As most businesses are aware, the employment landscape has changed dramatically this year, due in part to the pandemic that has shifted many jobs and responsibilities. This makes your company’s careers page more important than ever, as it’s the strongest tool in your recruitment strategy arsenal, one that you can use to showcase your employer brand and present the various open roles at your company.
A careers page tells potential employees why your firm is a great place to work, and makes it easy for them to apply for open jobs. Remember that most of your current staff members have come in contact with it, whether they applied through referrals, job boards or such websites as LinkedIn.
However, before the candidates decide to hit “Apply” for a job, they would like to know the environment they’ll be working in, the kind of people they’ll be working with and the goals they’ll be working toward. It’s your careers page’s job to let them know.
So what makes an effective careers page?
Here are 10 essential components that will help you highlight the most important facts and attract top talent:
Employment Branding
When applicants first visit your careers page, the first thing they look at is your business’ brand message, which typically includes details about your work environment, company culture, employee benefits and employee value proposition. If that resonates with them, they become excited to work for your company.
In order to get the right message out, ask your current employees what they value most about your company. Then, communicate that information to your prospective employees as a unique value proposition. You can choose to use text or video, but keep your focus on the innate factors your staff enjoys so you can connect with the right candidates on a deeper level.
Smart Job Ads and Listings
A good careers page must have a clear section for open job positions. One smart way to help candidates quickly find the positions they’re seeking is by categorizing jobs by location or department, and using filters. Use this space to detail what each job profile entails. This allows candidates to better judge whether they might be a good fit for the role.
You could also ask your hiring managers to shoot quick summary videos describing open positions and include them in job descriptions.
Use your job ads as a marketing tool — the candidates should get excited when reading about your company and the open positions. This is a great way to sell your company, your team and the opportunity to be a part of it.
Engaging Visuals
We are constantly inundated by highly-visual elements, and as a result, we are attracted to aesthetically-pleasing content. Therefore, in order to turn potential candidates into employees, include catchy visual elements such as vibrant photos and employment videos on your career page, which allow applicants to learn more about your company. You can display your employees interacting, your office space or even your firm’s surrounding areas — basically, anything that will catch their interest and compel them to apply.
Ease of Use
If job seekers have to fill out several complicated pages of information before they even get to apply for a job, then you’ll most likely lose them before they even submit their applications. For an effective career page, provide a way for the candidates to apply with minimum barriers to application and time required, as well as clean navigation and easy search tools.
Don’t forget to include strong call-to-actions (CTAs) such as “Apply Now” to make it easy for candidates to take the next step.
Social Integration
The world today is more socially connected than ever before. Make it simple for job seekers to subscribe to your social channels by integrating them into your careers page. Include links to your social media pages for LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and more. This will allow the candidates to stay abreast of your company news and the current opportunities.
Mobile Optimized
According to a study by Pew Research Center, 43 percent of smartphone users have used mobile devices to look up information about a job, and 18 percent of those users have submitted a job application on their mobile devices. Therefore, in order to attract more applicants, your career page must be optimized for mobile — the job applications should be easy to browse and fill out on small mobile screens.
Employee Testimonials
Your company’s best assets are your employees. Add testimonials from your current employees, show short videos that introduce key members of your team and highlight any extracurricular activities your organization plans to offer.
Search Engine Optimization
Most job seekers use search engines such as Google and Bing to start their search. This is why it’s crucial to have a clear strategy when it comes to SEO for your careers page. For best results, include custom page titles, custom URLs and keyword-rich content in your careers page and job postings, to increase your search engine rankings.
Talent Pool
If there are currently no suitable job openings for a candidate, offer them the chance to sign up as part of your talent community. These candidates have already gone through your website and shown an interest in your company as a potential place to work. With a talent pool, you can create a candidate database, which you can use to recruit when the next suitable opening arises.
Security
The current generation is well aware of the power of the internet, but they also remain concerned about privacy and security. Therefore, ensure that your career page is secure. Applicants provide personal information including addresses, Social Security details and past work history in their applications, and those applying online need to know that their data will be protected. Make sure the candidates know how you use applicant data.
A career page can be your company’s best tool for attracting the right candidates. When built well, your career page highlights the essence of your organization and the sort of people who excel there. These details can help boost the quality of your hires, which can ultimately strengthen the success of your business.
