It’s a difficult job market for everyone. There are fewer vacancies but more applications.
The issues for prospective employees are too few opportunities and the dilemma of whether they should throw their hats into the ring.
Businesses aren’t struggling to attract volume – they’re struggling to manage it, to identify quality, and to oversee their internal culture.
This means that the employer branding landscape is changing.
This post will guide you through this evolving landscape and help you understand how it influences transparency, perception, and reputation.
1. Current challenges
- An oversupply of applicants, including many who are overqualified
- Candidate frustration and burnout leading to cynicism or mistrust
- A risk of undervaluing internal culture or long-term employee fit
- Employer brands under scrutiny from distressed jobseekers and cautious internal stakeholders.
2. The roles of Clarity, Transparency, and Respect
Clarity
- Being clear about what roles truly involve, what success looks like and values alignment
- Precision in job descriptions, EVP messaging, and employer brand tone of voice.
Transparency
- Acknowledge the current environment without seeking to exploit it.
- Be upfront about challenges, expectations and career pathways
- Recognise that authentic brands are more valuable during uncertain times.
Respect
- Think beyond the applicant: how do you demonstrate care, dignity, and acknowledgement towards all candidates?
- Acknowledge that your employer brand is shaped by how you say no, not just how you recruit.
- Make people feel valued, even if they don’t get an interview, let alone a job.
3. What an effective Employer Brand looks like in this market
- Human, humble tone of voice – not self-congratulatory
- Career pathways that speak to both entry-level and experienced applicants
- Genuinely inclusive language – not just performative diversity
- Employer storytelling grounded in everyday reality, not jargon.
4. Mistakes to avoid
- Overplaying your hand – coming across as too self-important due to an applicant surplus
- Ghosting or generic rejections – harming long-term brand reputation.
- Failing to involve internal staff as brand ambassadors – they remain your strongest proof.
5. Tactics for today
- Refresh your careers page to speak to today’s job market
- Create a strong, respectful rejection template that reinforces your brand tone
- Profile recent hires who selected your company for specific values or growth opportunities.
- Train hiring managers to communicate brand messages consistently
- Conduct a quick micro-audit: how does your process feel to someone applying right now
6. Tactics for tomorrow
- Treat your employer brand as a strategic asset – link it to business planning, ESG, and leadership.
- Review your EVP and create an employer brand story which showcases what you stand for.
- Shift your recruitment focus from attraction to selection, so it becomes more about filtering quality than filling a role.
- Reassess your current employer brand, including strategy, assets, execution, and measurement.
Our next blog will focus on the personality of your employer brand, which:
- Shows how you show up as an employer
- Shapes how people experience your culture and values
- Helps you stand out in a competitive job market
- Builds emotional connections
- Attracts the right cultural fit
- Increases employee advocacy and retention.
If you're uncertain about how well your employer brand is performing, we offer a quick, focused audit that will deliver an assessment anda staged course of action.
