Too many companies point to their careers page and say, “See? We’ve got employer branding covered.” Spoiler: you don’t.
Candidates don’t feel inspired by a static page full of bullet-pointed perks and job postings. At best, they skim it once before applying—if they can even find it.
A career site can support a good reputation, but it rarely creates one. Think of it as the house tour after someone’s already decided they like the neighborhood, not the reason they drove by in the first place. Social media is Zillow, your culture posts are the highlight photos, and the careers page is the open house.
If you want to attract top talent, the question isn’t, “Is my careers site polished enough?” It’s, “What story is being told everywhere else?”
Employer brand vs. consumer brand
Here’s where many companies get tripped up: your consumer brand and your employer brand are not interchangeable. Your customers care about why they should buy from you. Jobseekers care about why they should work with you. Same logo, totally different brand.
A new product campaign might convince someone to pull out their wallet, but it won’t convince a software engineer, project manager, or nurse to send you their resume. In fact, relying solely on consumer branding can backfire. If your ads scream innovation but the employee experience says otherwise, jobseekers are likely to be confused.
A strong employer brand speaks directly to potential candidates. It answers their questions: What’s it like to work there? Will I grow? Will I be supported? Do people actually enjoy it? When those answers are vague—or inconsistent—you lose credibility.
Where quality candidates actually look for signals
The days of “post a job, watch the applicants roll in” are over. (The good old days!) Today’s candidates are doing their research, and believe it or not, they’re doing it everywhere but your career site.
They’ll scroll your LinkedIn, skim Glassdoor reviews, peek at TikToks from employees, and look at whether your leaders post anything meaningful online. A job description might get their attention, but they’ll look for cultural proof long before hitting “Apply.”
More importantly, they’re quick to spot inconsistencies. Like your consumer-facing ads, this can backfire. If your site claims “work-life balance” but employees are venting about long hours, the disconnect damages trust. And if your leaders never post or speak publicly, it can feel like the company has something to hide.
Candidates are piecing together a collage of who you are. Your career site is just one photo on the board, and the rest comes from what they see and hear long before they land on your page.
How to start building an employer brand
If your careers page isn’t the answer, what is? A strong employer brand is built in layers, through repeated signals that candidates can trust. Here are a few places to invest:
Culture stories
Polished videos have their place, but everyday stories carry more weight. Show how teams celebrate a win, rally after a setback, or live company values in the little moments. These glimpses make the culture feel more tangible.
Employee voices at scale
Research shows candidates trust what employees say more than what a brand account posts. Encourage people to share their experiences in their own words. A day-in-the-life TikTok, a LinkedIn post about a promotion, or a photo of coworkers volunteering tells a story marketing can’t script.
Candidate impressions
We know that candidates form an opinion long before they click “apply,” so every touchpoint counts. The clarity of your job ads, the speed of communication, the way interviews are structured, even how you deliver a rejection email all matter. Use these small details to reinforce that trust!
Leadership presence
Leaders who communicate openly about wins, setbacks, or strategy send a great signal of stability and authenticity. Regular posts or updates from executives can also feel more natural than reactive press releases. Silence, on the other hand, leaves space for doubt.
Proof and consistency
Last but not least, remember that promises don’t matter without proof. If you claim to support career growth, show actual promotion stories. If you promote flexibility, share examples of employees making it work. Then make sure those stories line up across every channel so candidates don’t feel they’re being sold a half-truth.
Put together, these elements create a reputation candidates believe. Not because you told them, but because they saw it play out.
Why social media is the missing link
Here’s the important gap: your career site is static (and, if you’re like most companies, more than a little outdated!). Social media is dynamic and timely, and it’s where candidates spend their time.
By showing up consistently on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, TikTok, and even Facebook, you meet candidates in the flow of their day. They may not be job hunting right now, but repeated exposure plants the seed for when they are. By the time their search rolls around, you’ll already be top of mind.
Social media also allows for the mix that candidates trust most: polished posts from company accounts paired with authentic content from employees. Together, they create a multi-dimensional picture of your workplace.
And unlike a webpage, social thrives on repetition. Posting stories, updates, and employee perspectives over time ensures that they continue to encounter you in meaningful ways.
The result? Your career site finally gets to play its proper role: a source of details and applications, not the heart of your employer branding strategy.
Putting your employer brand to work
Of course, your career site still matters—we’d never tell you otherwise!—but it’s not the centerpiece of effective employer branding strategies. It’s the destination candidates reach after forming an opinion through everything else they’ve seen.
That’s why tools like CareerArc’s HireSocial exist. We take the heavy lifting out of creating and distributing culture content, so you can show up where candidates are actually paying attention. With the right stories told consistently, you bridge the gap between a static careers site and a living, breathing employer brand.
FAQs
How can companies highlight DEI initiatives in employer branding?
The quickest way to lose credibility is to treat DEI like a checkbox. Candidates can smell a stock photo or buzzword from a mile away. What actually resonates are stories and specifics. Share clips of employee resource group events, spotlight leaders from underrepresented backgrounds, or publish progress updates that show where you’ve improved—and where you’re still working.
How do you measure ROI of employer branding?
Look at metrics like whether you’re seeing more qualified applicants per role, whether your time-to-fill is dropping, and whether your new hires are sticking around longer. Employee referrals are another big indicator—when your own people want to recruit others, your brand is working. You can also track perception shifts through candidate surveys or post-interview feedback. And, of course, social engagement is a good signal!
Which departments should be responsible for employer branding—marketing or HR?
Both, and neither alone. HR owns the candidate experience, but they’re not always storytellers. Marketing knows brand voice and distribution, but they don’t run interviews or write job postings. Employer branding sits in the overlap. The best companies create a partnership where HR can bring the insights, and marketing helps with the distribution. (Pro tip: that’s where HireSocial really shines!)
Is employer branding really a game-changer for recruitment?
It is, because it changes the kind of candidates you attract. Without it, you’re fishing in the same shallow pool as everyone else, competing on salary and perks. With it, you’re pulling in people who already feel aligned with your mission, values, and culture. They apply because they see themselves there, not because it was just another job listing. That means higher acceptance rates, better retention, and fewer mismatches. Employer branding doesn’t replace recruiting, but it does make every recruiting effort more effective. In a competitive talent market, that edge is huge!
