How to Build The Best Career Pages

The best way to create an effective career page is to use a few ideas from your marketing team. Career pages play an important role in persuading top candidates to apply for open positions. Done well, the best career pages will answer applicants’ questions well enough to generate interest. Done poorly, those pages will actively drive potential candidates away. 

Why Do I Need a Careers Page for My Business?

The talent market is complicated these days and seemingly only getting worse. According to McKinsey & Company, the vast majority of Fortune 500 executives (82%) believe their companies are failing at recruiting highly talented people. While growing skills gaps are partially to blame, another issue is how companies are choosing to recruit and attract workers.

Of these, most companies put far more time, energy, and expense toward recruiters and job sites. A focus on recruiter outreach and posting jobs on popular job boards for visibility is a good strategy. But it’s not where your hiring strategy should end. Having a well-crafted, engaging, and informative page is a necessary part of the puzzle for two key reasons:

1. Most job candidates will use your website to research more about your company, including your culture, philosophy, and benefits.
2. Your website is the only place where you have full control of the message you want to send about your company and the roles for which you are hiring.

Using sites like LinkedIn as the “front door” to your jobs makes sense. After all, LinkedIn has one billion members worldwide. It’s hard to ignore the importance of leveraging that and many other sites like it to find candidates. However, hiring involves more than just finding the right candidates. You also need to create content that supplements their journey toward filling out an application and ultimately saying yes to your job offer. That’s where a careers page can be a key differentiator factor between yourself and competing companies hoping to hire the same talent.

The Best Career Sites Think Like Marketers

To understand what winning career sites do that sets them apart, you may want to start by thinking more strategically. In a 1997 journal article, former McKinsey partner Steven Hankin coined the term “war for talent”.

If the “value proposition” seems oddly like marketing, that’s because it takes inspiration directly from the marketing playbook, and with good reason. Today's talent market is such that companies can’t just expect the best workers to come breaking down the door, eager for a job. Even amidst corporate layoffs and slow hiring seasons, the best candidates will always have a choice.

To persuade those candidates to apply, companies need to show why working for them is a better idea than working for a competitor. The best career sites are those that fully embrace the idea that good recruitment is good marketing. Good marketing involves funneling people toward the message that best speaks to your brand value within an avenue where you can more effectively control how that message is received.

In this case, that’s going to be your careers page.

Examples of Some of the Best Careers Pages

You likely already have a page listing available careers for your company, but there’s a chance it’s little more than a list of open roles. If your page needs redevelopment, start by exploring pages that offer a fully immersive and highly informative experience for potential candidates.

Here are 10 examples of great career page designs that fit all of the following criteria:

• Include visual artifacts of a positive company culture, such as employee testimonials and brand stories
• Provide information about the company’s core principles and philosophies
• Offer detailed information about benefits and perks
• Provide easy access to company news and updates

We recommend taking notes on what you believe makes each of these some of the best company career pages you’ve seen, and what you can do to recreate these strategies on your own company’s website.

Great Career Pages That Use Video

Video offers an excellent way for companies to distinguish themselves. Not only does video more easily capture the attention of potential applicants for longer (giving you more time to provide more information about why people should apply for open positions), but it’s also a narrative that’s fully within your control.

Here are four companies that have found different ways to use video to draw applicants’ attention:

1. Apple

Apple’s approach to its page is unique in that it offers an animated introductory video with a high level of production quality. The page itself greets visitors with the words “Join Us. Be You.” This approach is designed to convey the message to potential applicants that Apple’s culture is one in which employees have more freedom of self-expression and self-determination. That’s something that’s in demand among job candidates and will likely leave a positive impression on anyone applying for jobs at the company.

2. Nvidia

Nvidia’s introductory video shares interviews of employees speaking about the company culture. This method allows Nvidia tell the story of its culture through the eyes of its people, which can help attract potential applicants who strongly value a positive, engaging, and worker-centric culture.

3. Bungie

Video game company Bungie takes a different approach to video. On its page, Bungie utilizes background video that mixes scenes depicting its key games as well as elements of its culture and work to help send the right message to potential applicants. While its background video is much shorter than what Apple and Nvidia provide, its design captures attention in a similar way that sets it apart.

4. TransDev

Transdev's career page presents an immersive video capturing the essence of public transportation. Through a series of fast-moving images and quick cuts, the video effectively captures the bustling energy of daily commutes, featuring diverse individuals embarking on their workdays and personal journeys. It emphasizes the vital role of public transportation in daily life, inspiring potential candidates to see a career with Transdev as more than a job, but a meaningful journey. 

Best Company Career Pages for Information Seekers

Many applicants turn to company job pages to get a wealth of information that’s not typically available through a job posting or on a company page on social media websites. A careers page can serve as an important informational guide that provides answers to as many potential questions that are left unanswered in other spaces.

Here are a few companies that have excelled at creating informative pages for applicants:

1. Unum

Unum’s page has a wealth of information about every aspect of the company. It includes a job search function; a regularly-updated feed of available jobs at the company; a list of company perks; links to pages about company culture; and an introductory video, among other knowledge blocks. It even offers Glassdoor reviews.

2. US Foods.

The company US Foods provides a streamlined approach to its page that makes researching more about the company easy for potential candidates. Sections on “Who We Are”, “Benefits”, and “Diversity and Inclusion” are among several information blocks provided in the easily-navigated page. The company also provides a sidebar with additional links that answer multiple questions related to why someone should work at the company. This format means potential applicants can find the information they want without having to dig for it, which is itself a positive signal.

3. Dream Finders Homes

The careers page for Dream Finders Homes concisely presents a comprehensive overview for prospective employees, detailing benefits like health insurance and retirement plans. It highlights the company culture focused on employee development and work-life balance, using engaging visuals and testimonials for illustration. The “Benefits & Culture” page is easy to navigate, making it a valuable resource for candidates exploring employment opportunities.

Great Career Pages Assure Skeptical Applicants

Fraud and spam are some of the primary reasons why many recruiters struggle to get applicants to respond on websites like LinkedIn. By and large, many applicants are skeptical of recruitment efforts. The problem has become so bad that even the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has issued warnings about it.

Combine that with “ghost job postings” that have left many applicants feeling burned, and companies can start to understand why many applicants are exceptionally wary. Between fake job postings and scam recruiters, many applicants don’t know what to believe or who to trust: except, of course, for the primary source, your company’s careers page.

Some companies have gone out of their way to make sure applicants can trust the efficacy of their job postings and career information. One of the most effective ways is by giving a high level of depth and detail to the employment proposition. These include some of the following:

1. McKesson

Not only does McKesson check off many of the positive page features you want to see, it also provides a warning about recruiter scams at the very top of its page. Additionally, the company offers a feedback survey to applicants as a sign of goodwill and a message that implies that it wants to improve its application process for everyone. These elements help reduce apprehension among potential candidates.

2. Cigna Group

Cigna utilizes an AI chatbot to help remove some concerns applicants might have and help them get to answers about the company much more quickly. Its AI chatbot can be used to ask questions about current roles, company culture, recent information about the company, and much more. Chatbots are a counterintuitive way to add trust to the research process for applicants, as they show a level of investment in communicating and answering questions for applicants that’s usually only reserved for individuals who have been asked for an interview.

3. Belle Tire

The career path page on Belle Tire's careers site is crafted to reassure candidates by presenting a significant level of detail about specific job expectations and growth pathways within the company. It clearly outlines career progression, underscores a commitment to employee development through training, and showcases potential success stories. This approach highlights Belle Tire's dedication to fostering long-term careers, effectively addressing candidates’ concerns about professional development.

3 Important Tips for Company Career Page Design & Content

The companies above aren’t the only ones with well-developed career pages. There are thousands of companies that have discovered the benefit a well-thought-out and engaging company career page can have on recruiting and attracting candidates. Although no two recruitment pages are exactly alike — each page should speak uniquely to the culture of the company and the needs of its applicants — there are certain elements and design features that every company should consider including.

1. Video Introduction to the Company

Video is the communication medium that’s preferred by younger employees. Speaking to candidates through the lense that resonates best with them is a great marketing tactic. However, not just any video will do. It should have high production value, and ideally, should feature aspects of company culture, the people who work for the company, and the product or service the company sells. Applicants need to be able to envision themselves as part of the company, and video can help them do that.

2. Search Functions

Search functions make it much easier for applicants to find the exact information they want to see. When applicants come to your website, they’ll likely browse through the page, but may also try to search for information if it’s not immediately available on the careers landing page. You may want to create a search function that filters only to career-specific pages instead of your whole website.

Some companies host their career pages on a completely separate platform from their main website. This allows better data segmentation from the career site and the main website, and often allows the HR team to utilize distinct features from hosting and CMS services that specialize in HR recruitment, management, tracking, and content.

3. Content Feeds

Applicants want to see more information about your company beyond just the job and the perks. You can create that informational guide for them and build trust in the process by creating content feeds on your careers page. Those feeds can include, but should not be limited to new job postings, company news, and employee spotlights. Applicants who see a vibrant and updated page will be more inclined to trust that your company is actively hiring, reducing concerns about ghost job postings and recruitment scams.

Common Career Page Design Mistakes

Outdated Content

You’ll lose the trust of potential candidates if your page has outdated content. Look beyond just your job postings here. While you should make sure old job postings get removed as quickly as possible, make sure your other content is also updated, such as company news and job perks. For example, if your company no longer offers a certain incentive (such as remote work), make sure you don’t have it advertised on the page.

Listing Too Many Job Requirements — or Too Few

It can be tempting to be as detailed as possible in your job listings. However, too much information is likely to scare away potential candidates. Even if you want candidates who do not meet every bit of your desired criteria, if the jobs on your page are too detailed and specific about all of the criteria, you’re likely going to scare people away.

The opposite is also true here. If your job postings are too vague, you won’t get many applicants. You’ll need to strike the right balance between “too much information” and “not enough”.

Using Too Much Branded Language and Jargon

Branded language and company-specific jargon may be part of your culture, but it can be a bit overwhelming and confusing for applicants. Although your careers page is taking a marketing approach, it should be done in a way that acknowledges people applying for jobs may not be familiar with your brand and the way you talk about it. A good applicant will learn this by researching your company in depth, but you should avoid being heavy-handed with the brand language and jargon.

No Information About Your Company Culture or Product/Service

Most applicants can read between the lines. What you leave unsaid will be what they believe you are trying to hide. If you avoid talking about your company culture, for example, they will assume your culture isn’t great. If you avoid talking about your product or service on your company career page and how they’ll add value to it, they’ll assume you don’t have a great idea about your own market fit. 

Be as clear as possible both about your culture and what your company does. This will help applicants determine if you’re a good fit for them.