How Showcasing Culture On Your Careers Site Attracts Candidates

Culture plays a bigger role in a candidate’s decision than salary, location, or title

A job description doesn’t change that much from company to company. Each job description is just words on a page describing that accountants need to be good with numbers, customer service representatives need to deliver friendly service, and everyone should be a team player. To the average job seeker, this looks unfortunately homogenous.
 
In a sea of careers sites full of sameness, how do you stand out?
 
Your culture! It is not only a differentiator, but also a strategic advantage. Other companies can try to copy it, but it’s uniquely yours.   
 

Anyone who has worked for more than one company knows that culture impacts everything about a job. It influences how you connect with your role in achieving the organization’s mission, how you interact with your colleagues, and all the other nuances of your day-to-day work life.
 
These days, cultural factors often play a bigger role in a candidate’s decision than salary, location, or title. So, if you want top talent to decide to apply, it’s in your interest to highlight your organization’s culture in the same place you publish your job descriptions, your careers page.
 
Our research shows that candidates want to get a better sense of your company’s culture before they apply for the job or come in for an interview. Since they will undoubtably look at your careers page, this is the best place to give them what they want, stand out, and make a lasting impression.
 
But, how?
 
When you design your careers page (or site), consider including content to highlight the four Ps of your company culture: personality, people, places, and projects.
 

Establish Your Personality

People are attracted to companies with common values and a personality that matches their own or who they aspire to be. Are you quirky, cool, and smart or focused, innovative, and achieving?     
 
Whatever your company culture is, you should establish a strong employer brand to communicate why you are their employer of choice.
 
Your employer brand should be apparent in the colors and fonts you use in your design, and the tone you use in your language. These themes should be consistent throughout your careers site, printed material, live experience, and interview process.
 
If you’re not sure where to start, imagine your organization as a person and describe them with just three adjectives. From there, you can use this as a checklist to make sure your employer brand shows throughout your online presence.
 

Introduce Them to Real People 

It’s easy to use stock photos on your careers page. The internet is full of inexpensive images of happy people wearing suits, sitting around conference tables, shaking hands, pointing at computer screens, and posing with their arms crossed.
 
The problem is that stock images are predictable at a time when you need to be unique.
 
Your people bring your culture to life day in and day out. Give prospective employees a chance to see the people who make up your organization. They’ll be the best and most accurate representation of your company.
 
But don’t stop with photos. Your employees can give first-hand accounts—either in writing, in a video, or even on a podcast—of what it’s like to work for you. It’s one thing when you talk about how great you are, but it’s much better when someone else does.
 

Show off Your Places 

Prospective employees aren’t just choosing a job, they’re choosing a workplace. For someone to imagine working for you, they will picture themselves working in the place you conduct work. You can bring this part of your culture to life online with pictures and virtual tours. You don’t have to wait for them to come in for an interview to let them get excited about your space.
 
Your office holds a lot of clues about your culture. If you are a collaborative company, highlight the places where you collaborate like a conference room or open work spaces. If you foster a casual atmosphere, highlight your play areas and kitchen. Whatever adjectives you use to describe your company, show how that is embodied in your space.
 
If you are a remote team or don’t have an office worth bragging about, no sweat. You can highlight the places you go for team building, happy hour, or the city where you are located.
 

Demo Your Projects

People want to do rewarding work that makes a difference. The definition of “rewarding” might change from person to person, but the sentiment remains the same. The most direct way to show a candidate they can make a difference at your organization is to show them the kind of work you do.
 
You obviously can’t give away proprietary information, but you can still show that your employees face challenges and work together to solve them. This is a great place for storytelling, showing off your solutions to real problems, and giving context to your company culture.
 
The next time you are brainstorming ways to entice the right candidate to apply to work at your company, remember you have an unlimited creative space on your website to show off your culture.

Author Bios

Harold Hardaway is Co-Founder and Principal Consultant of Cardigan Communications Group. He built his career navigating executives and organizations through change initiatives and helping them turn their culture into a strategic advantage. Beginning his career as a corporate trainer, Harold is a skilled facilitator with a unique ability to operate at the strategic and tactical level with a primary focus on leadership, corporate culture, and organizational change. He serves as Principal Consultant for Cardigan and also shares his expertise as a speaker and writer on organizational development, organizational research & assessment, team building, corporate culture, professional development and more. Connect Harold Hardaway

Shannon Hernandez is Co-Founder and Principal Consultant of Cardigan Communications Group. She is a gifted communication and marketing strategist who, over the last 15 years, has made a name for herself creating game-changing communication & health and wellness initiatives that facilitate organizational and personal growth. She serves as Principal Consultant for Cardigan, and also shares her expertise as a speaker and writer on personal branding & professional presence, HR communications, health & wellness promotion, social media strategy, and more. Connect Shannon Hernandez