A Careers Page That Gets Applications

One careers page, one page per job

The simplest structure that works well is a main careers page and a separate page for each open role.

• The careers page says who you are as an employer, how your hiring process works and what to expect after applying, then lists the open roles with a link to each. If there are no openings, say so plainly and say whether you accept speculative applications.
• Each job page carries the full advert and the way to apply. This gives every role its own address you can share, and it is what Google expects: its job posting documentation says to "put structured data on the most detailed leaf page possible" and not to add it "to pages intended to present a list of jobs".

Keep the job pages open to everyone. Google's job posting content policies do not allow "job postings that require a login to view the job description". Link the careers page from your footer or main menu so people can find it; our guide to planning website navigation covers where such links go.

Writing the job advert

Give candidates the facts they need to decide whether to apply:

• A plain job title. Google asks for "the title of the job (not the title of the posting)" and gives an example: not "Apply now for IT job -FRENCH speaker in Bucharest" but "Market Specialist, French speaker".
• A complete description. Google says the description "must be a complete representation of the job, including job responsibilities, qualifications, skills, working hours, education requirements, and experience requirements."
• Where the work happens. The office address, whether remote work is possible, and if so from which countries or regions.
• Pay and terms, if you can share them, plus contract type and hours.
• How to apply and what happens next: the closing date if there is one, the stages, and roughly when people will hear back.

Check the wording for discrimination. GOV.UK's guidance for employers on discrimination in recruitment says "You must not state or imply in a job advert that you'll discriminate against anyone", and to use phrases like "recent graduate" or "highly experienced" only "when these are actual requirements of the job". In the US, the EEOC's page on prohibited employment policies and practices says an ad that seeks "females" or "recent college graduates" "may discourage men and people over 40 from applying and may violate the law."

Google's policies also rule out some kinds of advert altogether: fake or non-existent jobs, postings whose main purpose is "collecting information about applicants, rather than seeking to employ these applicants", jobs that "require payment from applicants", and keyword stuffing in titles or descriptions. Our guide to writing website copy people read has more on clear, scannable writing.

The application form

Our guide to contact and quote forms that people finish covers fields, errors and confirmation messages. Three points matter most for applications.

Ask only for what you need now. The W3C's forms tutorial advises: "Only ask users to enter what is required to complete the transaction or process; if irrelevant or excessive data is requested, users are more likely to abandon the form." The ICO's draft guidance on information provided by candidates makes the same point as a legal duty: "You must only collect information that is proportionate and relevant to the role", and you should tailor the form to the vacancy. In general, it says, you should not ask applicants for:

• information you'll only need if you employ them, "such as bank or emergency contact details";
• details of convictions, which would be "more appropriate to ask for at a later stage for verification purposes";
• special category information, such as health, unless you need it to make the recruitment decision;
• trade union membership.

GOV.UK adds that you can only ask for a date of birth on an application form "if they must be a certain age to do the job", and that it can go on a separate equality monitoring form, which "the person selecting or interviewing candidates" should not see.

Make it accessible. The W3C tutorial covers giving every field a label, grouping related controls, clear instructions, telling people about errors and how to fix them, and splitting long forms into steps with a progress indicator. It also says forms should not have a time limit where possible, or should let people turn it off or extend it. Our website accessibility basics guide covers testing.

Keep the journey short. Google's documentation describes a "direct apply" experience as "a short and simple application process on your page without unnecessary intermediate steps", and says that if the user has to "click apply, complete an application form, sign in or log in more than once" it is not direct apply.

Application forms attract spam like any other form. Our guide to stopping form spam without blocking real people covers options that do not lock out real applicants.

Applicant data and privacy

Applications are full of personal information, so your careers page should link to a privacy notice that covers recruitment. Under UK data protection law, the ICO's draft recruitment and selection guidance is the main reference; the ICO says its consultation on the draft has closed and the final version will follow. Points from it that affect the website:

• Be clear about speculative CVs. The ICO says you should "make it clear to candidates whether you consider unsolicited applications", cover them in your retention policy, and "explain how you deal with unsolicited applications in your privacy notice". If you receive information you do not plan to use, "you must securely delete it as soon as possible."
• Set retention periods. The ICO's page on keeping recruitment records says the law "does not specify timescales" but "you must not keep information for longer than you need to", and you should "set clear retention periods". In general, it says, you should not keep it "beyond the statutory period in which a legal claim can potentially be brought".
• Say so up front if you will keep people on file. To keep candidates' details for a new purpose, such as future vacancies, the ICO says you must have "previously informed candidates" and explained that purpose.

Our guides to privacy policy basics and the legal pages a website needs cover the wider privacy notice.

JobPosting structured data

Google's job search experience can show your roles with your logo and job details, and job seekers can filter them by criteria such as location or job title. To be eligible, each job page needs JobPosting structured data. As with all structured data, eligibility is not a guarantee of being shown.

Google lists these required properties:

• title, description (the full advert in HTML, which "can't be the same as the title") and datePosted;
• hiringOrganization, which "must be the name of the company" rather than a specific branch;
• jobLocation, the place the employee will report to work, with addressCountry included.

Useful recommended properties include validThrough (the closing date), employmentType, baseSalary ("Only employers can provide baseSalary") and directApply. For fully remote jobs, Google says to set jobLocationType to TELECOMMUTE and give at least one country in applicantLocationRequirements; "Jobs marked as TELECOMMUTE must be fully remote."

The markup "must appear on the same page as the job description that job seekers can read in their browser", and should match it. Google says its general structured data guidelines and spam policies also apply, and that violations "may include taking manual action". Test each template with the Rich Results Test before launch. Our guide to structured data for small business websites explains the basics.

Closing a job when it is filled

Old adverts annoy candidates and break Google's rules. Its content policies say "We don't allow expired job postings" and "Ideally you should remove expired job postings from your website." The documentation also warns: "Failure to take timely action on expired jobs may result in a manual action."

To take a job down, Google lists three options:

• make sure validThrough is set and in the past;
• remove the page "so that requesting it returns a 404 or 410 status code";
• remove the JobPosting structured data from the page.

If you leave a closed advert up with a note that the role is filled, take the markup off or set validThrough in the past. Our guide to 404s and redirects explains when a 404 or 410 is right.

Then tell Google. Google recommends its Indexing API for job posting URLs "because the Indexing API prompts Googlebot to crawl your page sooner", while still submitting a sitemap with accurate lastmod dates. The Indexing API quickstart notes that it "can only be used to crawl pages with either JobPosting or BroadcastEvent embedded in a VideoObject".

After launch, check Search Console for job posting errors such as "JobPosting structured data on expired job". Our guide to Google Search Console covers the reports and manual action alerts.

A checklist

• Each open role has its own public page with the full advert and a way to apply.
• The careers page lists current roles and says what happens when there are none.
• Adverts have plain titles, location, terms and wording checked for discrimination.
• The form asks only for what the first stage needs and works by keyboard and on phones.
• A privacy notice explains how applications, speculative CVs and retention are handled.
• JobPosting markup is on job pages only, matches the visible text and passes the Rich Results Test.
• Someone removes or expires each job as soon as it is filled, and the sitemap is updated.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need a separate page for each job?

It is the best approach. Each role gets its own address to share, and Google says JobPosting structured data belongs on the page for a single job, not on a page that lists several jobs.

Do we have to show the salary?

Google does not require it: baseSalary is a recommended property, not a required one, and only employers can provide it. Some places have their own pay transparency rules, so check the law where you hire.

Can we leave old job adverts on the site?

Google's job posting policies do not allow expired job postings. Ideally remove the page; if you keep it, remove the JobPosting markup or set validThrough to a date in the past, and tell Google through the Indexing API or your sitemap.

How long can we keep applications from unsuccessful candidates?

UK data protection law does not set a fixed period. The ICO's draft guidance says to set clear retention periods and, in general, not to keep records beyond the statutory period in which a claim about the recruitment could be brought.

Can we ask for a date of birth or health details on the application form?

Usually not. GOV.UK says to ask for a date of birth only if the job has an age requirement, and the ICO says to ask about health only when it is relevant to the role and at the stage you need it.

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