{"id":32986,"date":"2010-05-21T11:32:11","date_gmt":"2010-05-21T10:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/blog\/?p=32986"},"modified":"2010-05-17T11:32:49","modified_gmt":"2010-05-17T10:32:49","slug":"the-wizard-cant-see-you-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/the-wizard-cant-see-you-today\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wizard Can\u2019t See You Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Oz<\/a><\/div>\n

In today\u2019s story, the Wizard of Jobs rejects all comers by putting up this sign:<\/p>\n

There are currently no openings.
\nPlease check back again later.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I recently came across those exact words on the site of a mid-sized, modestly successful company.\u00a0 The company is privately owned, and may typically hire only when there\u2019s attrition.\u00a0 So (one might ask) why bother to put a more elaborate message on the Careers page?<\/p>\n

Come to that . . . why bother even to have<\/em> a Careers page?\u00a0 Which is the key question here.\u00a0 In the case of this particular company\u2019s website–otherwise very well done–it\u2019s hard to see the sense in having a page where the only message is \u201cGo away.\u201d<\/p>\n

That message, or some variant version, often shows up on the websites of small- to mid-sized companies where hiring is fairly rare.\u00a0 Or where hiring may be cyclical, seasonal, or otherwise intermittent.\u00a0 In those circumstances it\u2019s not surprising that on any given day\/week\/month there are no jobs available.<\/p>\n

And yet!\u00a0 If a Careers page exists, there has to be something on it.<\/p>\n

Obviously the page offers an opportunity to provide further information about working at the company.\u00a0 But that option only has value if the company really expects to hire people in the future and wants to build a pool of potential applicants.\u00a0 If not, no point.<\/p>\n

Big corporations almost always have some<\/em> jobs available, so there\u2019s value in offering visitors useful information about employment, along with incentives to return if no current job openings are appropriate.\u00a0 That\u2019s part of building an employer brand.<\/p>\n

But in reality, smaller companies that rarely employ don\u2019t need<\/em> an employer brand.\u00a0 Therefore, the obligatory Careers or Jobs page becomes little more than a place to say \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which doesn\u2019t seem like an asset to the website.<\/p>\n

The point for smaller companies is:<\/em> Either do something worthwhile with the Careers page or don\u2019t have one.\u00a0 Use that real estate to extol the virtues of your company culture.\u00a0 Otherwise, take down the page.\u00a0 And either issue a real<\/em> invitation (\u201cPlease come back in March, when we expect to have new openings\u201d) or skip the whole thing.\u00a0 After all . . . how often are people supposed to \u201ccheck back\u201d?\u00a0 And for how long?<\/p>\n

The point for bigger companies is: <\/em> Consider what your corporate Careers site would accomplish or offer if there were no job openings.\u00a0 After all, most visitors won\u2019t<\/em> find a suitable opportunity on any given day.\u00a0 But they should still<\/em> leave the site with something of value.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Thanks to JoshBerglund19<\/a> for snapping this Emerald City vignette at a wax museum.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  In today\u2019s story, the Wizard of Jobs rejects all comers by putting up this sign: There are currently no openings. Please check back again later. I recently came across those exact words on the site of a mid-sized, modestly successful company.\u00a0 The company is privately owned, and may typically hire only when there\u2019s attrition.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":32988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,25],"tags":[33,41],"class_list":{"0":"post-32986","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-best-practices","8":"category-careers","9":"tag-corporate-communications","10":"tag-corporate-website","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nWizard of Jobs: Come Back Later<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"No jobs available? 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