At Catalyst Studios we built the Kohl's careers site, one of the first careers sites built around videos of real employees talking about their jobs. It was a big project, connected to Taleo, the applicant tracking system Kohl's used.
Why do careers sites attract the wrong applicants?
Because they describe the company instead of the job. A page of values and stock photos tells an applicant nothing about the shift, the manager, or the work. People who would be great at the job cannot see themselves in it, and people who would quit in a month apply because nothing told them otherwise.
What should a careers site show?
- Real employees talking about their jobs. On video, in their own words, at their own station. It shows the work better than any copy, and it tells applicants what the culture is like without saying the word culture.
- The facts applicants ask first. Pay range, schedule, location, benefits, and how long hiring takes.
- A day in the job. What happens on a normal shift or week, including the hard part.
- Where it leads. People who started in this role and where they are now.
Do real employee videos work better than produced ones?
For hiring, yes. Applicants trust a person who does the job over a polished brand film, and phones make the videos cheap to shoot. Keep them short, let people say what they would say to a friend, and get each person's written consent before anything goes up.
How should the apply step work?
Short, on a phone, and connected to your applicant tracking system so nobody types an application twice. Ask for what you need to decide on an interview and nothing more. Every extra field loses applicants, and the best ones have other options. The Kohl's site connected straight into Taleo, which is the part most careers redesigns get wrong.
What does a careers site cost?
A one-page careers site is $1,500 for a small business hiring for a few roles. A full careers site with job pages, video, and a connected applicant tracking system starts at $6,000 and grows with the number of roles and locations. Anything over $3,000 can be paid by the month, no interest.
Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.