How can your website help attract top job applicants?

Your digital door for recruitment

A website’s primary purpose is usually to attract new business, but in a competitive job market it’s also valuable as a digital front door for potential employees. If you’re competing with bigger, louder companies for talent, having a smart website can tilt the playing field your way.
At the very least, your website needs to be mobile friendly. Mobile browsing surpassed desktop in about 2016. A site that isn’t mobile-friendly is a big tip-off that the business owner is either oblivious to the contemporary business climate or doesn’t care about the presentation of their business.
Next, it needs to be up-to-date in its look and functionality. A job seeker can quickly see when a website is past its use-by date, particularly when they’re comparing companies.

Build your employment brand

If you’re advertising a job, you are marketing a position, not a career. If you’re having trouble attracting talent, it’s essential to consider your ‘employment’ brand alongside your ‘business’ brand. That means a purpose-built careers page, either in your main menu or with a link to it from your home page, so that it’s quickly accessible.
Your careers page should introduce a potential candidate to the culture of your company.
Who are your people? What positions are available? What’s it like to work for your company. What career paths do you support? Do you value your employees? These details can help differentiate your company from competitor companies.
It can also build traction when you don’t have a specific vacancy. When a possible candidate is starting to get dissatisfied in their job they may be browsing around other options and companies to get a feel for a future move. A well presented career page can pre-dispose them towards your company or even drive them to contact you expressing their interest. Thereby saving you time and money in recruitment processes.

Here’s an example of how company culture can be used to attract candidates:

Senior management of a nationwide software company asked the GM of a smaller branch to get rid of the surfboards stacked under the stairs, claiming it was unprofessional. Rather than complying with the request, the GM did the opposite and marketed the flexibility of a workplace that allowed employees to catch some surf, as long as the daily working hours were met. A simple video of surfers on their careers page, with the headline ‘our working day’, meant the stack under the stairs got larger and the company had their pick of applicants. Did it repel their client base? No. Their clients understood they could look forward to a good long-term relationship with top, loyal talent who were looking for work/life balance.

Show them the challenges your company has solved

Maybe we can’t all have businesses close to surf beaches and ski fields, but there are ways to attract top staff through work satisfaction, not just work/life balance satisfaction.
A valuable employee is often also a problem solver, but too often websites focus on the product or service without telling the story of the challenge that was solved. Case studies presented as a problem/solution article, written in a compelling manner can work as effectively as a lifestyle benefit, like proximity to the beach.

Use employee stories to sell the sizzle

One of the best way to breathe life into your employment brand is word-of-mouth endorsement. We all look at product reviews online before making a major decision, so let your employees tell their personal stories about day-to-day working with your company – you might find out some unique perspectives. These stories can be tailored to cover the key ingredients of job satisfaction: challenging work, autonomy, recognition, opportunity for growth and friends. However you should avoid sugar-coating everything, or you’ll just end up sounding inauthentic. Create an honest picture with specific details and real challenges in a well told story or video. Look at the demographic of your potential workforce today and make sure your website is compatible with their career hopes and dreams.

Extend your digital presence

Have an online form for collecting expressions of interest in working for your company. Build a database of potential candidates for specific roles. Emailing them when a position is available is obvious, but you could also send an email with targeted news and project specific examples to keep general interest warm. Often the relationship with a potential employee is built way ahead of a vacancy. Use Facebook and LinkedIn to advertise positions, making sure the content reflects the culture of your company and is up to date. Ask your employees to share the job on their own social media platforms, you will be amazed how effective their networks can be.

Have a website employees can be proud of

Lastly, if a candidate is interested in working for your company, they’re likely to be pointing friends and family to your website. They want to be proud of the company they’re hoping to work for; it invests them in your organisation before they even start and affects the quality of their employment experience.

If you’re not already employing these strategies to bolster your recruitment efforts, we can help. Contact us today.