Now, more than ever talent leaders are being pushed to get creative with their employer brand in order to attract and retain top early career talent. So, we recently brought together a group of trailblazing talent leaders to share their knowledge and insights on the topic. The result? Three key tips to amplify your employer brand for early career talent. 

Before we dive in, here’s a quick wrap-up of things that’ve worked for leading Australian brands in 2023 (and we don’t think they’re going anywhere anytime soon!).

• Creating video content that transforms mundane content into engaging, entertaining narratives
• Effectively using LinkedIn posts by posting regularly and having a focus on company values and candidate wants and needs 
• Putting the team at heart of the content - capturing content featuring a range of teams and faces 
• Word-of-mouth marketing and enabling teams to promote where they work
• PR campaigns promoting workplace and culture

Tips to amplify your employer brand

1. Transparency is key

A key theme that emerged throughout the discussion is the importance of transparency. Companies are focusing on levelling up their careers site and company profiles to provide a genuine "window into" their organisation. This includes not only sharing the perks and benefits but also showcasing what it’s like to join their team, including the team dynamics and potential challenges.

‍Ways you can increase transparency in your employer brand 

• Implementing AI capabilities and chatbots on career sites to enhance the user experience.
• Creating "Day in the Life" content to offer a realistic preview of the work environment and team vibe.
• Embracing self-serve options for both candidates and talent acquisition teams when it comes to content.
• Highlighting both what's good and not so good about the company to provide an honest portrayal.

2. Content and a social media presence need to be readily available

Employers are recognising that it’s becoming more and more important to have content readily available for people to consume throughout their job search. This can be achieved through social media, engaging career site content, alternatives to traditional job boards and a more personalised approach to communications. 

Ways you can increase content and reach

• Utilising social media, including Instagram and TikTok, to showcase the company's culture and operations.
• Experimenting with Linktree to provide candidates with easy access to multiple relevant links.
• Getting creative with your marketing team to create storytelling team videos, like Hnry’s most recent content. 
• Leveraging LinkedIn for content from Hiring Managers, recognising that engagement levels are generally higher compared to company or product posts.

Challenges around content creation and distribution

• There’s often a significant investment of time and support required to create high-quality content for a website or social media channels.
• When companies are global, the audiences are increasingly diverse which can sometimes mean more difficulty localising content.

‍3. Content needs to be impactful

Quality definitely comes over quantity when it comes to content in order to make a big impact, and for the most-part this means video content. Creating video content is, however, generally more time-consuming and more resource-intensive, leaving brands actively seeking ways to make video creation more accessible and efficient.

How companies are efficiently creating video content:

• Being authentic: Super-polished isn’t what early career folk are looking for. Company culture can be showcased in an efficient way; through hiring manager profiles, day-in-the-life content, and office tours.

• Exploring tools that make video editing quick and easy; such as Canva and IMovie for short videos and shareable video libraries.

In the modern employer brand space, transparency, social media engagement and impactful content stand out as key drivers of success. Companies that can effectively embrace and navigate these trends will continue to be well-positioned to attract, engage, and retain top talent in a competitive market.