The Upside-down World of Employer Branding

In today's job market, it is no longer enough to sell yourself well. It’s the inner values of your company that count. This is where our holistic brand approach comes in handy. In employer branding, we ask ourselves: How should employers position themselves in order to attract the right people?

 Inner Strength – Volume 1

The battle for talent in the job market has yielded varying results: companies are looking for a simplified user experience for the application process on their website, they want apps that help them process applications, interactive platforms for their employees or career pages and campaigns. In short, we have our hands full. That means we touch on a whole range of topics and trends that we don't want to keep from you any longer.  Here is part 1 of our blog post series "Inner strength".

Who is looking for whom?

The job market is being turned upside down – and we approve. In the context of skills shortages, new generations, artificial intelligence and novel working models, companies need to compete for talent, just as much as applicants compete for a job. But how do you go about it?

A good start: the career page

Most corporate websites have spaces dedicated to customers or investors that showcase the company, present facts for the target group and offer further information. Navigation is simple and straightforward, direct interaction is possible. A career site is no different, except it’s for potential employees. There are a few key points to consider:

Committed values

Employees (especially those belonging to younger generations) are looking for meaningful occupations and a corporate culture that is in line with their values. Therefore, the values and culture of a company must run like a thread through the career site, allowing potential employees to identify with them. Not only should the values be reflected in the imagery and text on the site, but they should be practised throughout the entire recruiting process.

One Voice

You can't just rave about growth to investors, yet tell employees that sustainability is your number one goal. Internal and external communication must be aligned, because potential employees are increasingly looking for inconsistencies and demanding authenticity and transparency. The communication disciplines are thus moving closer together.

Personal and informative

For the sake of completeness, we have to mention the basics of any good career site.  

• The user experience must be well done, of course. If you feel comfortable on your first visit to the career site, it’s easier to envision being comfortable at the company. But the user interface must also be consistent  with the rest of the website. Here too: One Voice.  
• In many cases, visuals are what make a career site stand out. Instead of investing in anonymous pictures and stock footage, it might make sense to have a professional, authentic shoot at the company.  
• No one wants to wade through an overflowing website. But anyone considering applying for a job wants to be able to stalk the company a bit. This means: keep it simple on the page, but offer further information wherever it is available.

Outlook

What should you pay attention to besides the career site? Which processes can you change? And which people should you hire? These are all topics we will tackle in the next parts of the series. Stay tuned!