Recruitment plays a major part in every company’s growth and success. From advertising job opportunities through the recruitment process and then onboarding and training, it’s something you want your organization to get right. As an industry on its own, the global HR & recruitment sector was worth some $761.6 billion in 2023.
However, many organizations conduct the entire recruitment process themselves, with their HR department filling the role that might often be done by an external agency. In many cases, a potential employee’s impression of your business will start with your website, and in particular the career page you have included that advertises the jobs you have available. How do you build a career page that will attract the best talent?
Why Do You Need a Career Page?
Image sourced from Prime
A career page is not just about advertising existing roles; it’s about showcasing your brand and how good an employer you might be. While savvy candidates will often go and look at employer review sites such as Glassdoor, the career page itself is where they will read the details of the role, the remuneration and benefits you offer, and the opportunities they will have for career progression.
While your website will likely have an ‘about’ section, many companies also utilize their career page to inform potential employees about the company’s culture, mission, values, and benefits. Now, something else to consider is how long the average person stays with the same job and that can vary from three years to 6.3 years.
However, remember that those are averages. Any organization values staff retention. Not only do good retention rates mean you’re hanging onto your best talent, it also reduces the costs incurred by the recruitment process, from advertising the role through to onboarding and training a new employee.
Image Source TSB
You want your career page to really stand out. You want potential employees to look at the page; maybe even explore the rest of your website and external review pages and think ‘I really want to work for this organization’. In many cases, that career page could be a person’s first introduction to your business. You also need to consider that you may still utilize external resources such as diversity recruiting platforms that will be accessible to people with disabilities.
How to Create a Career Page That Really Stands Out
Of course, you don’t just want a page that is attractive and finds you a lot of suitable candidates. You want one that will attract the best talent available. Now, some usual UX guidelines will apply (such as A/B testing) but you need to think of things specific to a career page.
Make it Visible
There is little point in having a great page if it’s not visible. While you may include a direct link to the page in any external ads, many candidates will come directly to your website. Have it clearly marked in your main menu so that people know it’s there. You can use different titles for the section; anything from ‘careers’ to ‘join us’. Think of titles that fit with the overall tone of your site. 
Capture Attention
While the actual jobs posted on the page may regularly change, you should have a static introductory section. Have your content team think of a catchy headline and then have a paragraph or two that details why you’re a good employer. You can also add an image that maybe encapsulates your attractiveness as an employer. The point is to not only draw people in, but to inform them too.
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Highlight the Positives
Why should someone pick your company? People no longer just want a good salary, they want an employer that offers a wider range of benefits and positive policies. So, have a general section that outlines things such as holiday allowance, pension contributions, training and career progression opportunities, and other positive factors such as your DEI (diversity, equality, and inclusion) policy and how you handle diversity recruiting.
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Have an FAQ Section
There will be many questions a potential candidate might have. While some answers may have been covered in relevant sessions, others will not. Create an FAQ section that contains the most frequently asked queries based on your previous experiences. You may even decide to take it a step further and integrate a chatbot app to deal with some simple questions.
Image Source HCRG
Expand Your Vision & Mission
While your ‘about’ section (and your introductory paragraph on this page) may talk about your vision, it may also be worth expanding on that later on the page. You can choose to make this part of your vision about how you see and value career development, the training opportunities (internal and external) you offer, and how much you focus on a work-life balance. The important thing is to have consistent messaging across your entire site.
References and Achievements
While a savvy candidate will research on external review sites, it can still help to have a section on your career page that includes testimonials and achievements. The testimonials should be verifiable and can be from employees or clients. You can also highlight any awards you have won over the years and also what your CSR (corporate social responsibility) policy is and what it has achieved.
Simplicity
When it comes to the actual job listings, keep them as simple as possible. Lust the duties and what you see as the ideal candidate profile as well as any qualifications and/or experience needed. In most cases, you can use bullet points so that people can quickly see if they are suitable for a role and should seek further information. This should be applied to any role from a cloud call center agent to an IT expert.
Keep the Page Well-Organized
As well as simplicity, good organization is another crucial aspect to the page. If you offer roles in different areas or types (such as full-time vs -part-time) then have them in different sections. Good page design means good UX. If your page is cluttered and/or complicated, people might quickly leave rather than navigate a maze.
Keep the Page Up to Date
As well as keeping your page uncluttered, it should be up to date too. If a position has been filled, or if applications for a role have closed, then remove that ad from the page (or make it clear that applications will no longer be accepted). It can be very frustrating for a jobseeker to see their ideal job and then to find out they can no longer apply.
List the Benefits
Different positions may not only offer different levels of remuneration, they may also offer different benefits. For every role advertised, you should clearly state the salary on offer (and any incremental salary increases) and the benefits on offer for that position. In cases where your stated salary is negotiable, state that too as it can be a crucial factor in the final stages of the recruitment process.
Image Source TSB
Clarify the Application Process
If someone sees a job they like, then how should they proceed? In the initial stages at least, you want to keep it as simple as possible. That can mean uploading - or emailing - a copy of their CV and a cover letter. You can also outline later stages of the recruitment process such as initial interviews being conducted by phone (or video call) and any requirements to see original copies of degrees or certificates in specialist areas such as microservices design patterns.
Engage Even When There’s a Lack of Interest
People are constantly leaving their job. It may be for a better one, geographical relocation, or simply retirement. Someone may visit your career page and find that there is nothing that suits them. However, that doesn’t mean they are not a suitable candidate for a role that may come up in the future. You can use a pop-up window or a ‘subscribe’ box so you have the opportunity to notify them of new vacancies in the future.
Keep Candidates Informed
Poor communications is something that can reflect negatively on a person’s perception of your business. How many people apply for a particular job will vary greatly and you won’t always be able to give in-depth feedback. We’ve all received a template-based rejection letter or email at some point. However, efficient HR tools should give applicants a rough idea of timelines and keep them informed if they are in the recruitment pipeline.
Provide Relevant Information
If your organization offers a wide range of roles, then your career page will attract a wide range of applicants. You will have some applicants who have many years of experience and wide skill sets, but you might also have recent graduates (or students about to graduate). Provide information that will be relevant to each role and applicant and even consider the tone of your ad. For example, an ad for an entry-level position will use more informal language than one for a senior management position.
Invest in HR Systems
Creating a compelling career page it’s essential to acknowledge the role of advanced HR tools and systems in streamlining the recruitment process. A robust HR Content Management System (CMS) can be a game-changer, offering a more organized, efficient, and engaging approach to handling applications and interacting with candidates. Investing in internal HR systems not only optimizes recruitment efforts but also enhances the overall candidate experience, reflecting positively on your company's technological savviness and commitment to innovation. To dive deeper into the benefits of such systems, consider exploring our insights on HR CMS and the advantages of investing in internal HR systems. This resource will provide a thorough understanding of how integrating these tools can elevate your recruitment strategy, making it more effective and appealing to top-tier talent.
The takeaway
Recruitment can be a costly process when you consider everything from advertising roles to onboarding and training of successful candidates. Those costs can rise dramatically if you have high staff turnover so you should be striving to not only be a good employer but for people outside your business to have a positive perception of your brand.
For many people interested in working for you, your website, Human resources portal and in particular, your career page, may be their first encounter with you. Ensuring that your page has clarity and is easily understandable is the first step in that journey.
Sources
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IBISWorld. (2023). Global HR & Recruitment Services - Market Size. Retrieved November 29, 2023, from https://www.ibisworld.com/global/market-size/global-hr-recruitment-services
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CapRelo. (n.d.). An Analysis of Average Job Tenure Over the Years. Retrieved November 29, 2023, from https://www.caprelo.com/insights-resources/industry-trends/the-great-resignation-an-analysis-of-job-tenure-over-the-years/