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\nadvantage. There is increasing evidence that employers need to place greater emphasis on\ncommunication with talented young people. Jobseekers usually have only basic information and\nvague knowledge and experience about a job and organizational characteristics in the early stage\nof the recruitment process, and in this situation the symbolic functions of a brand are signifi cant.\nNowadays, prospective applicants search for information about future employers by using their\nrecruitment websites and social media. The study identifi es the signifi cant factors (symbolic traits)\nwhich attract Czech university business students to choose their potential employers. The study\nalso contains a survey which investigates the use of social media and recruitment websites in\nrelation to the employer brand, including perceptions of an ideal employer. The study brings results\nabout symbolic employer attributes, which are presented in semantic differentials and contribute\nto research on employer branding by presenting how young people use recruitment websites and\ncompany social media to search for a potential employer. The fi ndings of the conducted study\nsuggest that chosen symbolic traits of an ideal employer are similar in the respondents and are\nindependent of gender and employment status. According to the fi ndings regarding social media\nand recruitment websites, respondents that follow information about job offers on an organization´s\nsocial media profi les don´t fi nd the organization´s profi les on social sites important, whereas\nrespondents that follow information about job offers on an organization´s recruitment websites\nfi nd the organization´s profi les on social sites important. The paper concludes with theoretical and\npractical implications followed by directions for future research.