Employer Branding in the AI-Driven Talent Market: Key Takeaways from Hung Lee & Happydance

I spent the afternoon at a brilliant event with Hung Lee and the Happydance Careers Websites team on “Employer Branding in the AI-driven talent market”.

Job seekers used to start with job boards. Now they start with AI. Job boards and Glassdoor are out - Reddit and Open AI is in.

A few takeaways that really stuck:

1 | Job seekers are no longer starting on job boards. They’re asking AI: “What’s this company actually like to work for?”. Employer branding has shifted from SEO to AI-driven search (GEO / AEO). If AI can’t understand or find you, it can’t recommend you.

2 | Stop selling “culture”. Start explaining who thrives here, and who doesn’t.

3 | Getting your CEO on a podcast or speaking at events is a great way to drum up interest from candidates who follow the latest trends. Founder-led brands matter more than ever. As tech brands homogenise, people want to work for inspiring leaders, not faceless platforms.

4 | We’ve moved past ping-pong tables and bean bags. Candidates want to know what the work is really like in the office.

5 | Glassdoor is losing relevance fast. It’s increasingly pay-to-play.

6 | Reddit now has a deal with OpenAI, making it a serious competitor in “what’s it like to work there?” It's becoming the fastest-growing network for job hunters.

7 | In the US, OpenAI is already experimenting with job advert slots. That should make every TA team pay attention.

8 | Offline matters again. The companies winning are hosting events, meeting people, and cutting through online noise… exactly what I’m advising candidates to do to land roles today.

My personal take is that company websites and employer branding feel less creative than five or 10 years ago, in this new AI talent automation market, the brand is becoming invisible.

Featuring Bryan Adams, Jim Taylor and Ben Keighley.