some good examples
Adidas
The Adidas global careers page uses its endorsed athletes to tell you about the company. This shows immediately how much Adidas values its employees and with pictures of actual employees in the background you get the impression that you’re as important to the Adidas brand as the athletes are.
http://www.adidas-group.com/en/careers/new_site/adidasgroup/high.html
Inkling
Inkling’s career page contains a nice selection of colleague back stories and unique benefits. They describe themselves are group of funny nerds and sell that the fact you becoming part of something special, more of a movement rather than a company. It’s not your typical corporate verbiage but inkling isn’t your typical corporation.
http://www.inkling.com/careers/
Virgin Trains
Virgin Train’s career page is more traditional than the previous two examples but theirs is so much information backed up by Virgin’s strong branding that you feel they would be a great company to work for. An extensive FAQ section and online application system helps automate and manage the recruitment process.
http://www.virgintrainscareers.co.uk/Exp/Default.aspx
Putting it all together
You need to find the balance between your corporate image and you corporate culture, if there’s a distinction. The rest of your website will concentrate on selling your services, your products and your experience – your approach is more outbound while your career page needs to be more inbound. To many career pages are written in the same format as the rest of the website and often miss the mark. Remember you are speaking to a different audience and adjust your approach accordingly and it won’t be long until the cream of the crop is knocking at your door.
Did you know we offer free fully managed career microsites?
Written by Jonathan Bennett+