Your company’s “About” section reads like it was written by a committee of lawyers with a severe allergy to personality? You might be repelling top talent without realizing it.
As someone who’s analyzed hundreds of LinkedIn company pages, I’m constantly amazed at how even sophisticated businesses fumble this crucial talent attraction tool.
Last month, a tech startup complained they couldn’t attract senior developers despite competitive salaries. One look at their LinkedIn page told the story: stock photos of random people in suits pointing at tablets (they’re a casual-dress company), generic corporate speak, and zero evidence of their supposedly “amazing culture.”
Here are the five most expensive mistakes I see companies making, and how to fix them:
1. The Culture Disconnect Your careers page says “we value work-life balance,” but your company posts show employees “hustling” at 10 PM with pizza. That disconnect isn’t subtle to candidates who are paying attention.
Fix it: Audit your last 20 posts. Do they actually reflect the culture you claim to have? If not, realign your content or rethink your stated values.
2. The Ghost Town Effect Nothing says “we don’t actually care about community” like a company page that posts quarterly earnings reports and nothing else. One manufacturing client wondered why their engagement was non-existent—they’d posted 3 times in 8 months!
Fix it: Commit to a realistic posting cadence (even twice weekly is fine) and stick to it. Consistency trumps frequency.
3. The Employee Silence When your own employees never engage with company content, candidates notice. It screams “people who work here don’t actually like working here.”
Fix it: Create an employee advocacy program with clear guidelines and incentives. One client increased employee engagement by 300% simply by creating a Slack channel where employees could easily find and share company content.
4. The “We’re Hiring!” Broken Record If every post is a job listing, you’re treating LinkedIn like a job board, not a brand-building platform. The companies winning the talent war use 80% of their content to build employer brand and 20% for direct recruiting.
Fix it: For every job posting, plan four pieces of content about company culture, employee spotlights, industry insights, or community involvement.
5. The Metrics Mirage Obsessing over follower count while ignoring engagement rate is like celebrating a packed restaurant where nobody’s eating. One of my clients had 50,000+ followers but averaged 3-5 likes per post—a sign their audience was either purchased or completely disinterested.
Fix it: Track meaningful engagement metrics like comment quality, share rate, and click-throughs to your careers page. These signal actual interest, not just passive following.
Remember: candidates research your company long before they apply. Your LinkedIn page isn’t just marketing—it’s your talent acquisition storefront.
What LinkedIn company pages do you think get it right? Share examples below and let’s highlight some best practices!