You don't want applications
You want hires

Impatient for better hiring?

Stop chasing applications.

Instead, attract amazing hires, faster and cheaper.

When you have a strong talent strategy:

🧲 You're attracting instead of chasing talent
🤝 You're building relationships instead of transactions
❣️ Hiring managers get better hires instead of more applications
🏁 You can take advantage of a useful pipeline of talent
💰 You'll save money through more offer acceptances

Your employer brand is the core of your talent strategy. It helps you focus on the best audiences, increases outreach conversion, and makes more people say "YES!" when you offer them a role.

It lowers overall costs, helps build connections to the business, and makes every recruiter, sourcer, and hiring manager more effective.

And the best part? Any company, no matter the size or industry, can create hiring success by leveraging their employer brand.

Employer branding is for every company

Here's a secret: Smaller companies, because they are more focused, because every hire has the potential to be transformative, because they can challenge expectations, they can do employer branding better than anyone.

Got questions? I'd love to answer them. Put time on our calendars here. 

LET'S TALK

Are you a Talent Acquisition Change Agent? Then this is the newsletter for you.

THE CHANGE AGENT
NEWSLETTER. IT'S FREE!

Why Employer Brand Labs?

Employer Brand Labs was born out of a mission to address two critical issues:

Building Remarkable Employer Brands: We're here to help you create actionable, unifying employer brands that attract the ideal candidates, cut recruiting costs, and drive measurable business outcomes at every organizational level.

Accessible Branding for All Companies: Our approach isn't for the giants; it's for everyone—from small businesses to those in "boring" industries and heavily regulated spaces. We believe every company deserves a standout employer brand, regardless of budget constraints.

I specialize in helping companies recruit and hire more effectively by re-writing the rules of employer branding. By focusing on "what's the least amount of branding that will create the maximum impact?" I can create better hiring for a dramatically lower cost than typical employer branding.

This isn't a hiring solution, it's a business solution.

If “the usual way to recruit” actually worked, why aren’t we a lot happier at work?

Collecting applications, spamming strangers, job postings that say nothing, burnt-out recruiters and resentful hiring managers.

Traditional recruitment methods aren't working. For anyone.

We serve companies who are ready to challenge the status quo and stand out from the crowd. 

The standard EVP process was never meant for everyone. Your challenges aren’t the same as a 150,000-employee global giant, so why would you take the same approach they do? Your unique challenges deserve a tailored approach, not a cookie-cutter solution.

The goal is simple: Deliver tangible, game-changing results for your company, not just a presentation deck with pretty words. It's time to revolutionize your hiring game with Employer Brand Labs. Let's make your brand work for you! 

Many paths to the same goal

There is no one way to build your employer brand and upgrade your hiring. Here are some options and price points on how I can help.

Free resources: Podcasts, videos, ebooks and a newsletter to help you understand what employer branding can do, how it grows businesses, and gives TA leaders the tools to create change. Download great stuff from my employer brand resources page.

Quick jumpstarts. I have a series of 1-hour one-demand video courses around how to “sell” employer brand to your leadership, how to make your social media more useful and other subjects. Check out my store to see the entire class list that start at $25 each. Or you can book a quick 30-minute “get unstuck” call with me for $75.

Deep dive. Let’s spend 75 minutes together understanding your challenges and opportunities. From how to use an existing employer brand and how to get your hiring managers excited for the brand to conversations that get leadership to see your worth in a whole new light, no topics are out of bounds. Sessions are $400. Details here.

Coaching retainer. Across two months, we’ll book 6 hour-long calls to break down your TA issues, and find ways to quickly and effectively (and usually cheaply) make an obvious difference. Let’s bring in your team and brainstorm solutions together. A standard retainer costs $3,000 and includes time for me to do deeper research on your challengers, tools, and solution options. More info here.

Team training. This is pure employer brand building and activation planning starting at $7,500. Why is it a fraction of what other companies charge for an EVP? Because it gets built by you and a select group of your HRBPs, marketers, recruiters and comms folks. You’ll use the same methodology and process that has built dozens of employer brand, but with the added value of your intimate knowledge of the company. Check out my team training page.

Minimum effective employer brand. Technically isn’t “instant employer brand,” but it is the quickest solution to stand out and attract top-notch hires. You’re only three weeks from your own custom-made employer brand for $9,500-11,500. Learn more here.

“Done for you” hiring results. For those seeking tangible hiring results, consider the "Done for You" Hiring Results solution. Over a 6-month period, we focus on achieving measurable outcomes through employer branding development and activation. The best part? You only pay if we meet your specific targets. Learn more.

Not sure where to start? Let's book some time to define a scope and solution.

LET'S TALK

Selecting an employer brand partner can be tough. Check out this EB buyer's guide.

EVP BUYERS GUIDE

Helping companies achieve more through their employer brand

Can you afford a boring employer brand?

Right now, your company already has an employer brand: the perception of what it must be like to work at your company. It’s a perception that comes from every single thing you do, from your recruiting and marketing to your products and customer service. The question is: are you shaping it to impact your company?

Your employer brand will attract the kinds of people your hiring managers would love to hire, but it will also increase retention, strengthen your culture, increase the level of talent you bring in, support your consumer marketing, and impress your executive leadership.

In other words, it’s too important to have an employer brand that isn’t working for you.

What clients and students have said

“Whether you are a talent acquisition professional with an interest in employer brand or an experienced employer brander who is looking for tools to set your organization up for recruiting success, this course is for you. I can guarantee that you will walk away from this course wishing someone had given you these tools years ago.”
- Andrea Matrangolo, Director of Talent and Brand
“110% recommend participating in this course! We got so much out of it and James was unreal. So patient, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, engaging, all the other great words! It really helped us open our eyes to what was already in front of us and really promote the great things that we offer!”
- Olivia M., Human Resources Officer
“Thank you James for taking us on this journey. A step-by-step process with the right speed, the right methods and the right focus to find all the valuable insights in its own company. Thank you again, so much appreciated.”
- Theresa H., Employer Brand Manager
“EVP work doesn't have to be overly arduous and expensive; it can be done with your organization's support and guidance from what was learned in this class.”
- Rachel S., Global Employer Brand Manager
“The theory side was clear and concise and the homework to follow up helped me understand and apply the concepts learned. I definitely feel much more confident in knowing where to start and I'm now able to present all my findings to our Marketing team to create our EVP.”
- Isabel Garza, Talent Acquisition Team Leader at Detector Inspector
“This is an amazing tool professionally and personally. It helped broaden my mindset outside of just recruiting and helped me have a bigger point of view for the business”
- Erin Johnson, Director of Global Talent Acquisition at ESO
“If you get the chance to be part of an EVP Masterclass, do it. You won't regret it!”
- Kelly C., People and Performance Manager

Every company has an employer brand that will drive business outcomes. That's not a question.

The question is whether or not you intentionally use your brand. If you consider what your hiring goals are, who make the best hires, and what strategy will bring them to you.

With the right branding, your recruiting gets easier.

BOOK TIME NOW

More resources to help you on your employer brand and talent strategy journey

Hi. I'm James Ellis.

Having spent the better part of a decade developing employer brands and EVPs for Groupon, Roku, Enova, Recursion, TradeShift, SavATree, Gearset, CreditShop, and others, I focus exclusively on helping companies build and activate their employer brand so that they can compete (and win) against much larger companies. How? By creating and growing the next generation of employer brand leaders, managers, and specialists.

That's why Google calls me the employer brand nerd.

-James Ellis

Employer Brand Labs, LLC

EBL is dedicated to bringing the power and value of employer branding to every single company, regardless of size, industry, or region.

You can be an employer not just of "choice," but of desire.

If you're ready to start attracting great talent to you instead of chasing it, reach out.
Contact:
James Ellis [LinkedIn]
[employerbrandnerd@gmail.com]
421 W Melrose St
Chicago, IL 60657