What the page is for
A career page sits at a specific point in the journey: someone is aware of the organisation, is considering applying, and has not yet decided. Everything on it either moves them towards applying or does not.
Judged that way, a great deal of typical career page content is inert. Stock photography, a statement about people being the greatest asset, a values list and an awards carousel do not answer anything a candidate is deciding on.
The measure is conversion: visitors who start an application, and of those, who complete it. A page that is admired and converts poorly is not doing its job, and this is measurable rather than a matter of taste.
The questions candidates actually have
Candidates arrive with a short list of questions, and pages consistently answer a different list.
| What they want to know | What pages usually provide |
|---|---|
| What does this job actually involve day to day | A responsibilities list written for internal grading |
| What does it pay | Nothing |
| Where is it, and can I work remotely or hybrid | Sometimes, often buried |
| What are the hours, shift pattern and travel expectations | Rarely |
| What is the process and how long will it take | Rarely |
| What is it actually like here | Values and photographs |
The second row is the largest single lever. Omitting salary means candidates self-select on a guess, and the people most likely to walk away are those who cannot afford to spend several evenings on a process that may end at a number they could never accept.
It also produces avoidable waste on both sides, since the mismatch is discovered at offer stage after everyone has invested.
Mobile is the actual experience
Most career page traffic is mobile, and most career pages are specified and reviewed on desktops in offices.
The consequences are predictable: descriptions that require pinching to read, an apply button below several screens of content, application forms that cannot be completed on a phone, and CV upload that assumes a file system rather than a phone.
- Test the whole journey on a mid-range phone on a slow connection, including the application itself.
- Put the essential information above the fold: role, location, pattern, pay, and how to apply.
- Allow application without creating an account, which is the single most expensive requirement on most pages.
- Make CV upload work from a phone, including from cloud storage and messaging apps.
The third point connects to the application completion rate entry, and it is the highest-value single change available on most career pages.
Culture content that is believed
Candidates discount employer-published culture material heavily, and they are right to. What survives the discount is specificity.
A statement that the organisation values collaboration conveys nothing, because no organisation states the opposite. A description of how a decision actually gets made, what a first week looks like, or what the team is currently struggling with conveys a great deal, precisely because it could not be written by every employer.
- Describe how work actually happens rather than how it is supposed to feel.
- Say what the organisation is not, since a description that filters out unsuitable candidates is doing its job.
- Use employees speaking in their own words rather than approved quotes, which read as approved.
- Show the team the person would join rather than the building.
The second is the one organisations resist and it is what makes the rest credible. A page that reads as though everyone is happy all the time is read as marketing, and the honest details are what make the positive claims believable.
Measuring it
- Visitors to application starts, and application starts to completions, tracked separately since they have different causes.
- Source of traffic, so the page can be judged against where candidates come from.
- Device split, and conversion by device, which usually reveals a mobile problem.
- Drop-off point within the page and within the application.
- Twelve-month retention of hires by source, which is the check on whether the page attracts people who stay.
The last matters because a page can improve conversion by overselling. If applications rise and first-year attrition rises with them, the page is attracting people the organisation does not keep, which is worse than a lower conversion rate.
Frequently asked questions
What is a custom career page?
A branded section of an organisation's website presenting roles, culture and the application process. It is where interest becomes an application, so its practical measure is conversion rather than appearance.
What should a career page include?
What the job actually involves day to day, pay, location and working pattern, hours and travel expectations, and what the process is and how long it takes. Most pages instead provide a responsibilities list, values and photographs.
Should salary be shown?
Omitting it suppresses applications and does so unevenly. The people most likely to walk away are those who cannot afford several evenings on a process that may end at an unacceptable number, and the mismatch is otherwise discovered at offer stage after everyone has invested.
Why does mobile matter so much?
Because most career page traffic is mobile and most pages are specified on desktops. The result is an apply button below several screens, forms that cannot be completed on a phone, and CV upload that assumes a file system.
What culture content is actually believed?
Specifics. Stating that the organisation values collaboration conveys nothing, since none states the opposite. Describing how a decision gets made, what a first week looks like, or what the team is struggling with is credible precisely because not every employer could write it.
How Engage runs career pages
Engage publishes branded career pages that accept applications without account creation and work on a mid-range phone, with CV parsing so nothing is typed twice. Conversion, device split and drop-off point are reportable alongside the retention of the hires that resulted, which is what shows whether a page is attracting people the organisation keeps.
See career pages in Engage