The three things candidates look for on a working-at website

Candidates do not visit working-at websites to read your brand values. They arrive with three specific questions. If you do not answer them, they leave.

Most working-at websites are built from the employer's perspective. They communicate what the organisation wants to project: innovative, people-first, ambitious. But candidates do not think in brand values. They think in concrete situations. What does a typical day look like? Who will my colleagues be? Can I grow here?

At Livewall, we design and build working-at websites for organisations in retail, entertainment, and professional services. The pattern is consistent: the sites that convert candidates well answer three questions clearly. The rest do not.

Question 1: Can I see myself here?

This is the first question every candidate asks, even if they never articulate it. They scroll through the page and quietly ask: are these people like me? Do people my age work here, with my background, with similar ambitions?

Most employers answer this question with stock photography and generic copy. That backfires. A 23-year-old considering a role at a retail chain does not want a polished image of smiling colleagues. They want to see the real face of the actual 22-year-old shop-floor worker, with their real story.

Authentic employee stories are the most powerful tool on any working-at website. Not as long blog posts, but as short, recognisable formats. A day in the life. A career story in three sentences. A thirty-second video.

For the Kruidvat Vriendenteam campaign, we built a recruitment experience that let friends apply together. It worked precisely because it matched how young candidates actually make decisions: alongside people they trust, not alone behind a screen.

Question 2: What do I actually get?

Not: what are your employment terms? But: what does that mean for my daily life?

This is where most working-at websites fall short. They present a list of secondary benefits as though it were a product spec. 25 holiday days. Pension plan. Travel allowance. But candidates want to know what that means in practice.

Flexible working only becomes convincing when you show how a real employee structures their week. Career growth only becomes credible when a real employee walks you through how their path unfolded.

Concreteness beats abstraction every time. A candidate considering a role at a theme park does not think "they offer growth and development". They think: can I become a team leader here in two years?

For the Efteling Recruitment Platform, we built a platform that gives candidates a real look behind the scenes. Not through generic benefit lists, but through employee stories, job descriptions that actually breathe, and a clear picture of what working at Efteling means day to day.

Question 3: What does it feel like to work here?

This is the hardest question to answer well. And the most decisive.

Candidates can tailor a CV, but they choose based on feeling. They want to know whether they will enjoy showing up in the morning. Whether there is room for initiative. Whether the atmosphere suits them.

You cannot answer this question with a list of values. You can only answer it by letting the candidate experience something, not just read something.

That can take many forms. An interactive walkthrough of the work environment. A quiz that matches a candidate to the right role. A short video series where real employees talk honestly about their working week, including the challenges.

For Trekpleister Preboarding, we built a digital tool that helps new hires feel what working at Trekpleister is like before day one. That same principle, building connection before information delivery, applies just as much to attracting candidates as it does to welcoming them.

The Partou Preboarding project followed the same logic: personal content, practical steps and a digital buddy so new employees already felt connected before they walked through the door.

What the best working-at websites have in common

They are built from the candidate's perspective, not from what the organisation wants to project.

That sounds straightforward, but it requires a fundamentally different approach. Not starting with brand values and translating them into content. Starting with the questions candidates ask, and working from there to determine what content, what formats, and what structure answers those questions best.

In practice that means:

• Real employee stories in short, recognisable formats
• Concrete information about day-to-day work, not abstract promises
• An experience that lets candidates feel the culture, not just read about it
• A clear path from visitor to applicant, without unnecessary friction

At Livewall, we design employer brand campaigns and working-at websites that answer all three questions. We combine EVP development, UX, and technology to build platforms that do not just look good but actively convert candidates.

A good working-at website is not a business card. It is the first step in a relationship.