There are so many “We’re Hiring” posts on social media right now. While there are unique challenges for different industries, just about anyone who needs to hire workers is struggling with recruiting. Sharing your hiring needs with your network and community is definitely the right thing to do, but when you attract the attention of a potential applicant you might be sabotaging your success when they go to your website to learn more about you and can’t find what they’re looking for.

Because technology has changed human behavior, and people are using online information to answer their questions, the careers page and blog on your website present a huge opportunity to connect with candidates and influence their decisions.

In fact, a survey of more than 3500 job seekers by The Good Jobs company found that 83% of candidates went to the company career page to learn more about what it might be like to work at a company they were considering.

So what’s on your website right now? Are job seekers finding what they’re looking for?

“They’re looking for a job,” you might answer back but that’s only a part of the answer. Here are five things that job seekers are looking for on your website.

1. A Sense of What the Work Environment is Like

When people think about making a career move, they need to believe that the place they’re going to is better than the place they’re coming from. Providing photos of your facility are useful for giving people a peek in the window, but pictures alone aren’t likely going to convert interest into an application. You need to open the doors wider so that people can start to see themselves as part of your organization.

Communicate about your work environment by publishing:

• Employee stories that share the real experiences of your people.
• Employee testimonials that illustrate how people are thriving at your company.
• Department stories that show how people work together.
• Photos of people at work, company events, at their remote locations, and at activities in your community.

2. Credibility That You’re a Good Employer

Have you heard the saying “The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t”? It’s certainly possible that a job seeker could be so desperate to get out of their current situation and that they will consider anything a step up. Most job seekers, however, have choices and your website needs to convey to them that you’re going to be a good employer.

Communicate that you have a good employer reputation by publishing:

• Employee stories that share the real experiences of your people.
• Employee testimonials that reflect how people are treated.
• Messages about the value that you bring to employees in addition to wages or salary and benefits.
• News about awards you’ve received for being a good employer.

3. A Reason to Make a Change

You know that other companies are competing for the same labor that you’re trying to attract, but you have another competitor that you may not have considered and that’s the status quo. Passive job candidates especially need a reason to make a change.

Influence people to change their status quo by publishing:

• Employee stories and testimonials that illustrate how your company is different.
• Messages about your employer brand value, that is the value you bring to employees in addition to wages and benefits.
• Job descriptions that stimulate an emotional response.
• Stories about how your company and its people help customers and impact the world.

4. Answers to Questions

The modern online buyers’ journey is all about seeking answers to questions and it’s no different for job candidates. You need to answer obvious questions like “What’s this job about?” but you also need to answer transactional questions like “What can I expect from your hiring process?” and every candidate’s burning question, “How will you treat me when…?”

Answer job seeker questions by publishing:

• Employee stories and testimonials that illustrate how you have treated people in different situations.
• Frequently Asked Questions about your hiring process.
• Messages about candidate concerns like flexibility, work hours, remote working, professional development and more.
• Stories about the company, its founders and what the future holds.

5. Friendly, Frictionless Application Process

If the first step in your hiring process is to make a job seeker fill out a long, complicated job application online, then you’re most likely losing people along the way. You certainly need to be able to qualify candidates but consider the time investment that you’re asking for, and how it might exceed the interest level of your potential candidates, especially passive candidates.

Remove friction in your online application process

• Make sure that your careers page and job listings are mobile friendly.

• Provide a secondary call-to-action for people who have questions or are interested but not ready to apply.

• Provide alternative ways to communicate with you such as SMS.

• Nurture candidates with email until it’s the right time for action.

Publish Content to Guide the Candidate Journey

Content marketing for recruitment might be a fairly new discipline but it has the same purpose as Marketing to your prospective buyers – the creation of opportunities for your target audience to engage with you so they can get their questions answered, develop trust, and take action.

There are two initiatives that you need to start in order to become more proactive about providing the online engagement that job candidates want. One is to start publishing employee experience stories and the other is to update your website with a compelling careers page.

Get these online destinations built and you’ll be set up to promote your open positions better through social media, employee and community referrals, and advertising.

Contact me to explore how you can get better recruiting results with recruitment marketing.