Jobseekers are now in charge – here’s how to attract the best candidates

By leahschothorst

The competition to attract top talent is fierce. According to a survey by MRINetwork, in the first half of 2015, 90% of recruiters felt it was a jobseeker’s market. Last year, that number was 83% and three years ago it was 56%. In addition to this, many corporate sites fail to incorporate the necessary content to capture and engage with candidates.

Career Content

One thing is clear, it has never been more important to examine and improve career content. According to the Comprend Career Report, jobseekers are looking for transparency in order to gain a better understanding of what a company will be like as an employer. Some of the most requested topics by jobseekers include information about competence development, the working environment and the company culture.

However, this year’s Webranking shows that 40% of companies lack information about their competence development programmes, only 32% show what the working environment is like.

“Incomplete career information, or worse – no career information at all, on a corporate website contributes to a poor candidate experience. When companies are competing to recruit the best talent, missing important information on the career section may dissuade the right applicant from applying for the job,” says Tommie Cau, Head of Talent Communication at Comprend.

First impressions are everything

The corporate career site is often the first step on the candidate’s journey. In fact, the Comprend Career Report recently discovered that 70% of jobseekers turn to the corporate website for career communication. Which is why the corporate site needs to provide the right career content in a clear and concise way.

Ask yourself if your site makes a good first impression to potential jobseekers. Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes to see if the site addresses topics that would be interesting to a jobseeker.

Six things companies can do to improve career content

Comprend has surveyed 120 jobseekers to learn about what content they want and need from corporate websites, here’s what they said:

1. Show your organisation’s commitment to diversity in the workplace.

2. Provide videos and testimonials from current employees.

3. Outline competence development programmes and show how employees can grow with the organisation.

4. Visualise what it is like to work at the company. Show off the corporate culture.

5. Provide details about compensation or benefit packages.

6. Make sure the application process is easy to navigate.

From a wider perspective

The competition for talent can also be considered a competition for future business and profits. Employees are one of the company’s biggest assets, so it’s no surprise that investors, analysts and business journalists are keen to examine how a company is working to attract top talent.

Proactively improving career content makes a clear statement that an organisation aims to captivate highly skilled candidates, thus has a greater chance of being successful in the future. Whether someone is committing their career or their capital, companies that provide comprehensive career information are able to demonstrate to stakeholders that their company is a sound investment. Something that the success of every organisation – large or small – depends on.