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 Wheaton, IL 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 this information efficiently is important, there are several other (dare I say, more important) ways to draw candidates to your company using your online presence. Investing just a little time into 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 posting…

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 (or even looking for one), 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 in the world cannot amount to the strength and 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 a hiring tool—or to grow a loyal customer base—will figure out a way to showcase their culture online (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

Using images with people and faces gives potential employees a sense of what it's like working at your company. Consider putting budget behind this and hiring ALINE (or another quality photographer) to shoot some natural photos around your office or in the field. But they don't necessarily have to be fancy. You can 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 company a fun place to be—then share them! And not just on social media. Your website, too, should visually demonstrate why people should be excited about joining your team!

Hire an ALINE Photographer

The Human Hook

When it comes to their next job, most people aren’t interested in corporate jargon and HR lingo. While we know some of that is important and necessary, consider adding a human element to the language used throughout your website. 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. Most career pages make the mistake of phrasing their job descriptions as though they were written by a rigid, uptight, "workaholic" boss.

For Example:

Instead of saying, “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 will be joining a team of folks who share these values and characteristics. You’re also dialing down the intimidation factor by seeming more personable and less like a checklist. If you’re not getting as many online applicants as you’d like, think about spending some time and resources reviewing and rewriting the language and 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 create a 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 you might be able to improve your website to bolster your recruiting efforts.