Your employer brand online is what a candidate finds when they search for you before applying. For most companies that comes down to six places: your website and careers page, your job posts, LinkedIn, review sites such as Glassdoor, G2 and Reddit, the people they would work for, and how you treat applicants. This guide takes them in order and works at any size. A 20-person company can do every step this week, and in a larger company the same steps tell you what to hand to marketing, communications and HR.
Candidates are trying to answer four questions before they apply: Is this company real? Is the role interesting? Will I be treated well? Will I be paid and treated fairly? Each step below helps answer one of them.
Step 1: Search for your company like a candidate
Open a private browser window and run the searches a candidate would.
- Search “[company name]”, “[company name] careers”, “[company name] reviews” and “[company name] reddit”.
- Click the first ten results. Note which ones are yours, which are not, and what each one says.
- Ask someone outside the company to do the same and tell you what they notice.
What good looks like: your own site and careers page appear on page one, nothing outdated or wrong ranks above them, and the company is described the same way everywhere. Write down every gap. The next five steps fix them.
Step 2: Fix your website and careers page
Every candidate lands on your website, so make it answer their questions without making them hunt. A careers page does not need to be long.
- What you do and why it matters, in two or three sentences without jargon.
- Facts: company size, location or remote policy, and any growth, funding or customer facts you can state truthfully.
- How you work: how decisions get made, how teams communicate, what a normal week looks like, and your values shown through examples rather than adjectives.
- The people: a few real names, roles and photos or short quotes from the team, with their permission.
- Benefits and pay approach: the actual benefits, time-off policy and whether you publish pay ranges. See the sample benefits page.
- Your hiring process: the stages, who they meet and typical timing. Candidates relax when they know what is coming.
- Open roles that are current, each linking to a complete job post.
- An equal opportunity statement and how to request accommodations. See showing your commitment to inclusive hiring.
- A way to apply when nothing fits, such as a general application or an address someone reads.
Then test it: load it on a phone, apply to a job end to end and confirm the confirmation email arrives. If you use Dover’s ATS, you can publish a careers page from your job list. The free plan includes a basic careers page, and Premium adds a fully customizable one that you can embed on your own website. Check the plans for current details.
Step 3: Review your job posts
Most applicants decide in the job post, so pick two live posts and read them as a candidate would.
- The title matches how the market names the role, not an internal label.
- It states the pay range where required, and where you want to include it. See compensation requirements for job postings.
- Responsibilities and must-haves are specific and short, with no unnecessary requirements.
- It describes the team, the manager and what the first six months look like.
For wording that widens your pool, see how to write a job description.
Step 4: Update LinkedIn
Candidates check the company page and the people they would work for.
- Company page: logo, banner, About section, website link, a few recent posts and your open roles.
- Founders and hiring managers: current headline, a short About section and a Featured link to your careers page. See the personal branding guide.
- Employees: make sure their profiles list the right company name and description.
Step 5: Check the review sites: Glassdoor, G2 and Reddit
You cannot control what people say about you on these sites, but you can know what is there, respond well and make sure your own pages answer the same questions honestly. Never write fake reviews, ask people for positive ones, or offer incentives for them; platforms set their own rules, so check each one’s guidelines before asking anyone to post.
Glassdoor
Glassdoor holds employee reviews, interview reviews and pay reports, so it is where many candidates look for a view from the inside. A free employer account lets you claim your profile, respond to reviews and add basic company information. Read the most recent reviews, note any theme that appears more than once (slow process, no feedback, unclear pay) and reply to reviews that deserve it with a calm, factual response. Your replies are read by candidates, not just the reviewer.
G2
G2 is a software review site, so it matters if you sell software. The reviews are written by customers about your product, not by employees about working for you. Some candidates, especially for sales, customer success and product roles, read them to judge whether the company is winning and keeping customers. Make sure your G2 profile is accurate and current, and answer customer reviews professionally.
Candidates search for “[company] reddit” because Reddit is where people speak frankly, and threads about companies, interviews and layoffs can turn up in search results. Reddit has no employer verification, so treat what you find as signal, not fact.
- Read before you act. Look for threads about your company, your interview process and your industry, and note the questions people ask.
- Follow each subreddit’s rules and Reddit’s content policy. Many communities restrict or ban self-promotion.
- If you reply, say who you are, stay factual and add something useful. Do not post as a fake neutral user or ask employees to post on your behalf.
- Fix the cause, not the thread. If people say your process is slow or your pay is unclear, change that.
Step 6: Show the work
Proof beats adjectives. Add one or two things candidates can check: a product launch, an engineering or design blog post, a customer story, a short team video or a talk by someone on the team. One or two good pieces beat a content calendar you cannot keep up.
Step 7: Make the candidate experience match
Your reputation is the sum of how you treat people. Applicants should hear back within the timeline you state, a named person should own candidate communication and rejections should be sent, not ignored. See how to protect your employer brand.
Audit your employer brand in an hour
Do this once, then every quarter. Copy the list below into a doc and mark each item done, partly or missing.
EMPLOYER BRAND AUDIT (about 60 minutes)
1. Search results (10 min)
[ ] Searched "[company name]", "[company name] careers", "[company name] reviews" and "[company name] reddit"
[ ] Our website and careers page appear on page one
[ ] Nothing outdated, wrong or embarrassing ranks above them
[ ] The company description is consistent everywhere
2. Website and careers page (15 min)
[ ] Says what we do and why it matters in plain language
[ ] Lists benefits, location or remote policy, and hiring process
[ ] Shows real people from the team
[ ] Open roles are current; closed roles are removed
[ ] Has an equal opportunity statement and an accommodations contact
[ ] Loads fast and works on a phone
[ ] Someone applied end to end and the confirmation email arrived
3. Job posts (10 min) - pick two live posts
[ ] Pay range included where required or where we want to include it
[ ] Responsibilities and must-haves are specific and short
[ ] No unnecessary requirements or exclusionary wording
[ ] Describes the team, the manager and the first six months
[ ] Title matches the market, not an internal label
4. LinkedIn (10 min)
[ ] Company page: logo, banner, About, website, recent posts, open roles
[ ] Founders and hiring managers: current headline, About, Featured link to the careers page
[ ] Employees' profiles list the right company name and description
5. Glassdoor, G2 and Reddit (10 min)
[ ] Glassdoor: claimed profile, recent reviews read, replies to reviews that deserve one
[ ] G2 (if we sell software): profile accurate, customer reviews answered
[ ] Reddit: searched company, interview and industry threads, noted what people ask
[ ] Any theme that appears more than once is on the fix list
6. Candidate experience (5 min)
[ ] Applicants hear back within our stated timeline
[ ] A named person owns candidate communication
[ ] Rejections are sent, not ghosted
FIX LIST
Top 3 fixes this week: [ ] [ ] [ ]
Owner: [name] Next audit: [date]Turn the audit into a short fix list with an owner and a date. Do not try to fix everything at once. The first three steps, your search results, your website and your job posts, are almost always the highest return.
Keep it honest
An employer brand is a promise, and candidates test it in the first interview. If your page says “fast, transparent process” and a candidate waits three weeks with no word, the gap is what they remember and what they write about. Describe what you actually are today, say what you are working on, and let the candidate experience prove the rest. If you need help finding people while you fix the basics, a vetted recruiter from Dover’s marketplace can run the search while you do.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important place for an employer brand?
Your website's careers page and your job posts. Every candidate lands on one of them, and you fully control both. Fix those before you spend time on review sites, social media or press.
Do I need a Glassdoor profile?
You do not have to build one, but candidates may find reviews about you anyway. Claim your free employer profile, read what it says, reply to reviews calmly and make sure your own pages answer the same questions honestly.
Does G2 matter for hiring?
Only if you sell software. G2 reviews are written by customers about your product, not by employees about working for you. Some candidates read them to judge whether the company is winning and keeping customers, so keep your profile accurate.
Should I respond to Reddit threads about my company?
Read first, and reply only if you can add something useful and are open about who you are. Follow each subreddit's rules, never post as a fake neutral user and never ask employees to post on your behalf.
How long does it take to build an employer brand?
A solid baseline takes a few days: a clear careers page, complete job posts and updated profiles. Reputation then builds with every candidate you treat well, so keep the basics consistent.
How do I audit my employer brand?
Search for your company as a candidate would, then check each place they land: your website, a job post, LinkedIn, review sites and the people they would work for. The one-hour audit checklist below walks through it.
Need help with your employer brand? Work with an expert.
Dover's Marketplace has vetted fractional recruiters, HR experts and marketing experts who can help you audit your online presence and improve how candidates see your company.