The Monster Debate

When you choose an employer you're electing to 'buy into' that particular organisation. You are deciding to invest your valuable time and future in a prospective employer who is 'selling' their company to you as a great place to work and which meets your career needs.

This doesn't mean you would work for BP because it goes 'Beyond Petroleum', or Sainsbury's because it 'makes life taste better', or even Mr Kipling because he 'does make exceedingly good cakes'. However appealing these companies are, in reality the reason you choose to work for any employer is not because you're attracted by the brand that defines its products or services but because you empathise with its 'Employer Brand'.

The employer brand is the 'other brand' any company has, the one that represents what the company has to offer its prospective employees. For example, a financial institution such as First Direct which might have a consumer brand which stands for 'efficiency', 'innovation' and 'security' could have an employer brand which represents 'fun' and 'credibility'.

Any large company that's looking to recruit - especially where the right type of skilled employees are in short supply - has to get its employer brand message absolutely right. It has to clearly communicate what it has to offer as an employer and also how it will satisfy your needs as a prospective employee.

When a company develops its employer brand it undertakes a great deal of research to accurately define the needs and values of its prospective employees. The next step is for the company to then define its own employer brand assets, for example, 'innovative culture' or 'fast promotion'. The company can then communicate the real benefits it can offer a prospective employee.

So whilst Mars may be saying to the consumer that its products give 'pleasure you can't measure' it might also be saying to you, the candidate, that the company is a serious global player that will help you meet your personal and professional career goals.

Bringing together the sum total of a company's particular benefits forms the unique 'essence' of a company's employer brand, which either attracts - or repels - you, the candidate. Needless to say, the company in question will also be taking a long, hard look at you too!