A company's career webpage is equivalent to a fashion boutique's storefront. A potential shopper browses its contents and decides whether to peek inside. But if your storefront does not stay current with the latest trends, people will pass it by without thinking twice. 

The same theory goes for your company's careers webpage. A job seeker will browse many job websites looking for the right fit, but only contact or further explore the companies that catch their eye. By taking the time to create and establish an inviting and interactive career webpage, you are taking the first step toward recruiting great employees. 

When creating or updating a careers webpage for your company, you must establish your target audience. This will help shape your content and the development of the site. 

If you are trying to bring young, creative minds to your company, you must put yourself in their shoes. How? By A/B testing email, sending surveys to past and current employees, or having internal employees help with the creation of the webpage. You want a finished product that entices qualified individuals to find out more about you or to apply to be a part of your company. 

How long will this process take? The time spent on a new or updated careers webpage is dependent on who you have working on the content, how many people are on the content team, and the amount of time individuals are able to spend on the site's development. 

The processing time will also depend on whether you outsource the work or create the data internally. There are pros and cons to hiring a third party versus keeping the work in-house.

While third-party contractors can prioritize the project and can speed up the process, the downside is that they do not know the company as well as an internal team. Having a team that can develop the webpage internally will save money, but it will also give internal employees more work—something already overloaded employees could struggle with. When deciding how and when to update or create a career page you will want to consult internally before deciding which path you want to take. 

Top 4 Components of a Quality Careers Webpage 

There are multiple aspects of a careers webpage that are imperative to include, but there are four that can make or break a user's experience: 

1) Eye-catching photos. Does your company look inviting? Does your company reflect diversity? Is your company's workspace updated? These questions can be answered by looking at the photos on your company's careers webpage.

Most job seekers tend to look at the photos on a website before glancing at the content. Photos show that a company is more than just a building with employees inside, it's a place filled with various kinds of people that are all working together to meet the same goals. 

2) Quality content. After someone browses the photos, they turn their attention to the content. But if there are pages filled with small text or jargon, they may stop reading and conclude that this is not the company for them. 

That is not the message you want to send. Instead, focus on creating content that is short and concise. Write and read the text as if you are the individual looking for a job. Would you be enticed to learn more? 

3) Testimonials. Testimonials are important when it comes to spotlighting company culture and internal relations. A testimonial is a look behind the scenes to see how employees truly feel about the company they work at. 

4) Valuable calls to action. The job seeker has seen what they wanted to see and now they want to take it one step further. Does your webpage offer a clear way to take the next step?

A valuable call to action puts prospects in an advantageous position to learn more or to talk to someone about their interest in the company. The call to action can be instructions on how to apply for a vacancy, a telephone number if they wish to speak with someone about the position or an email address to start a conversation. 

Every aspect of a career webpage must have a purpose. There is no room for dull photos, boring content, lack of personality or confusing calls to action. An updated careers webpage entices individuals to take the next step in their career with your company. 

Samantha Andersen is a content writer and publisher at Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance.