How to build a good career website

The career website is the face of the employer which will be dialoguing with potential candidates. According to the work of Potentialpark, a global employer branding research firm, career sites are not only the most used channel by candidates, with 88% in France, but also where the information is perceived as the most credible. It is therefore essential that it is well thought and constructed in order to hack a maximum of talents. So how can one design the ideal career website?

The Basics

According to Potentialpark, a company needs to enhance a few elements for its career site to be a good one. The UnderCoverRecruiter has listed these in its article.

• Usability – the career site needs to be user friendly. The candidate must perfectly visualise where to click in order to access the section of his choice, and the navigation needs to be smooth, clear and instinctive.
• Employer Branding – you need to differentiate yourself and give the candidate what he wants. Selina Kerley lists in her article the following ideas:
  • An employer video
  • Staff testimonials
  • Office photographs
  • Company benefits
  • Social media links
  • Direct contact information

• Talent Relationship Building – you need to make sure you do everything you can on your career site to cultive ties with talents who may join your company. This needs to start early. Promote your summer internships opportunities to hack talents early and create a talent community on social networks and invite people to join. You need to advertise a great environment people will want to join.
• Application Management – applying for a position must not take more than 10-20 minutes, or you’ll look inefficient and dull. Instead, prefer a quick, direct and effective system treating well the candidate. Automatic replies are for example always well perceived by the applicants.
• Recruitment Process, Assessment & Individual Feedback – process the applications fast and efficiently. The ideal length ranges from 1 to 2 weeks. Another point to focus on is communication. Keep the candidate updated on the stage of his application and give him/her as soon as possible a polite feedback, even if his/her application was rejected.

Lessons from the best

Potentialpark is producing OTaC Career Website Rankings which measure the ability of an employing entity to run a career site meeting the expectations of applicants. Let’s take a look at the podium of employers in France. Here are the 10 best performers.

1. Deloitte
2. PwC
3. Armée de Terre
4. Orange
5. Groupe Crédit Agricole
6. AXA
7. Carrefour
8. Allianz
9. Accor
10. Société Générale

Looking at this ranking, the French website RMSnews has drawn some nice ideas from it in an article . Click on the link and you’ll get real illustrations of these ideas. Yet, here are synthesized some of those good tips to improve your career website:

#1. Make the applicant discover

1. the company:
   • with pictures;
   • with videos;
   • through 3D visits (e.g.: Crédit Agricole);
   • via a game (e.g.: La Poste);
   • by focusing on the human, presenting the collaborators;
   • by promoting the corporate culture and integration. Show how onboarding is realised, as Deloitte does;
   • on social networks such as LinkedIn or Facebook;
   • and of course in different languages in order to attract international applicants;
2. the jobs:
   • with video presentations of the jobs;
   • with description cards of the jobs;
     • those can be extremely detailed, like Orange does.
   • by giving the contacts of some collaborators doing this job, like PWC is doing it;
   • by putting the candidate in the shoes of a collaborator, as a hero: a creative idea implemented by AXA;
   • by showing evolution is possible and what the opportunities of advancement are once you get the job;
   • or even through quizzes like Accor;
   • by being transparent: make sure to be straight forward and to always be honest. This is what the career site of the French Land Forces has decided to do. Candidates like to be told the truth. And for that, they’ll trust you.

#2. Help the candidate apply

1. coach via a section dedicated to tips, like Accor;
2. explain how the application process is working, with an infographic or scheme, like Allianz and Mazar.

Here is an infographic by Jobvite which summarizes some essential tips to create the ideal career website.