The need for quality talent is making headline news. From construction to cybersecurity roles, the competition to hire is tougher than taking on any Australian at sport.

With over 87% of talent acquisition professionals in Australia and New Zealand saying quality of hires is important, we have seven questions to ask of your employer branding. Because if your talent reach is falling short, it can’t just be about improving visibility.

There’s more at play; How are you making the most of what you’ve got to be seen, to be considered, and ultimately be the one they choose?

1. Can your employer brand strategy be applied to real situations?
2. Is your employee value proposition based on evidence?
3. Are your employer brand creative campaigns memorable?
4. Do you have a media strategy for your recruitment marketing campaigns?
5. Is your social and content marketing aligned to attracting talent?
6. Is it easy to find the right information on your careers website and digital experience?
7. Is your SEO/GEO strategy fit for the future?

Let’s go…

1. Can your employer brand strategy be applied to real situations?

Without a clear strategy, you’re not only lacking direction, but you’re also missing out on a way to measure your success.
So, what does a good employer brand strategy look like? It’s the big picture your employer branding and talent acquisition teams need. An agreement of what your audience, point of difference, employee experience and big goals are. And it should be linked to your Employee Value Proposition.

Overall, it should be useful. It should guide practical decisions your team make every day on content, campaigns and the candidate experience.

2. Is your employee value proposition based on evidence?

An employee value proposition (EVP) should give people credible reasons to choose, stay and advocate.
But getting to that credible reason can be tricky. Firstly, it needs to come from the research; “What do your people really think about working here?”. Sometimes an EVP falls short because it’s an aspiration, not a reality and when that happens quality hires will leave.

You also want your EVP to clearly outline the deal: that is what you will bring to the table, and what your people will bring. So, it’s okay for your EVP to not appeal to everyone. Sounds counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? However, by clearly signposting the qualities you’re looking for in a person, you’re helping candidates to de-select before applying.

Lastly, a strong EVP is distinctive and comes with a strong messaging framework that’s aligned to audience segments. This makes it easier for recruiters, hiring managers and content teams to consistently convey the unique experience, rather than offering generic reasons to join.

3. Are your employer brand creative campaigns memorable?

Remember, competition is fierce, so your campaign needs to not only be distinctive, but be persuasive. Are your reasons to join compelling enough? Have you mentioned benefits or perks that align to what each audience is looking for?
That’s all about messaging, what about the look of your creative campaigns. It’s important to have a distinctive art direction. So, making sure your brand colours and logo feature, as well as using real photography of your people over stock imagery.

4. Do you have a media strategy for your recruitment marketing campaigns?

This is where brand and performance need to work together.
Reach on its own is not the same as effectiveness. A stronger media approach links targeting, creative, user journeys and measurement so you can see what is generating action, not just visibility.

Even better, is having a paid media approach that can be adjusted while your campaign is live. Switching out creative and formats to what your audience is responding to the most.

5. Is your social and content marketing aligned to attracting talent?

Social and content can help your organisation stay visible between campaigns. It’s your ‘always on’ approach, so that you can stay top of mind among quality candidates.

Research shows that repeated exposure to clear and credible content builds familiarity and trust over time, especially before candidates are ready to apply.

The real question is whether the content is designed to resonate with your intended audience. And is it relatable, not polished, in showing what the culture, teams and workplace is really like.

6. Is it easy to find the right information on your careers website and digital experience?

If it’s hard to find your careers site or landing page, difficult to navigate between sections, or it’s not clear what the benefits, culture and employee experience is like, you’ll find quality candidates won’t give you a second chance.

So, how do you avoid this? Review your messaging, user experience and overall accessibility of your digital experience.
The strongest careers experiences reduce friction, reinforce brand consistency and help candidates move forward with confidence.

And the best sites, what do they do? They showcase the brand through immersive content while designing for engagement, not just a quick landing page visit.

7. Is your SEO/GEO strategy fit for the future?

Australians are increasingly turning to AI tools over Google as their primary way to search for information online; at a rate that has doubled than the previous year.

What does this mean for employer branding and talent recruitment? Well, candidates are using AI-powered search tools alongside traditional search engines to research employers, explore career options and inform the decisions they make about where to work.

In fact, many candidate journeys now begin with a question. That’s why having a strong search presence and well-structured, useful content is more important than ever. When someone asks about employers, careers or opportunities in your industry, is your organisation part of the answer? We hope so.

Think of it this way: SEO and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) aren’t technical add-ons. They’re about making your expertise easy for both search engines and AI tools to understand, trust and recommend.

You now have 7 strategies to improve talent reach

We’ve asked seven questions, but here’s the kicker. To truly attract quality hires, it’s not one thing; it’s all seven working together.

A connected approach improves discoverability, strengthens relevance and gives candidates a clearer reason to choose you.

So, what’s next?

You’ve got the answers and now you’re in planning mode… ready to turn strategies into action. That’s great news!

Without wanting to sound too forward, getting an agency onboard can be helpful. We can offer an outside and objective opinion on your unique positioning and how to optimise the seven areas of employer branding to improve talent reach.

If you’d like that conversation to be with us, we’d be happy to help. To kickstart a meaningful conversation, here are some things to think about:

• What area (out of the seven above) is most important to you in attracting quality hires?
• What do you see as your biggest challenge? Is it awareness, relevance, conversion?
• Have you done your homework? Do you have a set of compelling reasons to join that’s based on reality?