Your Career Website: a Key Touchpoint in the Candidate Journey
Your career website isn’t just a job board, it's a strategic channel that supports candidates throughout their decision-making process.
According to the 2025 Potentialpark Talent Communication Study, candidates rely on career websites not just once, but throughout their entire job search journey. From exploring who you are to preparing for an interview, your website plays a decisive role in how candidates perceive your company. At every stage, your website shapes their perception and influences their next step.
When Do Candidates Visit Your Career Website?
The 2025 Potentialpark global insights show
36% go to the website when they first hear about a company or job
56% visit before deciding to apply, to learn more about the company
53% use them while applying for jobs
33% visit when preparing for an interview
Interestingly, the data also highlights some differences in how men and women engage with career websites. Overall, women are more likely to visit career websites in the four steps of their job search journey.
Women are more likely to visit career websites before deciding to apply (58% of women vs. 53% of men)
Women are also more likely to use it when preparing for an interview (35% of women vs. 32% of men).
Men and women use career websites at nearly the same rate when applying for jobs (53% and 54%, respectively).
This indicates that your career website is not a one-time destination, but rather a recurring and trusted source of information across different stages. Your career website should not only be informative and up to date, it must also be designed to support candidates continuously, from first impression to final interview preparation.
What Do Candidates Expect to Find: Top 3 Career Website Features
The 2025 Potentialpark Talent Communication Study identifies the most important types of content and functionalities - what Potentialpark calls features - that candidates expect to find on a company’s career website. The top 3 features have consistently been ranked the highest for two consecutive years (2024 and 2025), reinforcing their importance in the candidate experience. Let’s look together at the top 3 and how they can be implemented.
Number 1 Feature: Facts and Basic Information About the Company
Candidates want to understand who you are, what your company does, and what makes you unique. This includes:
A short and clear company overview
Key facts and figures
Information about locations, products, services, and brands
This content sets the foundation for trust and credibility, especially for candidates who are encountering your company for the first time.
Best Practice:
CGI, Sweden - Ranked #7 in the 2025 Sweden Potentialpark Ranking and #9 in the Career Website Ranking
CGI shares key facts such as founding year, global presence, and employee numbers helping candidates quickly understand the company’s scale and reach, explore this best practice here.
Number 2 Feature: A General Search Function
Easy navigation is a must. Candidates want to quickly find the content that matters to them, whether it’s job openings, application tips, or insights into your company culture.
A visible, intuitive, and functional search bar that allows users to search across all content on the site is essential to support their exploration.
Best Practice:
NN-Group -#20 in the 2025 Europe Potentialpark Ranking and #3 in Career Website
NN-Group offers a smart search function which redirects to relevant pages, making navigation easier and more intuitive for candidates, explore this best practice here.
Number 3 Feature: Information About Salary Ranges
Salary transparency remains a top priority for candidates — and a crucial factor in whether they will apply. Rather than waiting until the job offer stage or hiding it deep within job ads, forward-thinking employers are placing salary information directly on their career websites.
Sharing salary ranges not only supports candidate decision-making but also builds trust and strengthens your employer brand. Our partner Pihr explores this important topic further in their article on how salary transparency impacts employer branding.
Best Practice:
Barclays - Ranked #61 in the 2025 Europe Potentialpark Ranking and #12 in Career Website
Barclays stands out by clearly communicating salary expectations for its Foundation Apprenticeships, promoting transparency and trust, explore this best practice here.
Final Thoughts
The data is clear: candidates rely on your career website as a central touchpoint in their job search. It’s where they go to learn, evaluate, apply, and prepare, often more than once.
According to the global insights from the 2025 Potentialpark Talent Communication Study, the most effective career websites are those that communicate transparently, are easy to navigate, and provide the right information at the right time.
If you want to understand how your career website compares and how you can improve it with candidate expectations in mind, explore our Career Website Feature Guide with over 4,500 best practices across industries and countries.
Want to explore how Potentialpark helps employers create candidate experiences that truly work? Reach out to us or directly to your account manager.