6 Reasons Your Website Scares Away Job Candidates

Everyone knows a great website design and social media profile will help retain new customer attention. But what does your website and social media profile say to job candidates? Customers may be the focus of your business, but your employees can completely change the way you operate.

Have you ever searched for a possible new hire on Google?  Job candidates will probably return the favor. The research most perform on a new business is to impress the interviewer with “extensive” company knowledge.

But a great candidate will be looking for red flags. Here is a list of six:

1. Your website lacks professionalism.

Professionalism is important anywhere that you are in the public eye on company time. Your website is on company time every nanosecond of the week.  So, why would you let it look like it got in a fight with HTML code and lost?  An unkempt, underdressed and unruly website says to candidates that your company doesn’t care about professionalism.  It could also imply that you don’t base your satisfaction of employees on solid work ethic.  Employees, not customers, are the ones most likely to be victims of harassment from unprofessional, abusive employers.

2. Your company website is behind technological times.

What does this say to a potential new hire about your small business? You can’t afford a website so the job isn’t secure.  Or, you are a Scrooge and your tight clutches around your money purse means no pay raise in the foreseeable future.  Lastly, you might hate any change and love the motto, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”  Luckily, there are many ways you can catch up to this technological decade.  Move your website platform to WordPress.  Make it searchable with an on-site plug-in. Make it shareable with a blog or a social media profile and plug-in.  Ask us for a few suggestions. We’re here to help.

3. Too Little or Too Old Web Content

Not only will your website look bare, but it can cause the candidate to wonder how long your company has been in business. This will make the candidate uneasy if she’s concerned about job security. Old web content questions job security, too. Companies who want to impress customers with their site update it regularly. A website last updated in 2012 is overdue for a content update.

4. Lack of Humor or Personable Interaction on Your Social Media Profile

There is a time and a place for formalities, sales pitches and advertisements. A red flag starts waving when a company social media profile or blog is filled to the brim with only sales pitches and little customer interaction that is truly useful or pleasant. It says you don’t really care about people; you just want their money.  And that means the people who see you the most out of the week will suffer the most.

5. Former or Current Employees’ Social Media Profiles

You honestly can’t control this, but it should be a red flag for you, too.  If your current employees never mention their job on their Facebook status updates or in their blogs, especially if they are your Facebook friend, they probably don’t like working at your company.  That’s not a good sign of a positive work environment.  Former employees could do even more damage by giving your company negative reviews on Google Maps or a company review forum.

6. Too Many Customer Complaints Online.

Online complaints should never be ignored, especially on a social media profile.  Ignoring customers online makes a similar statement as number 4.  The best way to handle this is by thanking the customer for bringing this concern to your attention. Ask him how you can help and offer a solution to the complaint.  Hopefully with that response they will move their concerns to a private message or e-mail. If you need help with reputation management online, drop us a line.

What do you consider a red flag on a company’s website or social media profile?