86% of recruiters consider it tougher than ever to find quality applicants. Businesses compete for the same skilled people, and it's super hard to stand out.
People check out your site, your social media, and even your values before they even think about applying.
75% of job hunters weigh up a company's brand when deciding where to apply.
Your website has to be more than just an online business card if you really want to attract the right candidates.
If it's outdated or lacks personality, you're practically telling them to go look elsewhere.
Create a platform that shows who you are, what you stand for, and why talented people should work for you.
Read on to learn how to create a modern website that speaks directly to today's top talent.
How to Create an Engaging Digital Experience for Job Seekers
Your website is the first point of contact that your potential candidates have with your organization. A website that fails to represent your brand clearly discourages them from applying.
Give a Glimpse into the Company Culture
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When candidates check out your website, they want to get a real sense of what your company's all about. Bring that to life by showing them your team, the work environment, and the values that drive you.
Share videos of your team talking about what they love about working with you—it adds that genuine, relatable feel that people connect with. Show off photos and clips from team events, or just the day-to-day things. It all makes your brand feel more human.
Put your company values front and center by using visuals and stories to show how those values play out with your team.
Optimize for User Experience
When candidates cannot navigate through your website or fail to find what they are looking for, they will most likely leave and continue with their search.
Here is how you can optimize for the user experience so you can avoid that from happening:
- Easy Navigation: Make your website easy to use. Use clear headings and subheadings. It must have a logical flow by which users can be guided to important sections. That includes job openings and insights into the company culture.
- Fast Loading Time: A site taking too long to load irritates the visitor and increases the bounce rate. Compress images, utilize good coding practices, and use good web hosting providers to improve speed.
- Mobile Responsiveness: Most job seekers access opportunities via mobile devices, so your website must be fully responsive. Test it on various devices to guarantee a seamless user experience.
Present Career Advancement Opportunities
Top talent wants to know you’ve got their career growth in mind. Make your website clear about the professional development opportunities your company offers.
Highlight any training programs, mentorship setups, and educational options so they can see you’re serious about helping them level up.
Map out potential career paths and share stories of employees who’ve climbed the ladder within your team.
Write job descriptions that don’t just list duties but paint a picture of the skills and experiences they’ll pick up by joining.
Create a Dedicated Careers Page
Your careers page needs to be an informative resource for job seekers and those who are just interested in knowing more about your company and what's available for them.
You can do this in the following ways:
- Clear Job Listings: List the openings you have and their description. The applicants should be able to filter through positions based on department, location, or experience level.
- Company Overview: Provide a brief overview of your company, focusing on its mission, vision, and values so candidates can align their personal values with your organization and understand its core principles.
- Application Process: Define the application and interview process. Clear transparency will improve the candidate experience and make the applicants feel more comfortable applying for the job.
Search Engine Optimization
Yes, a modern site that grabs candidates' attention is perfect, but it needs to be found by people.
Search engine optimization ensures that your prospective candidates can find your website. Not only that, it'll also get your potential buyers' attention. So it's a win-win.
Find keywords and phrases using tools like SEMrush or Ahref that likely candidates are searching for when looking for jobs within your industry. Include these in your natural wording, including job descriptions and company values.
Also, optimize your meta tags and descriptions on your website to increase your visibility within the search engine results.
Write a series of posts on topics relevant to your industry and your employer brand to position your company as a leader in your industry but also get people thinking about applying to your company.
Choose the Best Website Builder
Select the right website builder to create a modern, attractive, and functional site that resonates with top talent.
Choose a platform that offers flexibility, customizable templates, and responsive design to ensure your website works great across devices.
User-friendly builders like Squarespace simplify setup and design and provide a professional, branded look.
Be Authentic and Transparent
Your employer brand needs to mirror the authentic culture of your organization.
Share true stories of your employees and their experiences, no matter how rough things get. That's the kind of transparency that creates trust and shows that your organization cares about honesty.
Also, let your messaging say what your workplace is really like. Avoid being overly polished or generic, or you'll risk readers' distrust.
Monitor Your Employer Branding Performance
Use analytics to understand how well your potential candidates interact with your website.
Analyze traffic sources so you can understand where your candidates come from.
You also need to track how many people apply for open jobs on your site to get a read on how effectively your website is converting visitors into applicants.
Wrapping Up
Talent shortages are a real headache for leaders and organizations across the globe, given the fast-paced tech changes we’re seeing.
Invest in a modern website to bring in the skilled talent you need to make your business a success.
You need to understand what job seekers truly care about and make it clear on your website why your team is the right fit.
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