The most expensive lie on your career site costs you nothing to fix.

It's two words: "Great culture."

Every company says it. The most toxic workplaces say it. The best places to work say it. It means exactly nothing — and candidates know it.

Here's what it actually does: it hands the candidate a blank canvas and asks them to paint a picture of your company using their worst fears and best guesses. The best candidates don't do that work. They just leave.

Vagueness isn't safe. It's a tax.

Every generic claim on your career site increases the cognitive load of the decision to choose you. And the harder the decision, the more likely they pick someone else — or no one yet.

I've watched companies spend six months wordsmithing their EVP into something so legally safe and politically palatable that it could describe any company on earth. Then they wonder why it doesn't convert.

Here's the fix — and it takes about 10 minutes:

Delete "we have a great culture." Replace it with one specific behavior and one proof point.

Example: "We debate hard and decide fast. Most decisions get made in a week."

Now I know something real. Now I can bet on that.

Your EVP is a wager. Don't ask candidates to bet their career on a phrase that means nothing.

What's the vaguest line on your career site right now — and what's the true, specific thing hiding behind it?

Watch the video