Employer Value Proposition (EVP): the unique, credible promise an organisation makes to current and prospective employees about the work, culture, growth and rewards on offer. Think of it as your signature pitch.
Employee Value Proposition (eVP): what candidates bring in return - skills, behaviours, potential, cultural contribution and flexibility.
Both matter. But only one side can set the tone, sequence and experience of recruitment. That’s the employer. Just as a marketer doesn’t wait for customers to “propose” a purchase, talent teams cannot wait for candidates to construct the case for joining. The onus is on you to articulate the value, reduce friction and make saying “yes” easy.
Employers control the funnel: the job ad, the ATS flow, the interviewers, the questions, the timelines and the offer format. With control comes responsibility. If candidates ghost, stall or drop out, that’s usually a signal your proposition or process isn’t landing.
High-calibre people have options. They compare roles like consumers compare products. If your EVP is vague, generic or hidden behind a clunky process, they’ll move on. The best candidates rarely fight through poor experiences.
Great offers remove risk for the buyer. In recruitment the employer is the seller. It’s your job to reduce uncertainty with clarity on impact, progression and flexibility. Expecting candidates to “sell themselves” while you stay generic is a missed opportunity.
The winning mindset: every vacancy is a value exchange you must initiate and prove. That means:
Lead with outcomes, not just duties. Frame the first 90 days and the transformation this person will drive.
Be transparent on growth. Show the routes to mastery, mentoring and internal mobility.
Quantify flexibility. State what hybrid actually means, what core hours are, and how you support life outside work.
Evidence your culture. Use real stories, manager profiles and team rituals. Candidates trust specifics over slogans.
If the EVP is your promise, the process is the proof. Here’s how to tailor it.
Open with a candidate-centred headline: “Lead our data platform to 10x scale in 12 months” beats “Senior Data Engineer”.
Include a value stack: mission, impact, manager quality, learning budget, tools, flexibility, pay range.
Add two proof points: recent team achievement and a brief quote from the hiring manager.
One-screen apply with CV, LinkedIn or portfolio import.
Auto-response that sells: confirm receipt and reiterate the top 3 reasons to join, plus the timeline.
Structured screening: 3–5 must-haves mapped to the role outcomes, not a laundry list.
Status visibility: let candidates see exactly where they are and what’s next.
Start with your proposal: a crisp 3-minute pitch on mission, impact and growth.
Job trials > brainteasers: give a realistic work sample with clear success criteria and pay for substantial tasks.
Consistency: scorecards tied to outcomes to reduce bias and accelerate decisions.
Manager magnetism: coach interviewers to sell as well as assess. Candidates leave remembering people, not processes.
Narrative first, numbers second: lead with the story of their impact and trajectory, then present a clear, itemised package.
Time-boxed and tidy: expiry dates focus decisions, but remain human. Offer a direct line to the hiring manager for questions.
On-ramp detail: include a draft 30/60/90 plan and a buddy intro to reduce anxiety.
A proposal only works if it’s true. Close the loop with:
Voice of employee: quarterly pulse on what keeps people here and what would make them leave.
Join/decline interviews: ask new joiners and near-miss candidates which parts of your proposition resonated or fell flat.
Pay and progression transparency: publish bands internally and provide promotion criteria upfront. It signals fairness and reduces negotiation friction later.
What gets measured gets improved. Track:
Application-to-interview conversion by role and channel: a clean read on whether your ad and process sell the opportunity.
Offer acceptance rate and time to yes: direct indicators of proposal strength.
Candidate NPS at each stage: qualitative gold for quick wins.
Quality of hire via 90-day performance and retention: the long-term truth.
Yes, candidates should bring their own eVP: proof of skills, outcomes they’ve delivered, how they’ll raise the bar and where they want to grow. But they can only tailor that effectively when you’ve made your proposal explicit. When employers go first - with clarity, specificity and sincerity - the right candidates reciprocate with rich, relevant evidence. That’s the exchange you want.
If you want the right people to say yes, it’s on you to propose. Own the narrative, design the journey and prove your promise at every touchpoint. Employers who lead with a sharp EVP and an elegant process win talent faster, at lower cost and with higher confidence.
1) What’s the difference between an employer value proposition and an employee value proposition?
An employer value proposition (EVP) is the organisation’s promise to talent — the work, growth and rewards on offer. An employee value proposition (eVP) is what the candidate brings: skills, behaviours and potential. The EVP should lead; the eVP responds.
2) Who should make the “proposal” in recruitment?
The employer. You control the funnel, experience and offer, so the responsibility to articulate value, remove risk and make acceptance easy sits with you.
3) How do we tailor our hiring process to our EVP?
Turn your job ad into a value-led landing page, streamline the ATS for speed and clarity, run structured, selling-as-well-as-assessing interviews, and issue offers with a clear narrative, itemised package and a 30/60/90 plan.
4) How do we know if our proposal is working?
Track application-to-interview conversion, offer acceptance rate and time to yes, candidate NPS by stage, and 90-day performance and retention to validate quality of hire.