EMPLOYER BRANDING

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141 items in EMPLOYER BRANDING

You can - of course - always go one step further. How about diving into the dark waters of company reviews for purchase? Turns out there is an entire underground economy trading in the production and removal of Glassdoor reviews. Some even operate on contingent fees. Another fascinating research piece, perhaps only trumped by the mystery as to why anonymous reviews remain so widely used, when they can be so easily misused.
Issue #346 published 28 May 2023
Gergely Orosz has transformed into one of the most readable investigative reporters on tech company and culture. His newsletter, The Pragmatic Engineer, is a must-read and this latest post outlines the conundrum companies have when faced with the reputational damage of bad Glassdoor reviews. The tactic seems to be ‘overwhelm the negative with the positive’ by flooding the site with positive reviews, a distasteful, yet perhaps necessary approach. Have a read. H/T to brainfooder Yuma Heymans for the share.
Issue #346 published 28 May 2023
Necrobrands
EMPLOYER BRANDING
New term for us to learn: ‘Necrobrands’ - unmanned brands for defunct businesses yet which continue to grow and propagate as a result of being in the training data for AI and therefore constantly recycled for future use. Think about how a great EB campaign might continue to crop up ad infinitum as future users remix content for their own purposes. Or a CEO scandal. Brainfood for sure…
Issue #344 published 14 May 2023
We can credit Open AI for really motivating Google to iterate; the biggest transformation of search (including semantic) is underway, with broad implications for sourcers, content marketers, employer branders and job posters. The announcement post is pretty clear what supercharged search will look like - users spending more time on Google’s AI generated summaries rather than going to end destination sites. You can also download the PDF of ‘Search Generative Experience’ here. We’re going to do a brainfood live on this, so if you want to know more about these changes (you do), register here. H/T to brainfooder Steven Rothberg for the share in the online community
Issue #344 published 14 May 2023
Blue Checks Coming for Gmail
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Whatever we think about Elon Musk he was early to reality that we needed to upgrade identity verification in the era of GAI. Whilst the implementation of Twitter Blue Checks 2.0 is a confused mess, the initiative has inspired Meta, LinkedIn and now Google to accelerate their plans for similar badges. Techcrunch has an accessible post but for Google Workspace admins this is the announcement from Google that you need to pay attention to.
Issue #343 published 7 May 2023
Well done brainfooder Ben Phillips for making it to the end of this superb series on TA and EB. It’s not easy to produce content at a consistent rate and at this level of quality. Entire series is well worth a review (check out Part 1, 2 and 3) and this final part completes a guide which will be useful for anyone setting up a talent attraction approach for the first time, or for the first customer / employer.
Issue #342 published 30 Apr 2023
Brainfooder Ben Philips with the first of a promising two parter outlining the critical components and optimal sequencing of putting together a talent attraction strategy. Useful refresher for those who have been around this block and a very decent how-to for those just getting started.
Issue #339 published 9 Apr 2023
The Toll of Layoff Anxiety
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Fascinating article which tracks the evolving social contract between employers and employees over the pandemic era. Has this wave of (so far mainly tech) redundancies betray the build back better mantra of more humane, employee centric capitalism? From the laid off employees POV, it looks like the rhetoric is dissonant with the reality. Another, from one of the best online resources right now, BBC Worklife. Have a read.
Issue #336 published 19 Mar 2023
In the ChatGPT hubbub we have kind of forgotten that Google’s place in the Internet was already under severe challenge by upstarts like TikTok. The reality is search has been broken for a long time on Google - why else is there a need for boolean sourcing if search actually worked as it should?? Chickens are coming home to roost and it’s incredible to witness how a successful in business directly suppresses innovation. Important one to read, especially if you are an early career recruiter.
Issue #334 published 5 Mar 2023
The Big Bad State of EX 2022
EMPLOYER BRANDING
As we started this newsletter with a CEO who clearly does not care at all about Employee Experience (EX), lets end it with a survey from CEO’s and HR leaders who do. Don’t be perturbed by the small sample size (161 respondents), the value of this report lies in how the conversations might be framed internally, giving insight into which groups might be strongest partners for any drive to improve EX. H/T to brainfooder Vicki Saunders for the share.
Issue #321 published 4 Dec 2022
Delighted to contribute to this blog post from our friends at Otta, whose mini-questionnaire of every tech candidate onboarded on platform might give us some insights as to the relative priorities of the highly skilled in-demand. No huge surprises here - tech workers want flexibility, great team members and professional growth - all three should be inherent in job design and high visibility in your EB. Have a read.
Issue #321 published 4 Dec 2022
The Power of Work Friends
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Some intriguing implications in this article from HBR, particularly on the likelihood of workers recommending their employer if they had a close friend who also works there. Should personal friendships be something CHRO’s try to engineer? This article makes the case that you should.
Issue #320 published 27 Nov 2022
An interesting technical breakdown of the company websites of Recruiter’s Hot 100 Recruitment Agencies list. As an industry, recruiters are notorious for having below standard web properties, an egregious problem especially for agencies who purport to supply for tech roles. Looks like lots of companies needing an upgrade here…H/T to brainfooder Keith Devon for the share
Issue #319 published 20 Nov 2022
Important disclaimers on this story, with both Apple and the said contractor denying the connection between her video (which given Apple’s notorious secrecy for onsite workers, was almost certainly grounds for termination) and the end of her contract. That being said, an interesting angle on what we do on unlicensed and unofficial EGC - does anyone have a protocol for this? H/T to brainfooder Mark Mansour for the share
Issue #315 published 23 Oct 2022
This is an interesting story - Birkbeck, University of London, banning recruiters from fossil fuel companies from attending careers fairs. Whilst everyone is on board with green train these days (Gen Z more passionately than most) the implications of this approach are worth considering, particularly as we usually do not secure consensus on what a good or bad company actually is. What do you think?
Issue #313 published 9 Oct 2022
I hesitated to put this under EB as I didn’t want to imply any lack of authenticity on BT’s commitment to DEIB but I was struck as much by the form as by the substance of this superb piece of media. Convincing, authentic and do-able, this will inspire you more ways than one.
Issue #313 published 9 Oct 2022
Workers for demonised firms are often proud to be on the payroll - why is this? Interesting and necessary post from the Economist on how motivations vary and maybe that is ok? Love to try and re-run the ‘EB for Vilified’ Brainfood Live, which sadly could not secure enough guests to be held.
Issue #310 published 18 Sep 2022
At what point does vulnerability segue into narcissism? Braden Wallake, CEO of HyperSphere had the opportunity to find out last week, as his LinkedIn post went viral maybe for reasons which he did not intend. The ‘crying CEO’ has now become a thing, with many of the 7000 + commentators pillorying Wallake for centring himself as the star of a painful story. There is no good way to make lay offs, but it seems that there is a plenty of bad ways to do it. Have a read, and reflection here. H/T to brainfooder Erin Mathew for the share.
Issue #305 published 14 Aug 2022
Pretty big news last week that Glassdoor lost its case against Zuru, an employer who demanded the identity of a former employee who had written what it had claimed was a slanderous review of the company. Litigation risk was always the main reason why review sites never work in the end. Good news for employer brand folks? I think so, though I am probably in the minority (again 🤣). H/T brainfooder Steven Brand for the share in the fb group
Issue #302 published 24 Jul 2022
An interesting study on employer branding. Global Director of Hopin posts an open appeal on LinkedIn to help the staff he had to let go find new work. Comments start positively (EB win) but then negative comments start arriving, especially from ex-employees (EB loss). I think OP handled it quite well, and one of those examples which you can use either way
Issue #301 published 17 Jul 2022
The commentary on this post is little less interesting than the visualisation of labour flow between big tech businesses. It is fascinating to see where ex-Amazonians go (looks like Stripe, Coinbase were initially the main beneficiary), and speculate as to which organisations had an effective competitor targeting strategy. Have a read here. H/T to brainfooder Denys Dinkevych 🇺🇦 for the share
Issue #299 published 3 Jul 2022
Another sentiment survey, one of the annual classics, Stack Overflow Developer Survey. 70,000 developers on learning, levelling up, salary, which tools they’re using - essentially, what developers want. Must read if you’re hiring for tech - use to inform your Tech TA strategy - and also useful as nurture content for your tech candidate contact list.
Issue #298 published 26 Jun 2022
What Do Recruiters Want?
EMPLOYER BRANDING
OK folks, we finally have the results of that massive recruiter sentiment survey I sent out to you all 7 months ago. 2571 of you responded to questions related to how you thought about job opportunities. Check out where the community is on pay, DEIB, remote work and more. Check ‘survey’ top level link for the interactive visualisations and share with your Heads of TA who might want to think about how to design jobs recruiters want to do.
Issue #298 published 26 Jun 2022
Fascinating post on the limitations of global employer brand against entrenched local competitors. TSMC - the preeminent fab for semi-conductor chips - is encountering hiring challenges in it’s new site in Arizona. Reminds me a great deal of the Wisconsin / Foxconn challenge from the Trump era. Building EB, is hard.
Issue #296 published 12 Jun 2022
Global Employer Branding
EMPLOYER BRANDING
One of the biggest challenges in successful podcasting is getting the best guests to join. Few work harder than brainfooder Matt Alder, and few are more successful in getting amazing guests. Latest episode of the The Recruiter Future Podcast is a great example - it’s Marije van der Togt, Head of Employer Branding at Just Eat Takeaway.com, about developing a global employer brand.
Issue #293 published 22 May 2022
Do you need a unified brand (Consumer, Corporate, Employer)? I always thought that these might stand separately, especially if you work for a tobacco company or arms manufacturer or something, but the latest argument seems to be unify them in a more coherent way. Love to get your thoughts on this - implications as to where EB ‘sits’ if we go through with the recommendations provided here.
Issue #293 published 22 May 2022
There probably isn’t a CEO in today’s world that doesn’t proclaim that their people are their most important priority. How they communicate the message so often doesn’t land. This video message from Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci is different. Rare transparency + leadership + the fact he has done it at all. EB for the future will see more visible leadership like this methinks. H/T to brainfooder John Vlastelica for the share in the fb group.
Issue #292 published 15 May 2022
The Purpose of “Purpose”
EMPLOYER BRANDING
What is your purpose? It’s a question that goes much further than just EB, but to the core of the your businesses reason for being. At root though, most companies are here to make a profit, so an interesting challenge for those who either want to reject this core driver or mask it with PR & self indoctrination. One of the choices you got to make. Have a read here
Issue #289 published 24 Apr 2022
Violation Tracker
EMPLOYER BRANDING
We have an evolving relationship with public shaming, a powerful tool for moderating behaviour and - depending on whether that behaviour is proscribed or endorsed - we see mobilisation of the masses to produce apps like this. Or maybe it is less about the behaviour and more about who is doing the behaving? Corporations are obviously fair game, because we have the urge to stick it to the man. One for the EB folks to look out for.
Issue #288 published 17 Apr 2022
Stripe: Equity for Employees
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Internal guide for Stripe employees, which is open to the public. Useful for anyone working in a business in which equity is part of the comp, especially those in startup. It’s also pretty good EB.
Issue #285 published 27 Mar 2022
The Global Hiring Handbook
EMPLOYER BRANDING
So this was like the ‘how to hire’ project, which in the end managed to only cover 3 countries (if you’re interested, these are Sweden, Czechia and Poland). It’s much better than my effort though, as it covers many more countries on stuff you need to know if you’re hiring there - statutory holidays, visa requirements, unique laws etc, beautifully presented in travel book style. One for the international recruiters amongst us - grab it here. H/T brainfooder Ivan Harrison for the share
Issue #285 published 27 Mar 2022
Vladimir Putin has kind of ended Covid-19, so this is probably the last Covid related post I’ll be including in brainfood. Decent report from PEW on how the pandemic has reset worker expectations from employers. US data but a great deal is transposable to other regions. Relevant to EB folks
Issue #282 published 6 Mar 2022
The most simple ingredients toward putting on a great podcast is to have smart people talk about things they are knowledgeable and passionate about. Brainfooders Bas van de Haterd, Kelly Robinson and Sofia Broberger in this one talking creative (and maybe desperate!) ways to attract candidates.
Issue #278 published 6 Feb 2022
Cool bit of research from brainfooder Simon McSorley, whose team manually reviewed the benefits offered by 125 tech businesses in Australia. Useful for all our buddies Down Under, but relevant to anyone who wants some kind of benchmark on how competitive your business is for tech talent.
Issue #278 published 6 Feb 2022
Progession.fyi
EMPLOYER BRANDING
A collection of open source and public progression frameworks and career ladders
…which pretty much says it all. It’s a massive resource which might be getting to the point of being difficult to navigate, but there is no question of the value being shared here. If you’re looking to build a career progression framework - which, you know, might crucial for retention and attraction - then this post is a resource you’re going to need.
H/T brainfooder Dina Bayasanova for the share in the fb group
Issue #277 published 30 Jan 2022
Genuinely useful research by Glassdoor, which tracked the number of times ‘inflation’ was mentioned in user reviews, presumably as a concern over pay. Perhaps implementing (and mentioning) inflation responsive pay scales might help employers compete for talent?
Issue #277 published 30 Jan 2022
I do like it when non-recruiters write about recruiting - there’s always a chance they will tell you something you don’t know. New idea here for making your job more attractive to engineers is surprisingly - predictability. i.e how sure are we this thing we are working on is going to ship? Good observations throughout this highly readable post. Must read for tech recruiters
Issue #276 published 23 Jan 2022
One of the annual must reads, Edelman’s Trust Barometer makes sobering reading, especially with the decline of trust in media and government in democratic societies. Worth noting where businesses place here, and it becomes more understandable why so many companies are building their own media departments. Some EB stuff here, and a report you can definitely share with your C-level.
Issue #276 published 23 Jan 2022
Smart thinking as ever from brainfooder Greg Savage, who recommends, in the light of changing candidate motivations, that agency recruiters reconsider the value of ‘big brand’ clients. Some anecdotal data that this might be true, though I wonder whether a big brand might acquire a degree of toxicity before it becomes a real problem….
Issue #275 published 16 Jan 2022
Only extremists go to the effort of writing online reviews, but that does not entirely invalidate the value of websites like Glassdoor; they remain an important source of intelligence for job candidates, trying to read between the lines as to which organisational culture most appeals. It can’t hurt to place high on lists like this.
Issue #275 published 16 Jan 2022
EY conducted a pre and post (not really post as we’re still very much in pandemic, but ya know what I mean) survey on Gen Z, so have some interesting data on how their values have changed. Essential reading for anyone hiring for early career talent, which I think is going to be most of us, as the struggle to hire experience isn’t going to be alleviated any time soon
Issue #274 published 9 Jan 2022
Outstanding example of showing rather than telling from our friends at Stories Inc. 12 types of story your business can use, illustrated with examples and insightful commentary. If you need to up your EB game (hint: you probably do…) in 2022, this post will be an essential reference resource.
Issue #274 published 9 Jan 2022
The story of the striking workers at Kellogg is emblematic of a clash of eras; Kellogg attempt to replace the strikers draws widespread condemnation, including from no less a figure than the President of the United States, and Redditors rally to write bots to auto apply to the careers page and crash the site with a DOS attack. This is what worker solidarity looks like in the 21st century comrades. H/T to brainfooder Aaron Lintz for the share in the fb group.
Issue #270 published 12 Dec 2021
The Employer Brand Nerd
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Employer branding is the only place in marketing where more is worse.
Great line of a high energy conversation between two great supporters of brainfood - Christina Robinson and James Ellis - on employer branding. Get into it here
Issue #269 published 5 Dec 2021
What do people want? I am guessing LinkedIn might be one of the few organisations with the reach to actually tell us something useful. No huge surprises on this interactive (people want flexibility!) but interesting to do country by country comparisons in the regional section. Have a go here
Issue #269 published 5 Dec 2021
My CTO Job Description
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Refreshing take on a job description, mainly because it was an exercise of introspection on how the job holder needed to get better at their job. Imagine how powerful this would be if your hiring manager produced a document like this?
Issue #267 published 21 Nov 2021
Are Facebook’s hiring challenges the result of the media propaganda campaign or rather more an example of market conditions not specific to the company? Maybe a bit of both. Always interesting to read internal memo’s though. H/T to brainfooder Manjuri Sinha in the fb group
Issue #266 published 14 Nov 2021
700+ employers from 41 countries contributed to this report from our buddies VideoMyJob on the State of Video in Talent. Some interesting insight, especially on the value of quantity (output more folks!) as well as a decent maturity model to see where your organisation sits in its use of video in recruitment. Download here
Issue #265 published 7 Nov 2021
Thing I’ve found with posts from brainfooder Irina Shamaeva is that I inevitably - and immediately - change my behaviour after having read it. This one, a kind of reverse engineering from how recruiters source, turns out to be genius personal / employer branding.
Issue #261 published 10 Oct 2021
Well there’s no doubt I need a make over so I’m going to listen to Leela Srinivasan’s wise words on brand refresh - from SurveyMonkey to Momentive.
Issue #254 published 22 Aug 2021
File this one under ‘cosmetic but important’. Shaan Puri with a fun thread, reviewing people’s ‘zoom call setup’. He’s no pro, but with your own eyes you can see what is better / worse. It’s a non-trivial concern - important for personal and employer branding (think how your hiring managers look on Zoom…)
Issue #254 published 22 Aug 2021
According to some economists there are tens of millions of workers currently ‘unaccounted for’, having been made unemployed and not returned despite V (or K) shaped economic recovery. What is going on? 12 point argument, covers all of the bases. Excellent post, which for us recruiters, might give us some clues as to what we have to do to make our employment opportunities more attractive to those who are currently opting out.
Issue #252 published 8 Aug 2021
What are the pitfalls of repositioning the employer brand of a global company? Refreshing to read from the perspective of someone - Dawn Hollingworth, Global Head of EB at Vodafone - who has done it.
Issue #251 published 1 Aug 2021
Recruiting In China In 2021
EMPLOYER BRANDING
How do you go about recruiting in China? I spoke to employer brand consultants, career coaches, headhunters and recruitment managers based in China to find out. Needless to say, if you’re hiring in China now or in future, this twitter thread here is for you.
Issue #250 published 25 Jul 2021
Brilliantly execution by Dropbox, as usual. Public facing interactive website on engineer career frameworks within the business. A good example of what such a framework looks like, and also how transparency almost always automatically converts into employer branding.
Issue #249 published 18 Jul 2021
TikTok Resumes caused a bit of stir when I posted this in the fb group last week, but it’s a small innovation for a platform which is ceaselessly and fearlessly experimenting with it services. Seems to be the biggest return is to build cool with the kids by having a brand presence here, so this goes into the EVP bucket
Issue #248 published 11 Jul 2021
The Class of 2021
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Is anyone talking about the possibility of age stratifying our onsite workforce? Pretty clear to me that early entry talent best suits office based work environment to foster knowledge transfer, network building and cultural immersion. Data from our buddies iCIMS back the assertion - take a look at Class of 2021 Report on what college graduates entering the workplace this year think about remote work.
Issue #245 published 20 Jun 2021
Talent Chooses You
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Incredible gesture from brainfooder James Ellis who is giving away his two published books by combining them into a free-to-access google doc. If you’re Employer Branding, I recommend that you go grab these book(s) - there’s a ton of wisdom in there, married to practical tips how-to.
Issue #242 published 30 May 2021
With the flow of talent no longer inexorably drawn to ‘superstar’ cities, which are the new places which might become the places where people choose to work? Difficult-to-measure project here, but well explained and presented by Kisi. US focused but also includes international city comparison so take a look. Might be particularly relevant for ‘destination branding’ or content to send to candidates who need to relocate.
Issue #242 published 30 May 2021
Interactive Offer Letters
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Took me a little while to figure out what this was (thanks Bill Boorman for helping me look at this again) but basically it is a some cool tech which helps employers create interactive offer letters. Can see it helping with EB and maybe conversion rates. H/T brainfooder Stanislaw Wasowicz for the share in the fb group
Issue #240 published 16 May 2021
Is your country an attractive work destination? Boston Consulting Group team up with The Network to survey 209,000 people in 190 countries to show big shifts in sentiment on the map of global mobility. Especially significant for any international recruiter, or employer who has relocated staff. Download the full report here
Issue #232 published 21 Mar 2021
This is cool. Video collage from Shopify, stitched together from interviews with engineering team answering pre-set questions on camera. Pay attention to the structure and the EB message they want to communicate. Simple, beautifully executed and entirely do-able by anyone with a decent camera and mic. H/T to brainfooders John Vlastelica and David D'Souza for the share in the fb group
Issue #230 published 7 Mar 2021
Are you doing any video? You know I think you should be, especially if you are hiring, building employer brand, building audience. This post collates some of the headline growth stats if you need to persuade your boss it’s a good thing to do.
Issue #229 published 28 Feb 2021
The depravity of a platform where HR Managers are the rockstars speaks for itself….. 
🤣…you got love it. LinkedIn from the perspective of normal people i.e anyone not a recruiter, HR person or salesperson. Have a read - and you might never look at LinkedIn the same way again 😊
Issue #227 published 14 Feb 2021
MetaHuman Creator
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Gaming - concepts, technology and culture - is going to be one of the main drivers of change in how we do things in the post pandemic world, This week’s release by Unreal Engine of the ‘MetaHuman’ creator, democratises the creation of high fidelity, close-to-human characters - which, in a few short iterations, might become indistinguisable from the real thing.
Relevant for brainfood across any number of intersections - candidate experience, engagement, employer branding. The future, as ever, is not going to wait for us to get comfortable with it. Have a read and make sure you watch the demo. H/T to brainfooder Bas van de Haterd for the share in the fb group.
Issue #227 published 14 Feb 2021
Hootsuite Social Trends 2021
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Must read annual report from Hootsuite, particularly relevant for those of use who work in employers who have strong consumer facing brands. The focus on customer acquisition is the obvious marketing priority for 2021, but attribution - as ever - is going to be a persistent challenge. Unsurprising main message? Multi-channel, omni-channel - and listen to the audience.
Issue #221 published 3 Jan 2021
2020 might become the year when employer brand became an existential priority to businesses. How did your company treat its workers during pandemic? Have a look at this website which is prepared to publicly shame organisations for doing less than what is required. In these febrile times, we can only expect that worker, consumer and citizen activism is here to stay
Issue #220 published 27 Dec 2020
Where does your company’s storytelling function sit? Chances are it doesn’t sit right in the middle of the department org chart. But this is the recommendation from Disney, which should not be dismissed as merely specific to the media / entertainment industry because…..what if we’re all kind of media / entertainment businesses now? One thing we might have learned from the Trump interregnum is that maybe that is the truth of where we are.
Issue #216 published 29 Nov 2020
The Two-Way Resume
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Let’s first give kudos to the job candidate who wanted to ‘at least attempt to do something before giving myself up to the status quo’ What he ends up doing is a brilliantly thought out reimagining of the CV, switching between the perspectives of what the candidate wants vs what the employer needs, and vice versa. Perhaps a new way to write a CV, certainly a new way to think about the essential information to communicate in the recruiting process. H/T to brainfooder Simon Hammond for the share
Issue #216 published 29 Nov 2020
Meet Reid
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Reid being Reid Hoffmann, founder of LinkedIn amongst other things. Including this post for two reasons - firstly an excellent demonstration of the value of no-code platforms like Coda (hear Lars Schmidt interview with Coda founder Shishir Mehrotra in ‘Who’s Talking), and secondly, wouldn’t it be an awesome idea for your C-suite or Hiring managers to each do one of these?
Issue #215 published 23 Nov 2020
Love it when hiring managers write about recruiting. This CTO talks about how writing can help build talent pipeline. Note the difference in how a recruiter might otherwise have written this post. Something about the non specialist take which makes this post both refreshing and valuable. H/.T Chris Yea for the share
Issue #214 published 16 Nov 2020
You could probably take this template of questions, hand them to any tenured employee in your business, and get a result like this - powerful, authentic, transparent communication of company culture, which doubles up as great marketing, employer branding and as a job advert. Great ROI
Issue #210 published 18 Oct 2020
Job Page Grader
EMPLOYER BRANDING
This tool has been featured in Brainfood before, but it’s been given a significant upgrade and now outputs a much stronger report. Put in your career page url, and this app will give you a report on where it could improve - from SEO to D&I. Free to use so get to it.
Issue #209 published 11 Oct 2020
The title is a bit of a misnomer but it doesn’t detract from the value of this how-to from Adzuna, mainly for the SEO part. Recruitment Marketers and EB folks probably already know all of this, but if you don’t have one of those in your team, you will find this guide excellent for hygiene factors for any content you’re putting out on the Internet.
Issue #208 published 4 Oct 2020
Through writing comes thinking, said Tim Sackett when he joined the Brainfood Tribune last month; I think that is the reason why he consistently comes up really great angles on seemingly mundane topics like industry influencers. Smart and valuable in equal measure - have a read
Issue #207 published 27 Sep 2020
Hiring from the gaming community has long been a strategy for the military, with skilled gamers effectively training themselves by playing simulators for the roles they may be asked to perform in near future conflicts. You still need to have employer brand aligned with that community though - and this case, the gamers aren’t having any of it.
Issue #198 published 26 Jul 2020
Outrage
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Much needed introspection on last week’s outrage of the week - BrewDog’s CEO James Watt’s crude LinkedIn update on why recruiters aren’t worth the money, triggering a mini campaign by recruiters to boycott BrewDog’s IPA’s. Plenty of brainfood in this post folks, delivered with Mitch Sullivan’s usual panache.
Issue #194 published 28 Jun 2020
Now I realise my ’Fighting Fantasy’ books might well be damaging to brand. Interesting brainfood nonetheless here - on how your webcam background can communicate messages all on its own. You can of course, always use BBC’s Empty Sets
Issue #187 published 10 May 2020
This is good by Sequoia Capital. It’s a guide for startup founders, but as many of us I suspect are now considering the solopreneur route in response to layoff and redundancy, it’s massively applicable to us also.
Issue #187 published 10 May 2020
Nice piece of work from brainfooder Chris Fitzner - comprehensive, accessible and practical post on how to build an Employer Brand dashboard. Have a read if you aren’t yet measuring your EB.
Issue #185 published 26 Apr 2020
25% of company posts on LinkedIn mention the coronavirus. It’s become the dominant and unavoidable topic on company communications. File under: ’interesting dataset not sure what we can / should do about it’
Issue #185 published 26 Apr 2020
Tim Sackett asks the hard questions in this post about the anonymity ruling on the US courts this week. This is a game changer for Glassdoor, and perhaps an end to the ‘bad review’. Did employer branding just get easier? I think it did.  
Issue #58 published 23 Apr 2020
Google For Jobs: Upgraded
EMPLOYER BRANDING
As we all know, Google for Jobs is a big deal. Our buddies at 4Mat have been on the case, providing meaningful commentary on the latest updates, and most tellingly, what it looks like for those of who’ve not yet seen it. Check out their youtube explainer also. 
Issue #58 published 23 Apr 2020
Reputation Inflation
EMPLOYER BRANDING
‘Reputation inflation’ exists because there is 'cost’ to negative reviews says this research paper from New York University’s Stern School of Business. Most of us leave the 5 stars regardless of service level, and move on. Anything for the quiet life….
Issue #79 published 23 Apr 2020
Essential post from the engineering team at LinkedIn, on the latest changes to the newsfeed algorithm. It’s going to be less Oleg and more filter bubble. The newsfeed is still a great place to build brand but if you want me to see it, you’d best connect with me now.
Issue #107 published 23 Apr 2020
'Breaking News'
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Who would have thought that public sector could ever set the standard for employer branding video’s? Following on from last week’s effort from the People’s Liberation Army, this week it’s the turn of the New Zealand Police, channeling the Dollar Shave Club vibe. It’s great. H/T brainfooder Stan Wasowicz for the share.
Issue #112 published 23 Apr 2020
Olympe Dupont
EMPLOYER BRANDING
On November 5, 2018, Communications graduate student Olympe Dupont posted this on LinkedIn. I think she is going to get a job. Brilliant do-able, lo-fi, low cost super effective personal branding. As my buddy Tris Revill says, can we recruiters take inspiration from these techniques?
Issue #113 published 23 Apr 2020
This is cool from our buddies at Zalando. Telling people how to succeed is an outstanding way to market your EVP. Long time brainfooder Matthias Schmeißer takes the lead by telling you how to get a recruiter job in his team. It’s much better than a standard job ad. 
Issue #61 published 23 Apr 2020
GfJ rolled out in the UK this week, so here’s the official guidance from Google itself on how to structure your job posts. Send this link to your dev team if you develop your own career pages. Brainfooder Richard Collins has also been writing intelligently on this topic on LinkedIn - worth a follow, whilst our buddies at Chatter have made this Google for Jobs health check tool - cut n paste your job post url in here
Issue #93 published 23 Apr 2020
Old school is new school. Great story on Ericsson hitting the streets to conduct physical outreach to the community. Great employer branding initiative. Probably will hire a few folks too
Issue #43 published 23 Apr 2020
Defenders Of Happiness
EMPLOYER BRANDING
What does an employer branding agency do when it comes to revamping their own employer brand? Some challenge for our buddies at Ph.Creative. This was their response - it’s a stunningly ambitious piece of work
Issue #62 published 23 Apr 2020
Aline Lerner continues to conduct interesting experiments on tech hiring. This is her somewhat controversial foray in employer branding ( see this HN thread on EB). ‘Unique embellishments’ is the main takeaway for me here - a nice concept for differentiation. Have a read of the rest of the post here
Issue #136 published 23 Apr 2020
Leaving aside for a minute the fact that the British Army legally recruits child soldiers, this latest controversy comes hot on the heels of the diversity recruitment campaign last month. I’m seeing a pattern and have to say….I’m kind of impressed. Love to hear from the TA in charge at the British Army - anyone know who this is?
Issue #124 published 23 Apr 2020
Do job candidates really care about employer branding? Not according to this research from Lighthouse. They want lo-fi to-the-camera authenticity, especially from hiring managers. Intuitively, this makes sense, especially for the actively looking candidate, Have a read here. Thanks to brainfooder Stan Wasowicz for the share
Issue #100 published 23 Apr 2020
What is it with police forces and employer branding vids? They are setting the standard when it comes to employer branding. This astonishing recruitment campaign from Durham Constabulary is primarily constructed from body cam footage of officers in the line of duty. It’s what the research tells us job candidates want to see - not the gloss, but the real. Have a watch here.
Issue #118 published 23 Apr 2020
Ueno
EMPLOYER BRANDING
A bit unfair as Ueno are a world class design studio, but this career page is just so good. Cute avatars, gamification, some sort of online assessment…the only thing bad about this is the number of false positives they must getting through folks just wanting to have a play. 
Issue #73 published 23 Apr 2020
Compelling critique of conventional job spec design from Dmitri Grabov, founder at London based coding bootcamp,  Constructor Labs. Main point? It’s critical we understand the psychology of emerging talent if we are to hope to attract them to our businesses. H/T also to Stevie Buckley for also putting this onto my radar
Issue #81 published 23 Apr 2020
She’s a pretty easy target for comedy these days, but I didn’t think anyone could turn Theresa May into an employer branding asset. Studio Yes have done it though, with this brilliant lampoon cum job advert. You have to laugh and you might just apply
Issue #120 published 23 Apr 2020
The only real way to do tech employer branding is for recruiters and marketers to get out of the way. Here’s a list of the 100+ engineering blogs from tech companies - content from engineers that engineers might actually like to read. 
Issue #37 published 23 Apr 2020
Emmanuel Macron is recruiting again. Someone needs to invite him to do a talk on employer branding - he’s doing a fine job so far, though perhaps his job is eased somewhat by the collective brainfarts currently powering the Anglo-Saxon world. H/T OH subscriber Matt Bradburn for the share. 
Issue #37 published 23 Apr 2020
A Boring Company
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Elon Musk’s take on employer branding. Lesson? You can pretend not to care if you think you’re cool enough. 
Issue #30 published 23 Apr 2020
Building A Modern Campus
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Now this is what I call employer branding. Bit unfair for the rest of us, as Microsoft have more money than nearly everybody, but an amazing example of what can be achieved with technology that is here with us right now. Click on this site and enjoy. Also now in Minecraft, because why not?
Issue #109 published 23 Apr 2020
The channel is the message, is the message here from our friends at Catawiki. Using Github - the natural home of the engineer - to explain the hiring process for tech candidates is a smooth move. H/T brainfooder James Lesner for a cool piece of employer branding
Issue #77 published 23 Apr 2020
This post from brainfooder Sofia Broberger is a great example of being ‘open with your journey’. It necessarily becomes a great piece of employer branding content, as well as a advert for job vacancies for her new employer. That’s 3 x wins, in 1 x blog post. Have a read.
Issue #171 published 23 Apr 2020
Will You Fit into Deloitte?
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Point-of-view, interactive recruiting video that educates users about Deloitte’s culture and various service lines. Not every company has the financial muscle to do this something like this, but it’s nice ‘next step forward’ for employer branding videos. 
Issue #69 published 23 Apr 2020
How does the People’s Liberation Army do employer branding? See for yourself in this remarkable recruitment video for the PLA - it not at all what you might imagine it would be.
Issue #111 published 23 Apr 2020
More examples of how ‘being open with your journey’ is actually easy-to-produce marketing collateral which comes with the added bonus of being authentic. This post from Zalando Design just needs a CTA at the bottom of the post to really make it work. But we can see the technique though, can’t we?
Issue #162 published 23 Apr 2020
I asked our buddies at Papirfly to parse LinkedIn’s superb Global Talent Trends Report through the lens of their expertise - Employer Branding. Here’s their insight on what global recruitment trends mean for your employer brand - excellent, actionable insight in a downloadable PDF here
Issue #145 published 23 Apr 2020
LinkedIn Recruiter Profiles
EMPLOYER BRANDING
So this LinkedIn’s own guide on how recruiters should set up their profiles on the platform. We should all take a look. H/T to ‘foodie Colin McNicol for the share. The 6 step guide is here
Issue #128 published 23 Apr 2020
When you’re a famous B2C brand, it can be difficult to create an employer brand for a particular part of the employee population you’re looking to hire. The solution, is to create a sub-brand, from the employees you already have. Here’s a great list of engineering blogs from popular companies, as written by the engineers
Issue #63 published 23 Apr 2020
PHP Developer With Zonneplan
EMPLOYER BRANDING
I think this is probably the recruitment job advert of the year. A fantastically self deprecating take on an job advertising - have a play with the slider and see what why this was a such a hit 
Issue #63 published 23 Apr 2020
LookSee Wellington
EMPLOYER BRANDING
As the US and UK turn against immigration in 2017, other countries doubled down with conscious focus on bringing in skills, especially coveted software engineering. LookSee Wellington was an early example of ‘destination branding’ - a JV between companies, local government, airlines and the Wellington tourist board to bring tech talent to New Zealand. It’s what serious competition for talent looks like
Issue #63 published 23 Apr 2020
What happen’s if you combine Vonnegut’s anthropology with modern data science? You come up with 6 fundamental ways to tell a story. If you care about EB, content marketing or getting better engagement on outreach, this is a must read - do it here.
Issue #89 published 23 Apr 2020
In light of Emmanuel Macron’s pro level trolling of Brexit Britain earlier this month, this long read from the Guardian last year bears a second review. A country has a brand and you have to be careful with what you do with it. A topic I’ll be discussing with our buddies from Workable in Singapore and Dubai early next month
Issue #75 published 23 Apr 2020
“To all scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, responsible citizens disappointed with the decision of the President of the United States, I want to say you find in France a second homeland”.
That Macron guy is an ace recruiter 
Issue #34 published 23 Apr 2020
“Not only is it a safety issue, it’s a business issue,” Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban told CNBC.
Undoubtedly true, and technology + crowdsourcing is making it impossible for employers to escape a narrative if they get this one wrong. Check out this website for an example of ‘search and shame’.
Issue #181 published 23 Apr 2020
Our buddies at WilsonHCG have produced the ‘top 100 employer brands’ report. It’s digestible and well presented. 
Issue #68 published 23 Apr 2020
Do you ask your employees to share your content? Here’s some research by our buddies at PostBeyond which tells you how well you might be doing. Broad strokes in this report, but anything that comes close to figuring out ROI on social sharing is - well, worth a share. H/T ‘foodie Ivan Harrison for doing so.
Issue #142 published 23 Apr 2020
Mobile has kind of got lost in the recruitment wash over the past few years. It matters more than ever says Matěj Matolín, as users continue to trend away from the keyboard to the handheld. Excellent post on hygiene factors you need for an effective mobile career site. Take a read here
Issue #92 published 23 Apr 2020
Plaid
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Now this is clever. 1. Pick a niche only relevant audience would understand 2. Be transparent - show how you do it. 3. Add call to action for folks who’ve made it to the end of the post. It’s ‘culture-as-content’ and, a great job advert.
Issue #95 published 23 Apr 2020
The Future Of Career Sites
EMPLOYER BRANDING
More from Matt Alder - this time in collaboration with our buddies at 4Mat. Careers sites transitioning from source of hire to recruitment marketing hubs, and not before time. White paper here, free to download. 
Issue #83 published 23 Apr 2020
LinkedIn kindly sent me this slide deck on how to get the best out of your Company Page. It’s 30 accessible pages on a recruiting asset we’re probably all under utilising. Free to download here. 
Issue #82 published 23 Apr 2020
MediaMint - #Mission500
EMPLOYER BRANDING
So this is how to do a job advert - subverting a corporate cliche to capture the attention before delivering the pay off of an immediate ‘big reveal’. H/T OH subscriber Achyut Menon for sharing. 
Issue #47 published 23 Apr 2020
It takes a deep thinker and a good writer to reference Donald Trump in a recruiting blog post and still hit the mark. Felix Wetzel does the job here, with a very clear understanding as to the importance of authenticity in employer branding. 
Issue #21 published 23 Apr 2020
Implications are clear for employers who do not support or allow their employees to contribute to open source work. 
Issue #21 published 23 Apr 2020
Most people agree that brand is important, but not everyone agrees what a brand is. It’s what other people think it is says Andy Whitlock in this excellent essay on values and techniques of building an effective brand. H/T brainfooder Kristian Bright for the share.
Issue #101 published 23 Apr 2020
As Marc Cuban memorably said last week, how you treat your employees now might be defining for your employer brand. Websites like this will make it even more difficult to shake off any bad rep you accrue in this moment.
Issue #182 published 23 Apr 2020
I’m sharing this post, even though I disagree with it’s central premise - that employer brand should be aligned with company brand. It’s a debate worth having though, so have a read of this and let me know what you think.
Issue #139 published 23 Apr 2020
Andrew Gadomski in his element with an exceptional blog post on Employer Branding - and how to measure it. It’s all about the 3 buckets folks. And the understanding that whilst all data models are flawed, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to improve your estimates. Have a read here
Issue #157 published 23 Apr 2020
“…the true value of your employer brand proposition lies in articulating the expectations, harsh realities, vulnerabilities, and challenges people must be willing to overcome to thrive at your organization…”
We’re beginning to get it with EB. Make sure to also watch / listen to James Ellis & Elena Valentine discuss the same thing in Brainfood Live, Ep36 this week.
Issue #160 published 23 Apr 2020
Annual EVP report from our buddies at Universum. Main storyline? The resilience of big brands as attractive employers, especially amongst the graduate demographic. What can smaller brands do to compete for emerging talent? Download the report here and get some ideas.
Issue #103 published 23 Apr 2020
Its great news when tech candidates take an interest in recruiting, mainly because the occasionally end up producing research gems like this post from Chip Huyen.
Issue #155 published 23 Apr 2020
Establishing an employer brand strategy is more complicated than business leaders might think. Some fine thinking here by long time brainfooder, James Ellis.
Issue #53 published 23 Apr 2020
Volvo: The Recruiting Car
EMPLOYER BRANDING
First of all H/T to Stan Wasowicz for resurfacing this bit of genius from Volvo. Obviously cost a fortune to film and do but it will surely inspire us to think about ways in which our product or service can be repurposed for hiring. Enjoy it here
Issue #147 published 23 Apr 2020
Interesting research from our buddies at VideoMyJob on the broader hiring challenges perceived by business leaders in 2020 and what place video has in solving them. Surprised to see Youtube ranked high on channels, as well retention being far behind recruitment in terms of priority. I’m not surprised though on the increasing awareness of the importance of Employer brand though. Have a read of this - digestible and important report
Issue #172 published 23 Apr 2020
Project: A
EMPLOYER BRANDING
‘Destination branding’ is starting to become a thing. Collaboratively selling a lifestyle is a real technique to hire those in-demand. Check out 'Project A’, where 10 x tech companies in Amsterdam make an open invitation to software engineers from around the world to apply. This is what you need to do to compete, especially if you are hiring for a tough location. 
Issue #50 published 23 Apr 2020
Hootsuite’s annual report on what we are doing on the Internet. Significant survey dataset (3000+ marketing pro’s), with insights and trends presented in an accessible manner. Must read for Recruitment Marketers / Employer brand folks. Download it here
Issue #173 published 23 Apr 2020
We’re talking JD’s in Brainfood Live this week, so good timing to fit this article into the newsletter. The discipline in writing product MVP’s can be directly applied to the writing we recruiters habitually do in creating job descriptions. Must read for anyone who is doing EB, writing job ads or doing candidate outreach.
Issue #173 published 23 Apr 2020
Make Our Planet Great Again
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Emmanuel Macron wasn’t joking with this pitch to the talent of the world - he’s now got a website to #MOPGA. Young, digitally savvy, globally orientated, immigrant friendly - this is a bold reversal of the Anglo Saxon direction of travel and a great example of C-level leading recruitment. 
Issue #35 published 23 Apr 2020
Stay true to your mission and play up to your strengths. Sounds like common sense, but there’s more to it than just stuff we know already. It’s about focusing on what you already have and communicating to the audience is inclined to hear it. 
Issue #14 published 23 Apr 2020
More great writing coming out of Germany. ‘foodie Marian Jarzak writes on the conversations you need to have with your stakeholders before you launch you EB campaign. Actionable insights, right here
Issue #127 published 23 Apr 2020