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With Google for Jobs, GDPR and Brexit really “helping” Recruitment leaders focus on a sustainable recruitment business model, your website has become front and centre of your marketing. You need it to make you money and not simply build your brand and clicks.
With the launch of the new Barclay Jones website, I’ve been waxing lyrical to clients about my experience of the web development and launch process and I’ve come up with 4 mistakes that every recruitment website may be making.
Recruitment Websites Need to Make Money!
We regularly help recruiters with the project management of recruitment websites, and digital marketing strategies, so this was a busperson’s holiday for us.
During the design phase of the new Barclay Jones web, it was clear to me that focus needed to be given in areas what we take for granted. Recruiters often forget about the journey that the website needs to take the 3Cs on:
Candidates
Client
Consultants
and Cash!
Often, a recruitment marketer is too busy to see beyond the launch of the website – and hence the goal appears to be “launch and wave goodbye”. But any finance/managing director who has freed up marketing budget to buy a new recruitment website wants more money – they want candidates, clients, colleagues and cash (not just an online brochure).
How to Build a Recruitment Website
There’s lots of content out there about how to build a website, and many a recruitment marketer will know the pain of launching a new site whilst holding down their normal day job.
There are a decent number of recruitment specific website companies – many of them offering really valuable advice… but I discovered few practical tips for recruitment marketers to help them drag surfers through the critical buyer’s journey.
Recruitment Website Mistake 1 – Look Dumb!
With GDPR, the focus on the 3Csand recruitment leaders wanting to invest more in their recruiters, personality has never been so important. But often I look at a recruitment website, then meet the business leaders and recruiters and it’s night and day! In the board room I see passionate advocates of their niche – online “we are the fastest growing, boring, USPless job board” (sorry – tough love!)
Why? Because when recruiters “go online” they dumb down… they “de-niche” and they lose their personality. Confidence disappears and recruitment websites do not “sell”. And the blog just talks about “recruitment”
Have a think whilst you read this blog about how you can inject some personality into your recruitment website.
Recruitment Website Mistake 2 – Ignoring your 404 Page
So – this is the page you’d rather not have people go to – the page which people get to as they have entered an incorrect page on your site, or you have directed to them to a page which no longer exists. Why is it that some many recruitment websites go “doh!” amend don’t take the opportunity to drive the surfer to somewhere useful?
Check out this blog about great 404 pages and then check out Barclay Jones’404 page– we loved creating this one for our very own Barclay Jones 404 error page.
If people give a damn enough to come to your site, and then accidentally hit a page which has been deleted / moved, then why are you just saying “computer says no!”? Stick out your hand and guide them to where you want them to go.
Recruitment Website Mistake 3 – Having a Pants Search Results Screen
To be fair I did quite a bit of research on this and there was nothing that I could plagiarise! My instincts are that if people want to find “stuff” on your website, then making the results screen as engaging as possible is crucial. Have a think about how to get them to click on the bits YOU want them to click on to. And if you have any great ideas on this, share them with me
Recruitment Website Mistake 4 – Contact Us – Or Rather, Kill the Lead!
So you spend a fortune in time, money and emotion on getting people to come to your website. They surf about and bingo!, they want to catch up with you. Then you flick your hair and wander away…? Crazy recruiters!
I feel that the Contact Us page is THE most important page on your site. They are coming in to your shop asking for help… Hubspot agrees and has a helpful blog about the best contact us pages.
So many contact us pages are uninspiring, “templatey”, prone to getting people to NOT contact you.
What can you do with your contact page to engage and CONVERT? It’s not enough that they come to your site and your Google Analytics stats improve. You want them to “buy” from you with a subscription (GDPR alert!) or a job application, or dare we suggest that they want to speak to you… Let’s get recruiters’ phones ringing again!
Let’s Make Recruitment Websites Great Again
I couldn’t resist the “Trumpism”. Take a look at your site… figure out which pages you really want people to go to and then ask yourself if they are working hard enough for you… and can you use a little personality in them to drive conversions.
Recruitment Takeaways…
Personality
Capitalise on errors
Turn searches into conversions
Make contact easy!
Create a recruitment website that attracts and retains clients, candidates and consultants…
I train and mentor recruitment marketers to generate the 4Cs: candidates, clients, colleagues and cash.
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Wayne Barclay
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3 Ways to Automate Away the Counter Offer and Drop Out
Recruiters who want to prevent counter offers and drop outs have several choices.They sit and do nothing, assuming the candidate remained loyal to them and was not flattered or hood winked into accepting a counter-offer.They know that prevention is better than cure, and set manual reminders engage the candidate as and when they think it’s best.They use automation to engage and manage the candidate, whilst controlling the narrative and the process.💡Every successful recruiter knows that the key to eliminating dropouts lies in consistent, timely intervention.🪄This is where automation transforms a good process into a great one.In our previous blog "Stop Losing Placements: Your 3-Step Plan to Pre-empt the Counter Offer or Drop Out" we offered a straightforward guide to preventing counter offers, armed with the data you need to make the case.Try Our 3️⃣ Powerful Ways to Use Automation to Prevent Counter Offers and Drop Outs1️⃣️ Automated "Reality Check" Content DripYou need to proactively arm candidates with the necessary data before they even receive an offer. This content drip focuses on education, addressing the emotional allure of a counter offer with cold, hard facts.How to Automate: Set up an email automation sequence that triggers immediately after a candidate successfully completes a key interview stage (e.g., after the screening or first stage interview, or when a final offer is imminent).The Content: The sequence should deliver the statistics we discussed (e.g., 9 out of 10 people leave anyway, the cost to the employer, etc.) and explore the non-monetary reasons for leaving. Use short, sharp emails with a professional, advisory tone.Goal: To normalise the counter offer as a business tactic and pre-frame it as a short-term distraction from their long-term career goals. This makes the eventual counter offer less of a surprise or a compelling "olive branch."2️⃣ 📝 Automated Counter Offer Acknowledgment FormThis tool formalises the discussion you have with the candidate, ensuring they have verbally and electronically confirmed their awareness of the risks.How to Automate: Integrate a simple form into your candidate management system or send it via an automated link after the final offer is extended.The Requirement: The form should ask the candidate to confirm that they have:Discussed the likelihood of a counter offer with their recruiter.Reviewed the long-term career statistics associated with accepting a counter offer.Understood that the underlying reasons for their resignation (e.g., culture, progression) are unlikely to be resolved by a temporary pay bump.Goal: The act of filling out this form forces one last moment of reflection, significantly reducing the chances of an impulsive, emotional decision, and provides a documented record of the candidate's commitment.3️⃣ 📅 Automated "Resignation Prep" ResourceThe most dangerous time is the moment of resignation, often delivered in a high-pressure, emotional meeting. Automation can deliver a just-in-time resource to guide the candidate through this moment.How to Automate: Set up a final email to be delivered the day before the candidate plans to hand in their notice.The Content: This resource is a concise, step-by-step guide on how to resign professionally. Crucially, it includes:Scripted Responses: Suggested brief, professional phrases to use when a counter offer is made (e.g., "I appreciate the offer, but my decision is final and based on long-term career factors, not just compensation.").Focus Points: A checklist of their original motivations for leaving (e.g., "Remember why you started this search: lack of flexible working, no clear path to management.").Goal: To help the candidate manage the conversation gracefully, stick to their pre-agreed decision, and resist emotional manipulation in the moment.🔐The Automation Advantage: Protecting Your Fee and Their FutureThe counter offer is a recruitment industry reality, but a drop-out is not an inevitability.By combining pre-emptive, data-driven candidate coaching with a strategic approach to automation, you move beyond simply hoping a candidate will decline a counter offer.Instead, you build a robust, repeatable recruitment process that manages risk, documents commitment, and ensures your candidate resigns fully prepared and focused on their long-term career move.💡Embracing automation isn't about replacing the human element; it's about making the human element.Your invaluable advice and counsel is more impactful. It guarantees the right advice is delivered at the right time, securing your placement and protecting your candidate from a decision they would almost certainly regret down the line.Be sure to not run your recruitment process on good intentions - back it up with the tech you need to boost your process and pipeline!Automation Buddy / Bullhorn RoIWe are Automation Buddies set on helping ambitious recruitment businesses who want to increase speed and sales.We coach to inspire, and build your automations so you can recruit and sell!Plus, through our Bullhorn Vision service we help generate serious ROI from your Bullhorn, data, and people.READ MORE ABOUT OUR BULLHORN VISION SERVICEREAD ABOUT OUR AUTOMATION BUDDY SERVICEBOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
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Rose Megson
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Bullhorn Tip - Place More Jobs
We've got a simple 1-minute Bullhorn tip to help you place more jobs. It's time to filter, work and place (and earn!)Having too many jobs and not enough placements can be beyond frustrating. But we have a Bullhorn tip for you to help you focus on the jobs you can (and should) place! There's plenty Bullhorn can do to help you manage your jobs pipeline and recruitment workflow. It's Time to Place Your Jobs!Here's a quick bullhorn tip about why you should regularly update your job statuses in Bullhorn.Get focussed on the most profitable opportunities.Prioritise your efforts.Boost your earnings. Watch this 1-minute Bullhorn tip - then spend a few easy minutes creating focus and an easy path to placing more jobs. Watch Our 1-Minute Bullhorn Tip on How to Place Jobs QuickerNeed more Bullhorn / Automation Tips? Try our 1-minute tips.Be sure to sign up for (or watch the recordings of) our regular free Bullhorn and Automation webinars.CHECK OUT OUR WEBINARSAutomation Buddy / Bullhorn RoIWe are Automation and Bullhorn Buddies set on helping ambitious recruitment businesses who want to increase speed and sales.We coach to inspire, and build your automations so you can recruit and sell!Plus, through our Bullhorn Vision service we help generate serious ROI from your Bullhorn, data, and people.READ MORE ABOUT OUR BULLHORN VISION SERVICEREAD ABOUT OUR AUTOMATION BUDDY SERVICEBOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
