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Employer

2025: How to find employees now (3/3)

Many companies have yet to realise that candidates should be treated like customers, with respect, transparency and a smooth process. The decisive factors for success are visibility in the right places and an application process that is as intuitive and easy to understand as making a hotel reservation online. This helps to find the ideal person more quickly and creates a lasting image of the employer. After all, if you want to not only attract talent but also retain it in the long term, you need to keep an eye on the entire journey and inspire enthusiasm at every touchpoint.
Sina Fehr
Sina Fehr

09.06.2025

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5 min reading time

In the first two parts of our blog post series, we showed you how to attract talent (Part 1) and inspire them with a positive candidate experience during the application process (Part 2). Now, we're taking it a step further by looking at the selection, hiring and retention phase. This is where we find out if the spark will really ignite and last in the long term.

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A new approach to acceptance and rejection

Let's start with the positives: There was a spark, and you decided to hire the talent. The sooner you provide feedback, the greater its impact. The underlying message is: 'We were impressed by you, our decision-making processes are clear and efficient.' This can be a deciding factor if the talent is still undecided. So why not take it a step further? For example, send a short video or personal voice message to confirm the offer. This allows you to convey a sense of closeness and personality.

And what about rejections? These present opportunities, too. Someone who has applied has already shown an interest, and they may get in touch again in the future, or even become a customer. A respectful rejection can strengthen trust. Candidates who have made it to the interview stage deserve a personalised response. A small 'rejection package' tailored to your company would be a good idea here, for example. Although the costs are marketing expenses, the effect will pay off for your employer brand. Examples could include branded socks bearing the message 'We hope our paths cross again soon' or a lighter bearing the humorous message 'Even though it didn't work out this time, we're fired up to maybe inspire you again later.'

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From candidate to employee journey

No, the journey doesn't end with the signing of the contract. With the 'Employee Journey', you can influence whether new employees will become loyal team members and even ambassadors for your employer brand.

Many companies fail to utilise the period leading up to the start of employment, which often lasts 1 to 3 months. That's a mistake! Instead of radio silence, generate anticipation with a personal video message from the team, an invitation to a team event or a few short inspirational emails about the new job.

And then it's day 1, week 1, month 1. Do you have a plan for this? A structured onboarding process is crucial because it fosters a sense of belonging, appreciation and orientation.

>Our tip: introduce an 'onboarding and knowledge wish list'. Ask your employees: 'What would you have liked to know or wish for at the beginning?' These are exactly the points that should be included in your onboarding process. Designing it together with the team creates transparency and shows new colleagues from the outset that their voice counts.

The result is an onboarding process that imparts knowledge and creates loyalty.

And a clear message to everyone: We do everything we can to make our employees feel comfortable and encourage them to stay with us.

Conclusion

A strong employer brand does not happen overnight; it comes from a lived corporate culture. 'Faking it' does not work in employer branding. To attract and retain employees, you must be honest, consistent and authentic because anything else will be exposed sooner or later.

One final tip: if you're not sure where to start, try to see things from an applicant's perspective. Either apply yourself or ask someone you know to do it. This will immediately show you how tangible your employer brand really is and which touchpoints you can tackle first.

Remember: Small steps lead to the goal.

about the author

Sina Fehr

Sina Fehr

Marketing & Communication

Sina is Marketing Manager at universaljob and blogs here about topics relating to careers, HR processes, digitalisation and recruitment. Do you follow us on LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram? There you can find out more about universaljob as an employer or get tips for your application.