Hootsuite Job Posting Teardown

JOB POSTING TEARDOWN

First stop: careers page


To sum this one up: incredible! I mean, who wouldn’t want to apply to work here?


This is Rad. A giant hero video carousel showing everything from people hanging out dressed up in costumes to people (in their office?) getting work done. Each video has a caption making a calling for people who are quirky, passionate, quick on their feet etc.

Great touch!

… scrolling along.


A HOOTSUITE FLAG?!?

This is purely a personal preference but if you really want to get me excited to apply, show that you have your own pirate flag. Awesome.


That wasn’t sarcasm.


That also wasn’t sarcasm.


Hootsuite is very, very calculated when showing their social side for obvious reasons. Everything on their careers page screams that this is a company that cares about the social well-being and involvement of everybody on their team.


Hootsuite is very, very calculated when showing their social side for obvious reasons. Everything on their careers page screams that this is a company that cares about the social well-being and involvement of everybody on their team.

They’re taking very bold positions on the wonderful things they’re doing as a company. A careers page is the perfect place to be bold about your work. Nice job!

And more scrolling brings us here.


Hey, these people look cool. I wonder what happens if I click one of their faces?


Boom. A very well-shot, well-edited video telling us briefly about Bill, what he’s working on and why he’s excited about it.

Super short, super punchy and straight to the point. It definitely doesn’t feel pushy or forced at all, genuinely sincere.


Cool video bruh, let’s exit the video player and get back to this adventure.

Certified B Corp FTW!


Some of you may not know what this means but for others this can be a very big deal. Basically the TL;DR version of B Corps: B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. (taken from bcorporation.net)


Basically it means that Hootsuite isn’t just about making tons of money… It’s focused on a sustainable future and is accountable to meet the standards set out by a third party organization. What’s more, they’re committed to measure the impact they’re having and sharing their learning with the community.

Time for the job postings.


And here we are. The job postings.

First impression: neat, organized and we love that there are no weird requisition numbers in the titles.


And while we’re looking at titles, high five for keeping these all crystal clear. It’s a good call to stay away from strange terms, abbreviations or internal titles that only Hootsuite people would understand.


Let’s dive into one!

The actual job posting.First impression: Mr. Clean. Completely matches the design and UX expectations that were established on the main careers page.

The actual job posting.

Some links over here to related job postings. Love that they’re giving people the option to continue exploring careers at Hootsuite.


What are these things here? Links? Will they bring me to Twitter if I click a hashtag? Are they simply telling me I should be using that hashtag?


Let’s click one…

The actual job posting?

Ooooh this is kind of neat. It appears to be a feed from people on the Hootsuite team using the #HOOTSUITELIFE hashtag showing off all the amazing reasons to work for Hootsuite.


Wait, is that Nicholas Cage dressed up as Napoleon on a coffee mug? I’m quickly becoming a bigger fan.


Anyhoo let’s get back to the job posting.


Wait, a manifesto? Cant say no to that click.

The actual job posting. Wow. This is transparency. Showing candidates something that’s shared with “real” Hootsuite hires builds a ton of trust. Including a manifesto is such a great idea and something we may even adopt for Ruutly.


Critical question: Why isn’t this included IN every job posting?… But I will come back to this later.

We’re back on the job posting.


Hootsuite’s done such a great job of telling us who they are through the careers page, employee stories, compelling copy and pirate flags.


…and that’s why I kiiiiind of wish they would jump right into the job description instead of telling us who they are again above the actual job posting.

but we also understand that not everybody will arrive here after going through the careers page… so it makes sense?


Let’s scroll…

This. Is. A. Great. Job. Description.


Hootsuite decided to forgo the dreadful 199 bullet points and opted for a clear and concise description outlining not only who the ideal candidate is but what that person will be doing.


They use very specific language making things extremely clear.

Example: instead of simply stating “customer support skills” they specifically tell you:


Scrolling down, things get even more specific:




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It’s hard to read this and not know the exact type of person they are looking for. It should be pretty simple for a person to look at this and gauge if they’re a fit or not.



This job posting is a great one. We’ve been watching Hootsuite for a while and really enjoy the work they’re doing in showcasing their employer brand and creating a super compelling candidate experience.


Our only really critical feedback comes here: We love that they include these glimpses into their culture, career tracks and company info…


but this great stuff gets lost here and when a candidate does click these things, it takes them away from the job posting and breaks the candidate experience slightly.


In a perfect world (and with an ATS/job posting design that could support it) these items could possibly become interior navigation tabs that could be included on every job posting and would load up content right here, in the experience.

But really, that’s us being very, very picky.


One of the many things Hootsuite gets really, really right is that they’re (consciously or not) optimizing for opt-outs. They make it crystal clear who they’re ideal candidate is, the experience they should have and the job they’ll do.

People who don’t have those skills or experience, should be able to identify that pretty quickly and opt-out of this application process.

More importantly, it means Hootsuite is crystal clear who they’re looking for so if somebody didn’t get the message and applies without those skills or experience, Hootsuite doesn’t waste any of their time pursuing that candidate for more info.

The wrap-up:

The wrap-up:

If more companies were building their employer brand and writing their job postings like Hootsuite, this world would be a better place with a much more intentional and clear candidate experience for all.

THANK YOU!

Have a company you want us to look at? Send us an email [email protected]

Hootsuite Job Posting Teardown

Recruiting & HR

Transcript of Hootsuite Job Posting Teardown