How to attract job seekers with corporate communication

SPOTLIGHT: KW DIGITAL CAREER SURVEY 2014
KW Digital’s guide to
ATTRACTING
JOB SEEKERS

2 3SPOTLIGHT: KW DIGITAL CAREER SURVEY 2014 SPOTLIGHT: KW DIGITAL CAREER SURVEY 2014
Content
Executive summary...................................................................................3
Meet your online job seekers......................................................................4
The Idealist – Student.......................................................................... 6
The Careerist – Employee.................................................................... 10
The Realist – Senior employee............................................................. 14
6 tips to make your career content more engaging....................................... 18
Checklist: And don’t forget....................................................................... 34
Methodology......................................................................................... 36
About KW Digital...................................................................................... 37 We asked students and employees how they use social media
and corporate websites when looking for a job and what type
of content they are interested in. 164 people aged 18-55 from
20 countries in Europe participated in the career survey. Based
on the findings from the survey here are our tips on how you
can create engaging online career content. But first, an
introduction to your typical three job seekers.
KW Digital Career
survey 2014

MEET YOUR ONLINE
JOB SEEKERSThere are three types of job seekers who will typically
visit your corporate website and social networks:
TheIdealist
Student
TheCareerist
Employee
TheRealist
Senior employee

What is the most important information
for you when looking for a job?
I think that information about the corporate
culture and values is the most important one.
I also want to know where the company is
located.
How did you find your latest job?
I used my personal and professional
networks and found information on the
corporate website and on Facebook to find
out about this job and decided to apply for it.
In what channels do you keep yourself
updated about job vacancies?
I mostly use the corporate website,
Facebook and LinkedIn
And to find information about
the company and its career
opportunities?
Then I visit the corporate website,
Wikipedia and Facebook.
How would you like to apply
for a job?
I would like to be able to email my
application to a contact person or fill
in a general job inquiry form, on the
corporate website.
An idealist who wants to understand a company’s values before committing. Trusts
their personal and professional contacts above all, and uses Facebook to find jobs.
Browses Wikipedia to get general information about a company and scrutinises the
corporate website for job openings, career and sustainability details.
TheIdealistStudent
DANIEL SANTOS
23 YEARS OLD
STUDENT
BACHELOR’S DEGREE
EUROPEAN
ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR A JOB
“I and other students
typically look for information
about diversity and equal
opportunities, corporate
responsibility and work
environment”.
Requested content that is
unique for students

Work
environment/
working conditions
Policy on
diversity and equal
opportunities
CR
information
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
90%
80% 80%
Personal/professional network
Corporate websites 48%
Career days 22%
Facebook/LinkedIn 22%
Career focused websites (e.g. Monster) 19%
Governmental job centres 19%
Newsletters and job feeds 15%
Headhunters 7%
Newspapers and magazines 7%
Apps 7%
Google+ 4%
52%
Corporate culture and values
Competence development 90%
Corporate responsibility and sustainability 90%
Geographical locations 85%
Company introduction specifically for job seekers 80%
The company's policy on diversity and equal opportunities 80%
Work environment / working conditions (e.g. type of work
place, air quality, ergonomic seating, noise) 80%
Contact information for questions about specific vacancies 75%
Employee strategy (e.g. visions and goals concerning employees) 75%
95%
Content unique for students to require
How students found their latest job Most requested content among students
This graph shows the percentage of
the students that rated this informa-
tion 4-5 on a scale from 1-5 where
one is least important and five most
important. This content is unique for
students to find important.
This graph shows the percentage
of the students that rated this
information 4-5 on a scale from
1-5 where one is least important
and five most important.
Apply by email to a contact
Uppload their CV to corporate website 70%
Send a general application using a general 65%
jobs enquiry form on the corporate website
Fill in a form on the corporate website 55%
Through a recruitment agency 42%
Via Linkedin using LinkedIn Profile 30%
90%
How students would like to apply for a job
of the students that rated this
and five most important.
of respondents that found it very
important to apply for a job each
way. They rated 4-5 on a scale
from 1-5 where one is least
important and five most important.
TheIdealist – Student

TheCareeristEmployee
PETER HOWLET
32 YEARS OLD
EMPLOYEE
MASTER’S DEGREE
EUROPEAN
HAS WORKED 5 YEARS
IS KEEPING HIS EYES OPEN FOR NEW
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
What content do young employees
typically look for?
We look for information about promotion,
compensations and benefits as well as the
company’s expectations on future employees.
I want to find information about corporate
culture and values, the employee strategy
and geographical location of the company.
I used my personal and professional networks
and found information on the corporate
website and LinkedIn to find out about this
job and decided to apply for it.
LinkedIn and Facebook.
And to find information about the
company and career opportunities
there?
Then I go to the corporate website,
Wikipedia and LinkedIn.
How would you like to apply for a job?
I would like to be able to email my
application to a contact person.
The careerist is on the rise, hungry to climb the ranks in a company
with a solid employee strategy and generous compensation package.
Attractive office location is a must. The personal network can be
trusted, but not Facebook. He got his latest job through LinkedIn.
“I found my latest job through
the corporate website and
LinkedIn. My personal and
professional contacts are my
most reliable sources.”
Requested content that is unique
for young employees.
$€

Compensation
and benefit
system
Company
expectations
on future
employees
Promotion
opportunities
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
80%
73%
78%
Corporate websites 24%
LinkedIn 22%
Headhunters 18%
Facebook 16%
Apps 6%
Blogs or forums 6%
Twitter 6%
Career days 2%
Google+ 2%
55%
90%
Upload their CV to corporate website 70%
Geographical locations
Promotion opportunities 80%
Compensation and benefit system 78%
Company expectations on future employees 73%
Employee strategy (e.g. visions and goals concerning employees) 73%
Corporate culture and values 73%
Competence development 72%
Corporate responsibility and sustainability 68%
Trainee/graduate programs 65%
86%
Content that young employees typically look for.
How employees found their latest job
How employees would like to apply for a job
Most requested content among employees
of the employee that rated this
and five most important. The
content is unique for employees
to find important.
of the employees within the
research that used each source
to find their latest job.
of the employees that rated this
information 4-5 on a scale from 1-5
where one is least important and
five most important.
of the employees that found it
very important to be apply for a
job each way. They rated 4-5 on
a scale from 1-5 where one is
least important and five most
important.
TheCareerist – Employee

TheRealistSenior employee
ANNA SVENSSON
45 YEARS OLD
BACHELOR’S DEGREE
SELF-EMPLOYED
HAS WORKED MORE THAN 20 YEARS
IS KEEPING HER EYES OPEN FOR NEW
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Which content do senior employees
typically look for?
For senior employees it is important to find
out about the company such as information
as company at a glance, financial results,
business strategy, ownership and HR details.
I want to find contact details about specific
job vacancies, information about career days
and what the company expects from their
future employees.
I used my personal and professional networks
and find head hunters very important. I also
use the corporate website.
LinkedIn and Twitter.
And to find information about the
company and career opportunities there?
Then I go to the corporate website, Wikipedia
and LinkedIn.
How would you like to apply for a job?
I would like to be able to email my application
to a contact person or upload my CV on the
corporate website to apply for a specific job.
Stability and security is the Alpha and Omega for the senior employee who seeks a firm
business strategy, strong financial figures and sound ownership in a potential employer.
The solidity seeker got her latest job through a head hunter or a job vacancy posted on
LinkedIn. If she search for a job on a corporate website, it’s important for her to be able
to contact someone directly in HR to ask questions about the job.
“I found my latest job through
my personal and professional
contacts and head hunters.
I trust my contacts,
corporate websites and
LinkedIn the most.”
Requested content that is unique
to senior employees

OwnershipDetails to
a personal
HR contact
Overall
business
strategy
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
The
company
at a glance
Financial
results in
brief
58% 58%58 58%
40%
68%
Headhunters 31%
Corporate websites 23% 48%
LinkedIn 23%
Blogs or forums 15%
Facebook, Apps, Twitter 0%
Career days, Google+
62%
Upload their CV to corporate website 75%
83%
Content unique to senior employees to require
How senior employees found their latest job
How senior employees would like to apply for a job
of the senior employee that rated
this information 4-5 on a scale
The content is unique for senior
employees to find important.
of the senior employees within the
research that used each source to
find their latest job.
of the senior employees that rated
this information 4-5 on a scale
of the senior employees that found
it very important to be apply for a
job each way. They rated 4-5 on a
scale from 1-5 where one is least
Contact information for questions about specific vacancies
The company at a glance
Calendar with "career days" or similar events 60%
Company expectations on future employees 58%
Details to a personal HR contact 58%
Overall business strategy 58%
Financial results in brief 58%
Key figures i.e. number of employees, employee turnover and diversity 46%
Compensation and benefit system 42%
67%
Most requested content among senior employees
TheRealist – Senior employee

TIPS TO MAKE
YOUR CAREER
CONTENT MORE
ENGAGING
6

They want to feel what it’s like to actually work there, and this emotion can create
a positive, powerful connection between you and your potential employees.
Let your employees talk
Two out of three respondents to the career survey find
short videos and text interviews with people working
within the company important on a corporate website.
Senior employees are most keen on seeing employees
talk about their work environment.
Tip: Empower the people in your organization and let
them show and tell through video interviews what their
role consists of, what a typical day at work looks like, how
they create value at work, their competence development
and aspirations. The more interaction with the viewer you
can create, the higher the level of engagement. And
if your job seekers can identify with your employees,
their emotional bond to your brand will grow.
1. Show your story –
convey a feeling
Say it with a picture
Three out of four students and job seekers find pictures of people and working
surroundings important on corporate websites. Among the career survey
respondents, employees are the most evoked by pictures, senior employees
the least.
Tip: The brain processes images 60,000 times faster
than text. Add pictures of your employees, offices,
factories and events to your corporate website, Flickr
account and social media feeds, such as LinkedIn
and Facebook.
Remember that your employees are your most
important ambassadors to communicate externally.
Let them take images from their work place and publish
them on your company’s Instagram channel. You could
for instance let one staff member per week be respon-
sible for your Instagram account to show what their
everyday at work looks like. See how the Swedish
companies LKAB and Axfood have done this:
@LKABtrainee and @axfood_official #jobbapåaxfood
on Instagram.
Your brand is also your story
More than 50% of the career respondents think it is important to find videos
about the company or employer on the corporate website. Students are the
ones who are the most interested in corporate videos.
Tip: Produce a corporate film based on your brand. Make it relevant and
interesting. And make your viewers care.
% that believe it’s very important to
have PICTURES of people and
working environment.
25%
35%
46%
% that believe
it’s very
important
to have TEXT
interviews
of people
working
within the
company
48%
45%
33%
% that believe it’s very important
to have VIDEO interviews of people
working within the company
40%
36%
20%
Stories matter in life and when seeking a job. Your potential employees
want to see and hear your staff talk about their workplace.

Can you boast about having brilliant ways for your employees to develop their
competence? That is the most requested information among all respondents.
Or do you have creative colourful workspaces in attractive areas? Finding
information about a company’s geographical location is the second most
important content on a corporate website according to survey respondents.
So why not take the opportunity to show off how your unique office space or
smart location induces positive benefits to your employees. If you also can
reflect your company’s culture you’re off to a good start. Make sure to mix text
and rich media.
2. Say it right
Try to see the world from your job seekers’ viewpoint. What does he or
she want to know about your company? Which information is relevant,
engaging and interesting to him or her? Does your content inspire,
entertain or give something to talk about?
This graph shows the percentage of the respondents that rated this information 4-5 on a scale
from 1-5 where one is least important and five most important.
77%
74%
74%
70%
70%
69%
68%
66%
66%
66%
Competence development
Geographical locations
Corporate culture and values
Compensation and benefit system
Employee strategy (e.g. visions and goals concerning employees)
Corporate responsibility and sustainability
Contact information for questions about specific vacancies
The company's policy on diversity and equal opportunities
Company expectations on future employees
Company introduction specifically for job seekers
The most important content

The survey shows that the corporate website and Wikipedia are the channels
the respondents use the most to find company and career information.
The corporate website and Wikipedia matter most
The corporate website is by far survey respondents’ first and foremost channel.
They use it to find job vacancies, general company information as well as details
about a company’s financial situation, sustainability and career.
Among the social media channels, Wikipedia is used to find corporate
facts, while LinkedIn is the favourite when looking for jobs and career related
information.
Corporate website is the most important source
for general company information
As many as 93% of the respondents visit corporate websites to find general
company information. When it comes to social media, students use Wikipedia and
Facebook to a higher extent than employees and senior employees to find such
information. Senior employees favour LinkedIn and Twitter.
3. Hang out where your
target groups hang out
Today there is an explosion of content, we have a limited amount of time
and work-life balance is becoming increasingly complicated. To reach out
through this noise and pull your readers in, hang out in the same channels
as your job seekers and give them the information they want.
Channels used when searching for general company information and
information about career opportunities, financial figures and CR.
Average of all97%
54%54%
28%
15% 16%
Student
Employee
Senior Emp.
70%
WEB
SITE
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Percentage of all respondents that use each channel for such information.

Today, as many as 80% of the respondents strategically scroll through their
favourite social media accounts to scout for an open position or to find
information about potential employers. LinkedIn is the most important
channel for both students, employees and senior employees.
4. Know their favourite
channels for career
information and
job vacancies
LinkedIn is the network of choice for when searching for information
about companies in social media. Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube are
also popular channels. After LinkedIn, Facebook is students’ favourite
network for viable job opportunities.
Average of all
Student
Employee
Senior Emp.
87%
56%
16%
12%
9%
WEB
SITE
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Channels used when searching for information about career
opportunities or job vacancies
Percentage of respondents that use each channel for such information.

LinkedIn is used to find jobs
Four out of five use the corporate website and half of the respondents use LinkedIn
to search for job vacancies. Students visit the corporate website and tap into
Facebook more than employees and senior employees. Seniors search more for
jobs on LinkedIn. Interestingly, as many as 40% of those using social media to
find a job, wish companies used LinkedIn more to publish job vacancies.
Career information
Once again, the corporate website is the most obvious place for students when
looking for career information, such as promotion opportunities, HR contact
details, compensation, work environment and diversity. Employees use LinkedIn
more than students and senior employees.
All 80% 41% 16% 7% 5% 5%
100% 32% 28% 4% 0% 0%
76% 43% 13% 6% 6% 6%
79% 36% 7% 7% 14% 14%
80%
Student
Employee
Senior Emp.
70%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
WEB
SITE
All 81% 46% 15% 8% 5%
96% 24% 32% 4% 8%
77% 38% 9% 6% 6%
79% 50% 0% 14% 7%
81%
Student
Employee
Senior Emp.
70%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
WEB
SITE
Percentage of respondents that use each channel to find job vacancies. Percentage of respondents that use each channel to find career information

Students, employees and senior employees all trust their personal and profes-
sional network to 100%. More than 90% of the students and employees trust
both corporate websites and LinkedIn. 85% of senior employees on the other
hand trust LinkedIn, whereas 31% find it very trustworthy.
Students trust Facebook to a higher degree (78%), senior employees to a
lower (54%). Yet neither of them rely on Facebook very much.
5. Manage your trust
Humans are a trusting creature and rely heavily on people they know
and who are in their network. They also lend a high level of trust to
corporate websites and online social networks. However, there is a
big difference between trusting a social network and trusting it a lot.
The most trustworthy sources
CORPORATE
WEBSITE
PERSONAL/
PROFESSIONAL
CONTACTS
89%
69%
57%
28%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Average of all
Student
Employee
Senior Emp.
This graph shows the percentage of the respondents that rated this information
4-5 on a scale from 1-5 where one is least trustworthy and five most trustworthy.

People look at LinkedIn
66% think LinkedIn is a very important social network for finding
information about companies. It is the most preferred channel for
finding career information.
They trust it
LinkedIn is the most trusted social media channel and is regarded as
being just as reliable as corporate websites.
They use it to find jobs
56% use LinkedIn to find job vacancies and to stay up to date with
companies’ career information.
And wish you would use it more
40% wish that companies would use LinkedIn more to post jobs.
And to check out your employee profiles
25% check out the LinkedIn profiles of company employees before
applying for a job. Why not give a helping hand to your employees
so they can perfect their online profiles?
LinkedIn groups
19% use LinkedIn groups to receive information about a company.
6. Look over your
LinkedIn strategy
Look over your
LinkedIn strategy
look at
LinkedIn
use it
to find jobs
wish that companies would use
LinkedIn more to post jobs
check out the LinkedIn
profiles of company
employees before
applying for a job
use LinkedIn groups
to receive information
about a company
66%
56%
25%
19%
40%
Other tips:
• Create a career tab on your company page on LinkedIn to interact with active
job seekers. (LinkedIn charges for this)
• Ask your employees to contribute with a quote on your company page with a link
to their profiles. See how Skanska 1)
have done this.
• List important people within your company that your stakeholders may be
interested in following.
• Create groups about topics related to your line of business that LinkedIn users
can join to discuss with other users or people from your company. (Free)
1) www.linkedin.com/company/skanska/careers

Make your corporate website engaging
The corporate website is an important channel when searching for
a job. Make sure you have the information that your target groups want.
Make it engaging and to the point.
Why should job seekers choose you?
Look over your employer value proposition. Why should potential
employees choose you as an employer? What do you offer? How do
you work with your people policies, training programs and programs to
encourage employee growth and competence development, rewards and
recognition and community service? How does your corporate culture and
employee strategy attract, retain and engage the right people? These are
some of the most important pieces of content that potential employees
look for on corporate websites.
Encourage your employees to network online
Most people go to their friends and business contacts when looking for a
job. Your employees are your most important ambassadors to communi-
cate externally. Encourage them to be visible in social media. You could
for instance help them create an updated LinkedIn profile or coach them
to blog/tweet about their work expertise or publish images from their
workplace on your company’s Instagram or Pinterest accounts.
LinkedIn LinkedIn LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the most important social media channel when searching for
information about companies.
Checklist: And don’t forget
Join in on Career days
84% think it’s important that your calendar shows career days and
similar events.
Invest in navigation and good looks
More than 90% think it’s important that a website is easy to navigate
and that it is appealing; they want to find brief as well as thorough
information.
Add interactive features to your website
70% think it’s important that a corporate website has interactive
features such as testimonials, see RSA’s 1)
personal face-to-face encoun-
ter as an example, or vacancy lists that can be sorted by location or posi-
tion, see for example Valeo’s 2)
vacancy list.
Be open about your sustainability
70% of the survey respondents, and as much as 84% of the students,
turn to the corporate website to find information about sustainability.
One out of five go to Wikipedia.
Make it easy for people to apply by email to a contact person
Applying to a person by email is the most preferred way of applying
for a job. People looking for a job also think it’s important to be able to
upload their CV on the corporate website in order to submit a job
applications. 75% of the students want to be able to submit a general
application.
1) www.rsagroup.com/rsagroup/en/careers/meet-our-team
2) www.valeo.com/en/candidates/our-job-offers/

36 SPOTLIGHT: KW DIGITAL CAREER SURVEY 2014 37KW DIGITAL CAREERS SURVEY 2014
ABOUT KW DIGITAL
KW Digital is a digital corporate communications agency that helps companies
make better use of digital channels in their corporate communications. We
provide strategic advice and implementation based on our research and
experience. KW Digital has more than 50 employees at offices in Stockholm
and London, and also partners in Milan and Lisbon.
For more information about KW Digital please visit http://kw-digital.com.
Contacts for more information:
Staffan Lindgren
Managing Director
+46 8 407 22 12
staffan.lindgren@kw-digital.com
Phil Marchant
Managing Director UK
+44 203 700 5554
phil.marchant@kw-digital.com
ABOUT THE CAREER SURVEY
This spotlight is produced by KW Digital. It is based on the KW Digital Career survey
2014 which is carried out yearly to understand what content students, job seekers and
employees expects from corporate websites and other digital channels. The purpose of
the report is to help companies better meet the demands from their stakeholders and
strengthen their employer brand.
The report summarises the responses of the survey which was distributed in
February 2014. 23 questions where asked ranging from how they found their latest
job, to the most trustworthy sources and to what information they prefer in each
digital channel. Our research gives a good insight into what students, job seekers
and employees expect from digital corporate communications at the moment.
The KW Digital Careers spotlight 2014 is published as open research under
a Creative common license.
For more information about the report please contact:
Linda Hultberg
KWD Webranking project manager
+46 (0)8 407 20 38
linda.hultberg@kw-digital.com

How to attract job seekers with corporate communication

How to attract job seekers with corporate communication

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