A recent study by AI career tool Kickresume reveals a significant mismatch between what companies highlight as core values and what job seekers actually prioritise when evaluating employers. After analysing the LinkedIn descriptions of 158 global companies, the research found that 23% of organisations fail to reflect any of the top six job seeker priority values, while 50% of what job seekers want is largely absent from most corporate value statements.
While companies often promote values like Emphasis on Quality (69%), Customer Focus (56.3%), and Innovation (54.4%), job seekers are more concerned with Purpose & Mission (46.2%), Work-Life Balance (36.7%), and Corporate Social Responsibility (31.6%). Even more notably, critical workforce-related values such as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (18.4%), Career Pathing (2.5%), and Learning & Development (1.9%) are rarely mentioned.
The gap between employee expectations and corporate messaging poses a risk for talent attraction and employer branding. Despite broader initiatives toward equitable and sustainable employment practices, many companies underutilise their public platforms, like LinkedIn, to convey their internal culture and workforce commitments.
Nike and HDFC Bank emerged as top performers in aligning values with job seeker priorities, each reflecting four of the six top candidate values.
Kickresume’s CEO Peter Duris noted, “By including more of the values that matter most to job seekers, companies could attract more aligned, motivated candidates.”