Careers page best practices: 8 things the best careers pages show

A candidate who lands on your careers page has one question: do I want to work here? Many pages answer a different one: how would we like to be seen? The result is stock photos, company values in big letters, and a list of perks any employer could have written.

The best careers pages do the opposite. They show instead of tell. These are the eight things they have in common.

1. Real colleagues, not stock photos

Candidates spot a stock photo in half a second. A real colleague in the real workplace does more, even if the photo or video isn't perfect. It says: these are the people you'll work with.

2. Stories per team and location

A technician wants to know something different from a financial controller. Show what the work looks like per team, and per location if you have more than one. The more specific, the more believable.

3. An honest working day

What time do you start? What do you do in the first few hours? Who do you work with, and what's hard? A short description or video of an ordinary day removes the uncertainty that stops people from applying.

4. The parts that aren't so fun

Shift work, busy seasons, lots of travel. Say so. People who know and apply anyway tend to stay. People who find out after three weeks tend to leave.

5. The hiring process, step by step

How many interviews, with whom, how long it takes and when you'll hear back. A simple overview lowers the barrier, especially for people who still have a job elsewhere.

6. Pay and benefits without vague terms

"A competitive salary" says nothing. Give a salary range where you can, and name concrete benefits instead of "an attractive package".

7. Video on the job ad, not just the homepage

Many employers have one company film on the careers homepage. But most candidates arrive through a job ad and never see it. Put short team videos right on the job ad.

8. Fast and easy on a phone

Most visitors are on a phone. Test your page there. Do videos load quickly? Are they subtitled, since many people watch without sound? Can you find the apply button without searching?

Checklist

• Does the page show real colleagues, not stock images?
• Can a candidate find the story of the team they'd join?
• Are the less pleasant parts of the job mentioned?
• Is the hiring process explained?
• Are there videos on the job ads themselves?
• Are all videos subtitled, and does everything work on a phone?