Looking for Talent? Optimise Your Careers Page -

The Careers page on your company website offers a valuable opportunity to sell your company to prospective employees. It is a full website page dedicated to marketing your key value proposition and to convey the unique characteristics that make you an employer of choice.

What does your current Careers page say about your company? Is your Careers page a digital wasteland with a “No jobs are currently available” statement set against digital tumbleweed blowing around in the background?

With minimal barriers to entry, you can incorporate a range of technology and digital tools, to overhaul your Careers page, stand out from your competitors and attract the best talent the market has on offer.

Think of your Careers Page as a Billboard for Candidates

Recruitment and talent acquisition teams need to think about potential candidates as clients or customers. In fact, creating content and imagery for your Careers page is a marketing project, tied into your company’s overall talent acquisition and recruitment strategy.

Don’t waste a valuable digital marketing opportunity to woo prospective candidates, whether they are looking to join your company right now or some time in the future. Create messages that will attract talented individuals to your company.

A Compelling Careers Page – Valuable Candidate Attraction Real Estate

Key Careers page inclusions:

A creative, innovative and authentic description of your company in text, video or infographic format (yes, you need to really “sell it”)
An explanation of your recruitment process clearly and in detail, to convey full transparency
Communication of your current open positions. A link to a Position Description or brief Role Statement is not a sales tool unless it has been crafted carefully to sell the position and your company
Content exploring your Key Value Proposition – what sets you apart as an Employer of Choice?
Communication of your company values including employment policy commitments such as equal opportunity and diversity in recruitment policies
Links to other relevant pages of your website
Links to external job boards (if relevant)
Provide an opportunity for prospective candidates to provide their contact details to your company, even in the case that there are no current opportunities available

If you are serious about securing the best talent the market has to offer, you should start to build a professional relationship with them with a long term play in mind – whilst the timing might not be right for your company or the candidate right now, it is possible that there will be a time down the track that aligns for you both.

Promote Positions Internally

When you advertise a position on your Careers page, make sure you have mechanisms in place to alert your current employees about the opportunity as well. Providing a link to your Careers page is an effective way to do this.

Every company should take the time to let employees know when vacancies arise for two reasons:

If you advocate a policy of promoting from within, it is essential you find an effective channel to promote upcoming opportunities to those within your company – in a timely manner – not as an after thought
Your employees are an excellent source of referrals

When new employees commence, take the time at induction to explain that you support growth from within the company. Create space on your intranet (or similar communication tools), to promote your positive and proactive focus on supporting and developing those within the company.

These open lines of communication will not only encourage your proven employees to apply for relevant positions, but also ensure they refer others in their professional network, who may be highly suitable for the position being advertised.

Creating an Innovative Careers Page

There is no definitive guide to the design of a compelling Careers page. In fact, the more you customise the page to reflect the unique traits of your company, the better.

Here are some of the latest innovations in Careers page content to consider:

A video welcome from the CEO or company founder
A “Day in the Life” employee or team video
Appropriate “behind the scenes” images or videos to give prospective employees some insight into your company
Employee testimonials – real ones, not trite statements!
Industry awards, accolades and achievements
A “Stay in touch” call to action so candidates who may not be suitable for current advertised roles, can stay connected with your company. Companies are keeping in touch with potential talent via regular emails and newsletters
Provide a link to Glassdoor (if you dare!), so prospective employees can read reviews from other employees who have worked with your company
Provide a link to your socials pages (eg LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to give candidates a sense for the employee experience within your company. The inclusion of this content makes your Careers page more dynamic too

Define your Internal Applications Process

Ensure you have a defined process for internal employee applications. This should include specific and detailed instructions for those wishing to apply from within the company.

By treating internal candidates with respect, you demonstrate that they are a very important and valuable part of your company. Make sure that any feedback you provide to them, either positive or negative, is delivered professionally.

Ensure your induction and on-boarding programs contain content related to any employee referral program your company has in place so they can easily refer others in their professional network.

Inclusion of Mobile Friendly Content

Check to see what your Careers page looks like on a mobile device. Some website content doesn’t scale well. Considering the majority of candidates will view your Careers page on a mobile phone, the experience needs to be intuitive and practical.

In addition, your company content must load easily and candidates should be able to upload their application, including their resume, easily from a mobile device.

Practical Tips for Companies Looking for Talented Individuals

Does your Careers page need an overhaul? An audit of your Careers page is a great place to start. This will help you identify any changes required to make the page more compelling.

Mini Careers Page Audit

Make sure that:

The content is compelling enough for interested candidates to apply or leave their details
All contact details referenced are up to date and accurate
All links on the page work (you might be surprised and how many dead links exist on company websites)
Content carries the appropriate company “tone”. So, consider whether a casual tone is appropriate or whether a more formal voice is required. Make sure any video content reflects this tone too
Consider getting together with your Marketing and Digital team to discuss improvements that could be made to your Careers page. Recruitment marketing is essential in creating consistent employer brand messaging. Whilst your marketing/digital team may be used to selling to clients, they are perfectly positioned to provide input into creating compelling content for your Careers page too

Practical Tips for Talented Individuals Looking for Work

Take the time to thoroughly review the Careers page of any company you are considering working with. You will pick up some really useful information about the recruitment process and the culture of the company
Where a Careers page outlines a specific process for applications, you must follow it! Don’t risk being excluded from consideration based on the fact that you cannot follow simple instructions
Check out the company’s social media pages and Glassdoor reviews. You’ll get a sense for how current employees enjoy working with the company
If the Careers page doesn’t outline the recruitment process or contain relevant Job Descriptions don’t be afraid to contact the company. This demonstrates your enthusiasm and genuine interest. Of course, you should always be tactful and professional when asking for further information

Looking for Talent? Optimise Your Careers Page