So, you’re building or refreshing your Careers site but don’t have the budget for all the bells and whistles? Believe it or not, you can still make a meaningful and lasting impression without splashy graphics, integrated video and 47 subpages. 

Here are 4 basic yet effective principles to keep in mind as you develop a Careers site that will catch eyes and talent.

1. Tell Your Story

The most effective thing you can do on your careers site is communicate who you are as an employer. You do this by way of the ever-important Employee Value Proposition, referred to in the biz as an EVP.

In short, your EVP should break down the value of a career with your company. Candidates will want to know what it’s like to work for your company and what makes it stand out from the rest, so talk about your culture, mission, values, benefits and differentiators. 

Paint a vivid picture for them so that they can envision themselves as part of your team, and don’t be shy about highlighting fun and unique attributes. Your team takes foosball breaks in the innovation room and celebrates the end of the work week with 3pm happy hours? Cool! Write about it.

2. Be Yourself

The way you tell your employer story (eh hem, EVP), is just as important as the story itself. Be true to who you are as a company and capture the unified voice of your workforce. 

If internally, you speak boldly and with a great deal of passion, carry that tone through to your Careers site. Remember, you want to stand out from the competition, so publishing vanilla, corporate-speak, boilerplate language on your Careers site won’t do you any favors. And don’t worry about appealing to every candidate under the sun – in fact, that should never be your goal. 

Your goal is to attract the RIGHT candidates who will thrive at your company…and weed out the rest. It is also important to attract a diverse pool of candidates. The best way to do this is to be your authentic self.

3. Less is more

This simple philosophy can be applied to so many things in life, including your Careers site. You want to engage potential candidates with compelling content – not to be confused with pages upon pages of copy that no one will ever read. 

This is why it’s often helpful to have third-party support with EVP messaging. It’s hard to be objective and selective when you’re so close to the company and culture.

4. Reject the stock image

Pretty self-explanatory. No one wants to see stock photography of overjoyed employees kicking up their heels around a conference table. For a small amount, you can hire a photographer who will capture the essence of your culture with your It’s worth the spend.

Follow these principles and you’ll have a solid foundation to build on. Down the road, you might think about adding other elements to help tell your story – like a video to show off your cool office space, or employee testimonials that highlight interesting career-path stories. In the meantime, you can rest assured that your Careers site is well positioned to convey who you are as an employer and attract the right candidates for the job.

Does your company need to build or refresh their Careers site? We can help you tell your unique story in a way that is authentic, fresh, and brings the right candidates to your door while ringing true with your people. Contact us!

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