The powerful owned marketing channel 1 in 3 NFPs don’t leverage

It is a given that people conduct online research before applying for a job. 

89 per cent of job seekers agree that an employer’s career website is important for finding key information.

One in three NFPs do not have a dedicated careers page. 

This is one of the key findings from our review of the state of talent attraction and employer branding in the Australian NFP sector.

Between November 2023 and March 2024, Heart Talent reviewed the employer brand presence of more than 200 not for profit organisations across Australia. We looked at all aspects of organisations’ external-facing talent brand including careers page, job advertising, employee reviews and social media presence. 

In this article, we’ll share our findings about the powerful yet underutilised ‘owned’ marketing channel: careers pages.

If an organisation employs people, a dedicated careers site (or a page within the main website) is essential. The careers or ‘work with us’ page is an employer’s ‘shopfront’ and the go-to place for job seekers.

This is where would-be employees spend time doing their research. They’re looking for information about what it’s like to work with you and what’s in it for them. Will this job and working with your organisation, work for them?

Employers without a dedicated careers page are missing an opportunity to communicate with an important audience via the most powerful owned recruitment marketing channel.

Only 1 in 4 NFP careers pages include employee content. 

While having an effective shopfront is important, it’s arguably more important to make sure the content and messaging your talent audience finds here is accurate, compelling and targeted to their needs.

Less than 20 per cent of careers pages include employee videos.

Video content is an undeniably effective form of marketing. 87% of marketers say video has helped them directly increase sales.

Studies show 92 per cent of consumers trust recommendations from others. When it comes to talent attraction, employee voices are powerful. Leveraging employee advocates as brand ambassadors is a compelling way to attract like-minded talent. 

Employee videos can take many forms including a Q&A style interview, a short testimonial, a story about the purpose of the role or showcase ‘a day in the life’.

Recruitment is marketing. 

The consumer is the talent you’re trying to attract, engage and retain. The product is the job you want them to choose, and keep.

Savvy employers who get proactive about their employer brand can gain a competitive advantage in talent attraction and retention.

Check out this brief case study of an Australian NFP leading the way.

For support with talent attraction or a confidential chat about your talent strategy and how to improve your talent attraction results, get in touch with Cynthia Harris.