Employer branding on social media and recruitment websites: symbolic traits of an ideal employer

In recent years, the employer brand has become an important source of a sustainable competitive advantage. There is increasing evidence that employers need to place greater emphasis on communication with talented young people. Jobseekers usually have only basic information and vague knowledge and experience about a job and organizational characteristics in the early stage of the recruitment process, and in this situation the symbolic functions of a brand are signifi cant. Nowadays, prospective applicants search for information about future employers by using their recruitment websites and social media. The study identifi es the signifi cant factors (symbolic traits) which attract Czech university business students to choose their potential employers. The study also contains a survey which investigates the use of social media and recruitment websites in relation to the employer brand, including perceptions of an ideal employer. The study brings results about symbolic employer attributes, which are presented in semantic differentials and contribute to research on employer branding by presenting how young people use recruitment websites and company social media to search for a potential employer. The fi ndings of the conducted study suggest that chosen symbolic traits of an ideal employer are similar in the respondents and are independent of gender and employment status. According to the fi ndings regarding social media and recruitment websites, respondents that follow information about job offers on an organization´s social media profi les don´t fi nd the organization´s profi les on social sites important, whereas respondents that follow information about job offers on an organization´s recruitment websites fi nd the organization´s profi les on social sites important. The paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications followed by directions for future research