For Hiring Teams:
How to Write a Company Pitch to Sell Candidates on Your Company
Sabrina Deltoro, Founder & Recruiting Director
Delson Talent Consulting
February 3, 2023
The "about us" section in a job description is your opportunity to showcase your company's culture, values, mission, and benefits, all within a few sentences. A clear and engaging paragraph can help to attract candidates who are a good fit for your company and its goals. Additionally, it can be a deciding factor for a candidate to skip submitting their resume if there are perceived red flags.
Once you’ve finalized your draft (more on crafting job descriptions here), go beyond updating your company Glassdor and LinkedIn with it; hold a training for hiring managers and recruiters, or share it in an all team meeting, so everyone’s on the same page with the messaging. If there’s a major shift in your company direction, be sure to trickle down updated talking points. I advised a company that was shifting from a high growth startup to a stable, public company, and found that one of the reasons they were having trouble attracting the kind of talent they wanted was that recruiters were still using outdated sourcing templates that included messaging that didn’t fit the new stage the company was at.
Learn from the success and mistakes of other hiring managers by looking out for these green and red flags:
Green Flags:
Focus on your company culture: Highlight the unique aspects of your company culture, such as your values, mission, and vision. This can help to attract candidates who are aligned with your company's goals and values. Review competitor “about us” sections to see where your company can differentiate and set itself apart.
Communicate your employee value proposition: Your EVP is a statement that outlines the benefits and opportunities available to employees, such as career development, work-life balance, and company perks. Clearly communicate your EVP to attract candidates who are looking for these types of benefits and opportunities. The EVP is what you want the candidate to tell to their friends and family when they’re excited about interviewing with you.
Use specific and descriptive language: Avoid using vague or generic language. Convey the unique aspects of your company and the opportunities it offers in the least possible amount of words/sentences. Get straight to the point so the candidate not only knows why the company was founded, but where it’s headed in 10 years, if possible.
Highlight your company's achievements and growth: Pick the top achievements and milestones that will have lasting power over the year, so you don’t have to update the section every quarter. Link to your company pages on LinkedIn and Glassdoor, and be sure to add new posts frequently, beyond when your company receives notable awards and recognition, celebrate new employees and career milestones of longtime employees. Highlight both recent successes and long term growth potential.
CA Pay Transparency: We’ve written about CA Pay transparency in the past (see this article and this article). Consider going beyond the legal bare minimum, and adding in language that showcases your bonus program (if you have one), as well as equity compensation. While it’s not required, it gives you the opportunity to look even more attractive to candidates.
Red Flags:
Don’t miss an opportunity to share benefits: Focus on what your company brings to the table for the candidate, not just what you want them to bring to the role. While it’s fine to have an interview question to assess teamwork and collaborative attributes, saying teamwork is more important than the individual might give the candidate the impression that their career aspirations will suffer. Instead, write “teamwork is equally as important as individual career goals.” Include a link to more detailed information about company benefits and perks, along with quotes from employees in different departments, sharing what their favorite benefit is and why.
Avoid tropes: Saying “we’re like family” can actually do more harm than good, as it’s often indicative of a toxic work/life balance. Ask a friend at another company to read the paragraph and point out any company-specific jargon that may be confusing to outsiders.
Show don’t tell: If the description of your company is dry and uniform, it won’t be memorable and your brand could get lost in a sea of competitors that are standing out. Additionally, using a bunch of buzzwords that ultimately say nothing about what your organization is doing will not help your case at all. We recently worked with a company who’s description of their technology and work was so vague, one candidate asked if they were even a real company!! Use examples and stories to bring your company to life and make it more relatable to candidates. Link to a page on your website that has anecdotes or quotes of how your company makes a positive impact (or will in the future) on customers, employees, or the community.
Writing a crystal clear, compelling employee value proposition and a snappy "about us" section in your job descriptions can help to attract top talent and set your company apart from competitors. Candidates actively searching for a job read dozens of EVP’s a day. Leave a memorable impression that compels the candidate to follow up quickly when you reach out for an initial call. By focusing on your company culture, communicating your EVP, telling a story, using specific and descriptive language, and highlighting your achievements and growth, you can create an engaging and compelling "about us" section that will attract the best candidates.
Sources:
“What is an EVP?” Indeed