The Best EVP Ever, Believe Me!
I’m over the Employer Value Proposition (EVP).
There, I said it. Send in the troops. Tell me how great your EVP is and how it changes everything for everyone. How it’s a magical mash of words that reflects your team, your values, and every person who works at your company. Unicorn paragraphs make people apply.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Don’t get me wrong, I think there’s some value in an EVP. I just think they’re getting way too much credit, especially when the copy for most of them is a cliché fest. No joke, you can look at 30 of the most admired companies in the world and literally write an EVP that summarizes all of them.
The amazing Melissa did that for us, actually, and here’s what she found:
Over a third of the companies analyzed used these words in nearly the same exact way, and all of them think they are “best in class” and “stand out.”
Change
Work
Us, you, with
World
Ever
Yet we’re still talking about the EVP like it’s critical for success – and if you are, you’re giving that paragraph way too much credit.
You’re spending too much time and money worrying about how you phrase “collaborative environment” and sound like everyone else.
Why? My friend Ben Gledhill said it best:
“An EVP to most is simply getting paid on time & being safe. That is today’s working reality.”
Let’s get real about one thing: if you’re sitting in some cushy, six-figure job with benefits and perks, you are living a really privileged life. Most people don’t have the choice to work from home or call in sick. Most people (in the United States, at least) are one healthcare crisis away from going bankrupt.
And there you are spending three weeks in a conference room to write a paragraph that’s going to tell me about your collaborative, inspired approach to creating impact.
recruiting Recruiting Voice Recruitment Marketing Advice cliche phrases in recruiting employer brand EVP
Kat Kibben View All →
Kat Kibben [they/them] is a keynote speaker, writing expert, and LGBTQIA+ advocate who teaches hiring teams how to write inclusive job postings that will get the right person to apply faster.
Before founding Three Ears Media, Katrina was a CMO, Technical Copywriter, and Managing Editor for leading companies like Monster, Care.com, and Randstad Worldwide. With 15+ years of recruitment marketing and training experience, Katrina knows how to turn talented recruiting teams into talented writers who write for people, not about work.
Today, Katrina is frequently featured as an HR and recruiting expert in publications like The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. They’ve been named to numerous lists, including LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Job Search & Careers. When not speaking, writing, or training, you’ll find Katrina traveling the country in their van or spending some much needed downtime with the dogs that inspired the name Three Ears Media.