Extreme Makeover: Career Site Edition

Imagine that your company’s career site has been selected for a makeover. On television. Paid for by whatever channel is airing the show. Excited? Of course you are! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – turn your plain Jane into a stunning Susan. So what are the top three things you hope they’ll change?

You don’t have to compete on reality television to make over your career website. It’s honestly a little crazy how simple it can be. Ensuring that your career website reflects your employer brand and your employee value proposition (EVP) really only consists of three key areas to start. And we’re going to show you – with examples (even though we’re slightly biased because we may or may not work with these companies and when we do we’re super proud of their results). 

The 3 Most Important Features on Your Career Site Are…

Let’s clarify: these are the three most important features aside from your job postings. Definitely keep doing those.

ONE: What you offer your employees. Yes, this is the very definition of your EVP, but it’s important to showcase it. Do you need fancy photos? Shiny buttons? Pics of the logo hoodie your employees love? No, no, and maybe. Take a look at these examples. Spavia puts its perks and benefits front and center on their career site (and includes a very handy “view jobs” CTA right below them). The New England Center for Children (NECC) uses “you” language that makes candidates feel like they are being addressed directly. And Hat Creek Burger Company lists their perks and benefits in a simple, yet elegant design.

Source: Spavia Day Spa Careers

Source: NECC | Careers

Source: Hat Creek Burger Company | Careers

Hat Creek also tells candidates WHY they’ll love working there. Which brings us to the next item…

TWO: Tell candidates why they’ll love you. Candidates want to find information about your company, benefits, and job listings on your career site. Being able to tell them specifically what they will love about working for your company is a bonus – for both of you, as it also ensures a better culture fit from applicants. 

Hat Creek Burger Company sets this section up as a journey – telling candidates specifically what they will love about being a cashier, cook, food server, restaurant manager…it’s a great use case for hospitality, when benefits and perks depend on shifts and job specifics. Spavia’s “Why You’ll Love Spavia” section has the look and feel of their day spas and uses language that candidates attracted to this industry will be familiar with. NECC talks about its mission and how its employees are passionate about what they do: Team up to transform lives. 

Source: Hat Creek Burger Company | Careers

Source: Spavia Day Spa Careers

Source: NECC | Careers

THREE: Let your employees do the talking. OK, this is the part where you might have to roll up your sleeves a bit – but it’s 2023 and the chances of having someone on staff who would love to make a few employee videos because they make TikToks until the wee hours is pretty darn high. You don’t have to hire a film crew; smartphone videos are super high quality and (trust us) there are about 100 creative things in your office right now to serve as a tripod to stabilize the camera. Keep them short, but sweet. 

Your employees are your brand ambassadors. NECC has shots of their team in action (so yes, this can be done without video). Spavia has several employees talking on video with shots of their day spas and, again, a handy link right below the video to VIEW JOBS. Hat Creek has two, one that focuses on what a great place to work it is and lets employees do the talking and another that has its leadership team and founder do the same. Candidates want to know what your employees think and feel about working there. Great employer branding and activating that on your career site ensures job seekers will be able to see and say “those are my kind of people, I’m applying!”

Source: NECC | Careers

Source: Spavia Day Spa Careers

Source: Spavia Day Spa Careers

Again, it sounds simple because it is really just three things. You can do them simply or make them over the top – as long as they’re accurate and reflect your brand. 

We could talk all day long about employer branding (and we do). We want you and your career site to shine like a diamond. We’re Talentcare. Give us a shout and we’ll be right there with you.