Can Company Branding = Pure Awesome?

Hi ITMC,

This is my fourth week working at Long View Systems, and I wanted to give you a bit of an update of my progress.

Long story short - this place is fantastic. 

Way back in October last year, I wrote a blog on RecruitingBlogs, about the importance of employer branding in the eyes of the job seeker.  At the time, from an external recruiters point of view, I thought that employer branding wasn't as important as the opportunity itself, specifically for IT professionals, and that was supported by the feedback my candidates were giving me. In interview, one of my favourite questions to ask was "who are the top five companies that you would really really love to work for, and why?"


Part of my reason for asking this question was to see if there were any opportunities for me to proactively market the candidate into a client that we already do business, or even one we didn't work with. 


The other part was to see what kind of culture the candidate is looking to be a part of. For example, if the candidate said WestJet, I knew they were looking for a tight knit, passionate, dynamic environment, etc.

A lot of IT professionals would also say that they have no interest in working for a particular company, as every one had an IT department, with projects, and upgrades to deliver. And for the most part, I agreed with them. 


However:

Fast forward ten months, and from my short experience at Long View, I think I might have been a bit short sighted. 

Long View's reputation for being an employer of choice is solid, and accurate. When I ask candidates why they want to work here, the usual response goes something like:

"My friend/uncle/neighbour works here and they are so happy. My friend/uncle/neighbour describe how supportive, passionate, and accommodating the company is, and I want to be a part of that."

Does this count as an employer brand over a culture's reputation? Maybe so, maybe not. But what I do know through experience is the Long View culture speaks volumes to candidates who are actively or passively seeking work.


What do you look for in an employer? What values do you carry into the work force, that you would want your employer share? Why do you decide to hit the apply now button for some, but not others?

Here's to your job search!


Laura