When building and developing a website it is important to think about the end user. Your key objective with a new site might be to reach new customers but it is important to consider the other jobs that your website does or should be doing.
Your website is your shop window but people are often guilty of forgetting that it is not just visited by your customers. It is such a key part of any organisation’s overall brand identity that it is also viewed by employees and prospective employees.
If you are looking to recruit new staff then your website is an important tool in the recruitment process. Unemployment is at a low and competition of strong candidates is tough. If you are serious about recruiting high calibre staff that will be the right fit for your company culture then your website will be crucial in doing so.
Any serious prospective candidate is likely to visit your website before they do anything else and first impressions count.
Here are some tips for using your website to support recruitment:
- Have a careers page – even if you don’t have current vacancies keep it up to date and make sure it conveys the company culture. Consider encouraging speculative CVs on this page, you never know when an amazing CV might land in your inbox. If someone has shown an interest in your company they’ll probably be happy for you to keep them on file for a period of time.
- Advertise your vacancies on you website – it may sound obvious but it is often the case that businesses advertise vacancies elsewhere and don’t upload them on their website. Even if a candidate sees your vacancy somewhere else the first thing they will do if they are serious about applying is look at your website.
- Think about job titles and the key words you use in the job description. What might suitable candidates be searching for? Make sure the page is optimised so prospective candidates are finding you.
- Remember your website should reflect your organisational culture. If you are a fun place to work let that show on your site. If you support staff in their professional development make sure that comes across through your news or blog section.
- Look at your analytics. Clients are often surprised at how popular their careers or job vacancies page is. If your page is getting visits but the bounce rate is high or you aren’t getting applicants from it then look at the content. Maybe it needs tweaking.
- Make it straight forward for them to apply. If you use application forms ensure it can be downloaded, don’t make people request a form and wait for you to email it.
- Use your social networks too! It’s amazing how many people find opportunities this way.