One of the most powerful, but often overlooked, elements of recruitment is using employee stories and testimonials to illustrate what it is really like to work with your company. There are three main benefits of using employee testimonials in your hiring process and hiring materials.
Why should you add employee testimonials to your hiring materials?
When writing job descriptions or hiring pages for your website, most companies simply list the necessary skills, qualifications, and job responsibilities. Then, they expect interested applicants to flock to them, just because they have an open position.
Unfortunately, dull job descriptions usually attract dull applicants (i.e. not exactly who you were looking for).
To get the applicants you want, you have to give job seekers the information they want. Job candidates want to know why they should choose your company out of the massive list of job ads flooding their Indeed feed. They’re interested in the significance of your company’s mission since they’ll be giving their time and effort to support it. And they want to know how working with you will make their lives better.
One of the best ways to illustrate how you can do just that is by using employee testimonials in your hiring materials.
What are employee testimonials?
Employee testimonials are quotes, statements, stories, or even video testimonials from current employees that share their experiences working at your company. Testimonials from existing employees provide valuable insight into the company culture, work environment, and overall employee satisfaction.
Where can you use employee testimonials in your hiring process?
A good testimonial is like gold. Sprinkle as much gold as possible into your hiring materials to make your company shine. You can use employee testimonials in:
- Job descriptions
- Career pages
- Social media posts
- Follow up emails
- Recruitment videos
3 Benefits of Using Employee Testimonials in Your Hiring Process
Although there are many benefits to adding employee testimonials to your job descriptions and careers page, here are the top three:
1. Employee Testimonials Add Credibility
When prospective candidates are considering a job opportunity, they want to be sure the position is the right fit for them. Although adding the elements of a winning job description will help, most people aren’t just going to take your word for it. They want proof that you will deliver on all the promises listed in your job ad.
Employee testimonials can provide the reassurance job seekers are looking for. According to research done by Vendasta, 49% of consumers say they trust reviews as much as they would a personal recommendation.
By including quotes from real people who have worked for your company in your hiring materials, you are demonstrating that you have a proven track record of treating employees well and creating a positive work environment. This confirmation of your company’s reputation will increase a job seeker’s level of trust in the promises laid out in your job post or other hiring materials.
2. Employee Testimonials Provide a Better Understanding of the Job
Most job descriptions are dry and technical, making it hard for candidates to get a clear sense of what the position is really like. Employee testimonials provide a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of your company. Testimonials give candidates glimpses of company culture in action.
For example, if you have a quote from a current employee about how much they enjoy the collaborative nature of the job, prospective candidates will see that your company genuinely values teamwork.
3. Employee Testimonials Help Your Company Stand Out
In a competitive job market, it’s important to find ways to differentiate yourself from other companies offering similar job opportunities.
Including employee testimonials in your job description provides a unique and personal touch that sets you apart from the rest.
Employee testimonials show job applicants that your company is genuinely invested in their success and cares about creating an environment where they will thrive.
How do you get good employee testimonials?
To unleash the true power of social proof in your hiring process you need compelling testimonials that show a story of transformation.
Most testimonials look something like this:
“I love working with {company name}. They are great!”
Although it is a positive quote about your company, it leaves people with more questions than answers:
- Why are they great?
- What do you love about them?
- Why should I want to work there too?
Since the quote doesn’t give any specific details, it fails to build a real sense of trust. Using a quote like that as your social proof is more like sprinkling dust on your hiring materials than adding gold. It is not going to get you the results you are looking for.
Instead, seek out good testimonials that highlight the transformation employees experienced by working with your company.
Ask existing employees:
- What was your life like before you worked here? (If they struggle to think of an answer, ask them about specifics like work-life balance, work culture, or a typical day in their life at that time.)
- How did working with our company improve your life?
- What does your life look like now?
Piece their answers together into 3–4 sentences highlighting the transformation your company offers employees. With their permission, you can then use their employee testimonial in your job ads, careers page, social media, etc.
Here are a few good employee testimonial examples:
“My old job made me feel stuck and frustrated because there was no room for advancement or promotion. The flexible growth opportunities at Pine make me excited to be at a place I can maximize my career. I love that I can grow at a pace that’s right for me, and Pine is making that possible!”
-Brooke Anderson, Tax Manager at Pine & Co CPAs
“I started working at Stripe A Lot 12 years ago. It was fairly easy for me to learn all the different jobs we do here: seal coating, crack filling, asphalt repair, etc. The day goes by fast because we are always on the go. I am now the supervisor of operations and enjoy working with others who want to work in the asphalt business.”
-Justin Briley, Operations Supervisor at Stripe A Lot
If you want to get even more personal or detailed, you could use employee video testimonials so that job seekers can see an actual person sharing about what it’s like to work with your company. These could be 30-second video clips shot on a phone or screen recorded on a computer. Or, if you need to fill a highly skilled or in-demand position, you could record a deep dive interview. (An outline and advance preparation is essential for a longer format video, to make sure the interview is effective and efficient.)
Whether written or video, including employee testimonials in your job descriptions is a great way to stand out from the competition and demonstrate your company’s commitment to creating a work environment where employees thrive. Not only do they add credibility, but they also provide candidates with a better understanding of what it’s like to work at your organization.
Don’t Have Time to Get Employee Testimonials? We Do.
If you aren’t sure what questions to ask or are too understaffed to spend time interviewing current employees and turn their responses into good employee testimonials, we can do it for you. Schedule a call with Guide MKTG today. We will help you create a full suite of tools you can use to fill your open positions. Once you have the right people on your team, everyone can get back to doing what they do best.
