How your company’s career page is deterring candidates from applying. Every employee at your company can make or break a customer’s experience.

That’s why it’s so important to ensure employees not only understand your company’s story, but also how they fit into it.

Why does your company exist? Is there alignment between your stated mission, vision, and values and the way you treat your employees? If an employee doesn’t feel connected to the company’s story, it will never be more than a job to them. There’s no problem too small to be important if it’s framed in the right way. And, when you frame an opportunity correctly, you’ll attract the right team members.

Trader Joe’s VP of marketing, Matt Sloan, broke down the brand’s reputation for friendly employees in an episode of the company’s podcast. He explained that the chain hires nice people and treats them well, which makes them happier. What a concept, right? “It turns out taking care of our crew is good business,” he said.

How your company’s career page is deterring candidates

Trader Joe’s has been able to replicate its culture again and again, store after store, with crew members who care about the store, its unique products, and its local customers. Your company’s story must invoke a sense of purpose and pride in your employees.

You can (and should!) begin sharing your company’s uniqueness even before the application process begins. Here are a few headlines from different company career pages that send a message to would-be applicants considering jobs with their brands:

• The Associated Press (AP): Join us in telling the world’s story.
• Barnes & Noble: Start a new chapter in your career with a company that combines innovation, passion, and potential.
• Crate & Barrel: We have everything we need to inspire our customers. Except you.
• Etsy: Three little words sum up one big mission: keep commerce human.
• Joann Fabrics: Homemade happiness starts with you.
• Lego: Come and play.
• Leslie’s Poolmart, Inc.: Dive into a new career with Leslie’s!
• Little Caesars: We serve more than pizza. We serve people.
• Meijer: Meijer starts with me.
• Party City: Join the party!
• Ulta: The possibilities are beautiful.

Imagine you’re trying to decide which company to apply for. Whether it’s your first job or your fiftieth—the headlines above are going to grab your attention more than “Careers” or “Search for an Opening” or “We’re Hiring” or “Jobs Hub,” all of which are real examples pulled directly from competitors of businesses in the examples above. Words like “Come” and “Join” are inviting prospective applicants into the story of the brands before they’ve even applied.

Here’s a side-by-side. Tell me: Which automotive company would you rather apply to?

Using strong, creative language helps you stand out from your competitors and sets you apart from the crowd.

Everything is experience, and every touchpoint is an opportunity to begin telling your brand’s story. Attracting the right members to join your team is a critical part of building a SUPER brand. After all, it’s not always the team with the best play calling or the best coaching that makes it to the Super Bowl—you’ve got to have great players in the right positions, too.

Whether your brand has its own career page or you post your job openings on a third party site, make sure you’re communicating your company’s story to all prospective employees so that you can attract the ideal type of players for your team.

You all know I’m a big experience nerd. Next time you see clever, thoughtful language on a company’s career page, take a screenshot and send it over! And If your website currently says “JOB OPENINGS AT ____” and you need some inspiration, you know where to find me!

“Recruitment IS marketing. If you’re a recruiter nowadays and you don’t see yourself as a marketer, you’re in the wrong profession.”

– Matthew Jeffrey

Have a great week and I’ll talk to you next Tuesday!

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY BRITTANY HODAK, ORIGINALLY POSTED ON LINKEDIN

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