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Careers Websites: The Basics

1 Dec 2017

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The competition for talent is high and brands are getting increasingly less time to impress candidates and subsequently fewer applications for incredible jobs. Gone are the days of trawling through web pages, deciphering cryptic messages about business goals and processes. The current recruitment market is in favour of the candidate; brands now need to sell to candidates as well as consumers. As cliche as it sounds, first impressions always count, so building an engaging careers website is the first step to sparking an interest in your potential employees. Research shows that 64% of candidates consider career websites to be the most valuable resource when researching opportunities. So owning a lacklustre careers site means you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to attract and engage with high quality candidates.

So what’s the process? Enter the basic principles of marketing:

Attract If a candidate is visiting your careers page, they’re already attracted; “Check out that new start-up, they’re hiring” said a friend. “That was an intriguing Facebook ad, I’ll click through”, said the candidate. You’ve caught their eye, but this is just the start. On average, candidates will spend less that 60 seconds on a careers website before deciding if they want to pursue a job with that company.

To deepen the attraction, your careers site needs to tell a story. Why do you do what you do? Don’t try and sell your product, but sell your experience. This is a vital opportunity to educate candidates on who you really are and what makes you tick.

Candidates need to see a genuine representation of your internal culture and understand what you value in people and in the way you work.  The question you’re answering here is; “Why should I join your company?” This is often a hurdle that many brands stumble at. Finding the right type of people to fit your culture will not only up the pace of your hiring process, but will increase employee retention. Offering this insight will save heaps of time and money through the hiring process.

Pobble know a thing or two about attracting a candidate to their way of life:

Engage

They’re interested. What next? Now it’s time to understand how the candidate can get involved. What part can they play in your story? A list of jobs won’t cut it. Job descriptions need to have an impact; specific yet enticing. Forget shoving in a load of keywords, think of your job copy like a consumer advert. Get your marketing team involved and make sure your tone of voice is spot on. Remember to keep it concise – time is of the essence for in-demand talent. They’ve probably read 10 of these things in the last 15 minutes.

Don’t bore them with reams of text either. Pop in relevant video content or an infographic that best represents what you want to see and makes the experience memorable. Employee generated content can enhance this too. What better way to experience your company through the eyes of your employees than literally through the eyes of your employees. Pinch some of their snaps off of Instagram (with consent, of course) or ask your team to demonstrate what your company means to them through a series of photos. Jot down some quotes or testimonials and let the words speak for themselves.

Here’s how Tails.com keep their candidates engaged on their careers website:

Convert

The candidate knows what you’re all about, they can picture themselves in your office, now you need to get them to click apply. A simple user journey is golden so keep the application process swift. Don’t mess around with long screening questions as candidates will get bored and drop out of the process – even the right candidates. Keep your screening questions concise and timely. According to our pals at Beamery as many as 60% of candidates roll their eyes and shut their laptops due to a complex or long application process. Not to mention, an efficient process keeps the internal admin down too, your hiring managers have not signed up to read War and Peace for each application.

It doesn’t stop there. Sync up your careers website to your ATS (Application Tracking System) or ESP (Email Service Provider) and whizz your candidate over an email to acknowledge their application and give them a thumbs up for taking the time out to get involved with your company.

How to enhance all of the above?

Mobile optimise your careers website. 43% of applicants have used their mobile device to look for a job. Can a candidate navigate their way through an application? Make your website as easy to access as possible.

Don’t forget your SEO. You want your site to be searchable on Google. 30% of all Google searches are employment related, so you need to fight off some serious competition.

Add a sign up button to join a Talent Pool. This way, you can keep in touch and update candidates on what’s happening in your business.

Give it some personality. Multimedia content is a no brainer, add a few videos and audio content and make your page interesting. Give potential candidates behind the scenes access to what your company is like.

If you really want to hit the ball out of the park, consider including a job matching tool or values measure. Although not necessary, it’s a really intuitive way to engage with candidates and direct them towards roles within your company that match their experience.