The Case for Developing a Recruitment Website for Your Company

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Recruiting is no longer an activity that only takes place when a company has a vacancy to fill. Today, recruitment happens 24/7/365. Smart employers are constantly on the lookout for opportunities to reach and engage prospective hires.

How a Recruitment Website Can Help

In an improving job market where candidates have increased leverage and multiple opportunities, it’s the employer that has to do the selling. In an effort to differentiate themselves, many companies are trying to enhance their images through recruitment websites that are specifically designed to target and engage candidates.

A recruitment website – not to be confused with an employment or careers page on your company’s website – is a domain wholly dedicated to selling your organization as an employer and persuading candidates to consider working for you.

Here are a few of the specific ways a recruitment website can help your recruiting efforts:

  1. Selling Company Culture: Candidates want to join organizations that prioritize work/life balance and offer unique benefits that go beyond good salaries. With a recruitment website, you have the opportunity to highlight these aspects of your organization.
  2. Engaging Passive Candidates: Some of the best candidates for your job openings are passive candidates. These are people who aren’t actively browsing job boards and won’t necessarily visit your employment page. However, if you have a recruitment website that focuses more on your company’s culture than on pushing a specific opening, you’re better positioned to influence these passive candidates.
  3. Prestige: There’s something prestigious about discovering a job opportunity on a company’s recruitment website, rather than stumbling across a one-paragraph description on Monster. Marketing opportunities through a recruitment website gives you the chance to explain the position, show visuals, and highlight all of the intangible benefits of working for your company.

While not necessarily a new concept, recruitment websites are becoming more popular. In a crowded industry, it could be your best shot at standing out from the competition.

Launching Your Own Recruitment Site

In order to launch a recruitment website, you need to create a game plan and stick with it. Here are some things to think about:

1. Secure a Domain Name and Find a Host

StudentThe very first thing you need to do is find a domain name. The domain should be easily associated with your company’s name, but you can feel free to go in a unique direction. It isn’t necessary to choose a domain name like “MyCompanyRecruiting.com.”

The second step is to find a host for your site. Reliability is key, and you want to find a host with guaranteed uptime, good support resources, and competitive pricing. You should be able to get a really good deal on the first 12 months of hosting. Most companies heavily discount during this time period.

2. Simplicity and Visuals Are Important

People really like minimalist layouts these days. Remember that your recruitment website is a reflection of your company. Keep things simple and don’t get too ambitious. A clean layout with plenty of high-resolution visuals will speak volumes.

3. Produce Quality Content

Don’t underestimate the importance of quality content. As is the case with your main business website, content improves SEO and drives traffic. Consider asking your current employees to write weekly blog entries about company culture.

4. Have a Method For Collecting Information

The great thing about a recruitment website is that you can collect information from potential candidates, regardless of whether they’re passive or active in their job search. By placing an opt-in form on the homepage, you can encourage people to share their contact information. Then, you can notify them when new openings emerge. This helps you build a strong pool of candidates who are ready to work for you when you’re in need of a new hire.

Modernize Your Approach to Recruiting

The idea of a recruitment website may still seem somewhat foreign, but you don’t want to get stuck on the outside looking in. Now is your chance to get in on the ground level of a recruitment strategy that hundreds of other businesses are using to increase the quality of candidates they receive.

Anna Johansson is the founder and CEO of Johansson Consulting. Follow her on Twitter  and LinkedIn.

By Anna Johansson