Recruitment is tough, right? Read this blog to discover 5 ways your employer brand might be scaring away candidates and how to stop making these detrimental mistakes.

Competition for candidates is fierce – just ask any recruiter! Online job boards are saturated with more roles than ever before, and candidates are often pulled left, right, and center in pursuit of the perfect position.

So how can you streamline the jobseeker experience and help attract them to your brand? We’re happy you asked!

Using the insights we’ve gained at Lumina.co we’ve put together some of our best tips to improve your brand’s appeal and elevate your talent acquisition to the next level! Keep reading to discover 5 ways your employer brand might be scaring away candidates ...

5 Ways Your Employer Brand Is Scaring Away Candidates

1. Dull Job Postings

Boring job descriptions are the number one offender when it comes to scaring away potential candidates. Nobody wants to read through a mundane mountain of text, no matter what the context. So it’s time to shake up your copy and add some flavor to your adverts.

Your job descriptions should reflect your company, highlighting its characteristics and quirks in a way that sets you apart from any competition. You’ll want to include logos, images and even video to leave candidates feeling inspired, not merely informed.

 2.   Making it Difficult to Apply

According to LiveCareer, candidates on the job hunt can apply to as many as 100 to 200 jobs before securing the right role. As such, application processes that are needlessly complicated, long-winded or frustratingly slow can mean losing out on potential recruits!

Applying for jobs is stressful enough without added application misery. Make sure to keep things simple and turn your recruitment process into an enjoyable experience that reflects your true company values. A few common mistakes are: forcing candidates to ‘sign up’ before they can view your job openings, not making sure your ATS is mobile friendly and finally, requiring an applicant to spend more than 5 minutes to indicate interest.

 3.   Failing to Leverage Social Media

Social media should be at the forefront of your marketing and advertising strategy regardless of your recruitment processes. But it’s not just about creating an aesthetic or curating likes and shares.

Building an online presence means that any potential candidates researching your business will be met with the faces behind the computer screen. Effective talent acquisition is all about creating an employer brand that people want to work for! As candidate demographics change you’ll find yourself recruiting people who were born with access to platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. Some of the best candidates are passive (they already have jobs). Those folks might not be looking at job boards, but they are definitely on social media!

4.   Typos and Expired Links

This may seem like a bit of an obvious one, but you’d be surprised how often it still happens. When you’re advertising a role to potential candidates, that advert reflects your entire business. Typos, mistakes or expired links are a sure-fire way of turning sharp-eyed candidates off at the first hurdle.

Proofreading and drafting is always a good idea and can help nip any problems in the bud. The devil is in the detail, so take the time to ensure your carefully crafted copy is up to scratch!

5.   Weak Branding

If your brand was a person, would the two of you be friends? Quality candidates have more choices than ever before and they want to work someplace with a strong personality or a clear, inspiring mission. Without a discernible brand on web and social media, it’s difficult for potential candidates to gauge the culture of your organization and what it may be like to work for you.

If you’ve got great benefits, awesome offices, a great team or some killer clients, shout about it! Let candidates know who you are and why they should apply to become part of your team. A great brand-building strategy often involves investing in images, video, podcasts, livestreams and virtual hiring events. According to a 2020 candidate survey by Lumina, video job postings can increase your job's appeal by 76%.

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Next steps? If you’re ready to empower your recruiters and differentiate yourself from your competitors, Lumina.co works with employers both large and small, fitting within even the tightest HR / Marketing budgets.

To see for yourself, visit our website today!