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At Wiser, we build top-tier careers sites and consistently review existing ones to ensure you’re getting the best analytics and insights to attract the most relevant talent. Small, high-impact changes can transform your site’s performance.
Here are some of the quick wins and strategic moves we focus on to help our clients turn browsers into applicants.
Make the “apply” button impossible to miss.
Candidates spending a long time on your site isn’t always a good thing. Viewing these insights alongside pages per session, rage clicks, and drop-off rates can sometimes reveal navigational challenges. You’d be surprised how many careers sites bury the main thing candidates are there to do... apply.
Quick win: Have a bold “apply now” in the navigation menu so it’s easily available on all pages. Make it sticky - meaning it’s always visible when scrolling, so talent can readily access your live roles at any moment.
Long-term move: Test your application flow by analysing your site analytics or having them audited by experts. Where are people dropping off? The login stage? The questionnaire? Candidates don’t want to rewrite the details of the resume they’re also sending off.
Stop writing 6000 word long job descriptions
We’ve seen this small change improve engagement across multiple client sites. A candidate isn’t going to want to scroll through walls of text to understand what the job entails.
Quick win: Keep it 600 words or less, break it into sections, and lead with why someone should care (your Employee Value Proposition). Then tell them what they’ll do, what you need from them, and what they’ll get back.
Long-term move: We often help clients create job description templates so they sound consistent across recruiters and candidates instantly understand what they’re joining. This builds credibility among talent and helps Google understand what your pages are about, which means better SEO.
Take the filter work out of the candidate journey
Many people will arrive at your careers site knowing which team they want to know more about. Make it as easy as possible for them to find their team, learn about it and navigate open roles.
Quick win: Allow talent to click through from teams pages to a filtered list of open roles. This will streamline the journey for them and minimise drop off.
Long-term move: Invest in smarter filtering functionality. Beyond skills-based filters and location preferences, think recommended roles sections, so if a role isn’t right for a candidate, they see suggestions of open roles at a similar seniority level in the team.
Tell them something real
Candidates want to know what it’s actually like to work for you, and they’re not going to believe you when you say “we’re innovative and collaborative”.
Quick win: Film your employees talking about their role and feature these on team pages. This will be better than any stock photo.
Long-term move: Create dedicated profiles for employer brand content. Think day-in-the-life vlogs, culture videos, updates on the latest roles and opportunities. Keep it natural and authentic.
Get SEO-rious
Companies rank well for branded keywords (e.g. Wiser jobs) but not for non-branded ones (e.g. employer brand jobs). This means if someone doesn’t already know you, they’ll struggle to find you.
Quick win: Start by weaving high-volume, relevant keywords into your job descriptions.
Long-term move: Build dedicated landing pages and blog posts for priority areas you want to rank under in organic search - “Careers in Engineering,” “Graduate Jobs UK,” “Digital Marketing Careers.” Make them keyword-rich and regularly refreshed. This is how you win organic search and attract fresh pipelines of talent.
Refresh. Your. Content.
Candidates notice a static, outdated careers site that were last updated when you launched.
Quick win: Update your testimonials or team descriptions once a quarter.
Long-term move: Build a rhythm of updates - blogs, videos, case studies. Not only does this help with SEO, but it also shows candidates you care about telling your story in real time.
So remember:
Feature a bold, sticky “Apply Now” button on every page
Keep job descriptions under 600 words
Implement easy filters to find relevant team roles
Share real employee stories, not stock photos
Weave in high-volume keywords to boost SEO
Refresh content regularly
A careers site is about telling your story, building trust and making it easy for candidates to say yes. So, ask yourself; what’s one thing we can fix today to make it easier for someone to picture a career with us?
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