The Culture Hook: Optimizing Your Website for Recruiting

How ALINE Got Me…Hook, Line, & Sinker

After nearly 10 years in marketing and communications in Chicagoland, a friend of mine knew I was interested in relocating to the Carolinas and texted me a link to the ALINE website. I clicked on it and knew right away this was a company I wanted to work for. I applied within the hour, and three weeks later I was in a loaded U-Haul making my way from Illinois to Spartanburg, SC.

If you’re looking to hire this year, a great place to start is ensuring your website is ready to recruit top talent. But a website that’s optimized for recruitment doesn’t just contain job postings. While organizing job information efficiently is important, there are several other—dare I say, more important—ways to lure qualified candidates to your company using your website and online presence. Investing in a recruitment marketing strategy and taking a quick audit of your site through the lens of story-based recruiting will not only help refine your hiring efforts, it will also virtually conduct the first part of the interview process for you by helping attract the right kinds of employees.

So, what was it about ALINE’s website that had me sending in my resume almost instantly? A few things stood out, and they had nothing to do with the actual job…

The Culture Hook

Have you ever landed on a company or organization’s website or social media platforms with no intention of applying for a job, yet suddenly found yourself wanting to work there? That’s what I call, “The Culture Hook.” Well-known business consultant, Peter Drucker, famously said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." Meaning, the best online recruitment strategies cannot amount to the appeal of a team that shares the same passion for their mission, clarity around their values, and energy toward their approach.

Companies desiring to utilize their website as an effective recruitment marketing tool—or to grow a loyal customer base—will figure out a way to showcase their culture using their online presence (they also have a healthy organizational culture to begin with). Whether it was pictures from their company picnic or the conversational way their content was written, ALINE’s website seemed to display a work culture I could get behind.

The Photography Hook

Images of real people and faces on your website give potential employees a sense of what it's like working at your company. Consider putting budget behind custom photography and hiring ALINE (or another quality photographer) to shoot some natural photos around your office or in the field. You can also use your phone to capture small, ordinary moments around the office, like a birthday, or when someone brings in coffee for their coworkers. Have fun capturing the little things that make your working environment a fun place to be—then share them! And not just on social media. Your website should also demonstrate why people should be excited to join your team!

Hire an ALINE Photographer

The Human Hook

When it comes to their next job, many people aren’t interested in corporate jargon and HR lingo. While we know some of that is necessary, consider adding a human element to your recruiting language. In other words, write sentences that sound like something you would actually say to a person interested in working with you and for you. It may sound simple, but this is a common misstep for many organizations. Too many career pages phrase their job descriptions as though they were written by a rigid, uptight, workaholic boss.

For Example:

Instead of, “Must be dedicated to excellence, deadline-driven with strong time management skills, proactive, self-motivated, detail-oriented, highly organized, and a team player.”
Try, “We’re committed to serving our clients as best as we can. That means we’re an organized, detail-oriented, collaborative team of self-starters who meet or beat our deadlines. If that sounds like you, we’d love to talk!”

Which job description are you more likely to apply for? By shifting the focus to “we,” you’re demonstrating culture, and making it clear to any applicant they would be joining a team of folks who share these values and characteristics. You’re also dialing down the intimidation factor by coming across more personable and less like a checklist. If you’re not getting as many applicants as you’d like, think about spending some time and resources reviewing the overall tone of your website.

Consult an ALINE Writer

Your Front Door

Whether attracting potential employees or future customers, your website serves as the front door and reception desk to your organization. It should foster a warm connection with the user so that they feel more invested in applying, shopping, hiring, or supporting.

Worried your online presence may not have The Culture Hook? Let ALINE conduct a quick and easy audit to assess how we might be able to improve your website to bolster your recruiting efforts.