Most recruitment marketing is forgettable.
The same tired imagery. The same ‘people-first’ headlines. The usual promises about great culture, career growth, and being a fast-paced environment.
If your marketing sounds like everyone else’s, it should come as no surprise when it performs just as badly.
There is a simple truth at play here. Candidates are far more switched on than most recruitment campaigns give them credit for. They have seen it all before. They can sense spin a mile off. And if your EVP is little more than a glossy PowerPoint full of buzzwords and broad claims, they will not buy into it. In fact, they are more likely to walk away.
Recruitment marketing often misses the mark because it puts form ahead of substance. It focuses on what looks good on a careers site, rather than what is true, useful, and relevant to the people you are trying to reach.
More often than not, it speaks to the wrong audience. Too much of it is written to satisfy internal stakeholders—HR teams, hiring managers, and leadership—when the focus should be on the candidate. Their needs, their motivations, and their concerns are what really matter.
And having an EVP does not count for much if you are not delivering on it. When candidates hear one thing and experience another, the disconnect creates mistrust before they have even set foot inside the business.
There is also a tendency to chase short-term validation. Headlines, lifestyle imagery, quirky perks. Content designed to generate clicks, likes, and shares. Easy to track, easy to celebrate. But without substance, it rarely leads to meaningful outcomes. You end up with marketing that appears active but achieves very little.
The irony is that recruitment marketing is not cheap. Even modest campaigns involve serious investment. Once you factor in production, media spend, and internal resource, it all adds up. And far too often, it disappears into the void with very little return.
So, what is the answer?
Start with strategy. Proper strategy. Begin with understanding. What do candidates care about? What puts them off? What are they actually looking for before they consider joining you? Until you have real answers to those questions, you are guessing.
From there, build a proposition that is grounded in truth. One that reflects who you actually are as an employer, not just who you hope to be seen as. Then, communicate it clearly. Avoid fluff. Use plain language. Say things that feel human and honest.
And please, stop calling your company ‘dynamic and innovative’. It adds nothing.
Effective recruitment marketing does not begin with copy. It begins with clarity.
If you are ready to stop chasing noise and start building something that lasts, I am here for that.
