In today’s competitive job market, attracting top talent requires more than just advertising open roles — it’s about showcasing your company culture, values, and the employee experience from day one. That’s where employer branding and advocacy come into play.
At the very beginning of the employee lifecycle lies a powerful opportunity to make the right first impression—not just with job candidates but also with the wider market.
Turning Employees into Brand Advocates
Your employees are the most trusted voices about what it’s like to work at your organisation. Their stories, shared online, in person, or through referrals, carry more weight than any careers page or job description.
Encouraging employee advocacy, such as sharing job opportunities on LinkedIn or celebrating team milestones, amplifies your reach and builds a sense of community that prospective candidates want to be part of.
You can take this a step further with:
- “Recommend a friend” schemes that reward internal referrals
- Internal job boards that are easy to share securely
- Alumni networks that remain active and engaged, even after employees move on
Strong Communication Begins Here
Clear, engaging communication at the recruitment stage is essential. Candidates often drop out of the process if communication is slow, impersonal, or inconsistent. You may never know what talent you’ve lost due to a broken process.
A strong employer brand communicates:
- What you stand for
- What candidates can expect from your process
- What kind of experience they have once they join
This means ensuring that every candidate touchpoint—from job description to interview prep—is accurate, timely, and well-managed.
The Overlooked Power of Alumni & Testimonials
Previous employees can be powerful advocates, or silent critics. Organisations that maintain a positive relationship post-exit (we’ll cover this in detail later in the series) can benefit from:
- Positive Glassdoor reviews
- Alumni rehire (“boomerang hires”)
- Direct referrals to peers in their networks
Authentic testimonials on your website or social media, can make your employer brand relatable and trustworthy.
How SSLPost Supports Talent Attraction
SSLPost helps businesses deliver secure, consistent communication that supports recruitment and pre-boarding.
With our ELM platform, organisations can:
- Communicate Alumni messages
- Provide a conduit for “Recommend a friend” processes
- Receive feedback from ex-employees
- Safely send job offers, contracts, and key documents to candidates
- Provide a branded candidate experience
- Streamline the process between “yes” and “day one.”
All communication is secure, compliant, and designed to reassure, not overwhelm.
Stay with Us…
In the next post, we explore one of the most critical lifecycle moments: onboarding. It’s when new hires decide whether they’ve made the right move, and where structure, clarity, and care make all the difference.
