“Just be authentic.”
It’s become the default advice in employer branding – harmless, overused, and mostly meaningless.
What started as a call to show the real employee experience has turned into a buzzword slapped on every EVP slide deck, every careers site tagline, and every EVP LinkedIn post. Authenticity has lost its bite. And if we’re not careful, so will your employer brand.
We’ve Watered It Down
The problem with ‘authenticity’ is that no one disagrees with it. It’s a platitude. Like “integrity” on a values poster – it sounds good but tells you nothing.
Worse, it’s often used as a shield to avoid making strategic decisions. Leaders say, “Let’s just be authentic,” as a way to dodge sharper, riskier positioning. The result? Employer brands that are so neutral and inoffensive they’re forgettable.
If you’re not clear about what you stand for – what you give, what you demand, and who you’re not for – then ‘authenticity’ just becomes a style, not a strategy.
Real Authenticity Requires Friction
An employer brand that’s actually authentic should polarise a little. It should speak clearly to the people who’ll thrive in your environment – and just as clearly to those who won’t. That means surfacing your tensions, not smoothing them out. It means being honest about the trade-offs: fast growth with high ambiguity, strong purpose with lower pay, freedom with accountability. It’s not about showing everything. It’s about showing the right things – the meaningful signals that help people self-select in or out. That’s what builds trust. Not glossy culture videos with no edge. ‘Have you got any examples?’ I hear you say. Yes – there are plenty of organisations being bold and being authentic to brand. Here are a couple…
Ryanair (budget UK airline)
What they did:
Ryanair’s recruitment marketing mirrors its famously cheeky, no-frills consumer tone. Their employer branding doesn’t try to position them as warm-and-fuzzy – it leans into pace, intensity, and high standards. They’ve run campaigns with lines like “Turbulence ahead? Good,” positioning pressure as a feature, not a bug.Why it works:
It’s sharply aligned with their external brand. They attract people who thrive in that kind of environment and filter out those who wouldn’t.
Patagonia
What they did:
Patagonia’s employer brand is indistinguishable from its consumer brand. They spotlight activism, environmental impact, and even say in interviews: “If you just want a job, this isn’t the place for you.” Their career site has statements about accountability, mission, and sometimes even anti-corporate sentiment.Why it works:
It’s not “authentic” because it’s casual – it’s authentic because it’s consistent, courageous, and makes you opt-in or out.
Who Gives A Crap
What they did:
Their careers page, job ads, and internal culture content all match their consumer tone – quirky, transparent, and purpose-led. They openly talk about their mission (to improve global sanitation) and use playful, irreverent language in their recruitment content. But they’re also clear about expectations: remote-first work, strong accountability, and rapid growth challenges.Why it works:
It doesn’t just “look” authentic—it feels like the brand you buy from. Same tone, same values, same level of honesty. It attracts people who believe in the mission and are OK with the chaos that comes with it.
Lion
What they did:
Lion’s employer brand leads with bold, highly polished imagery—studio-shot and retouched, complete with playful bubbles that echo the effervescence of their product brands. The creative style mirrors their consumer advertising and captures the same sense of energy and enjoyment. This is complemented by fly-on-the-wall photography and video that shows everyday moments at work, giving a more rounded view of life inside Lion. The tagline, “Don’t settle for ordinary,” reinforces the idea that a career here should be as fun and rewarding as the products they create.Why it works:
The visual identity is authentic to the brand—confident, vibrant, and unmistakably Lion. By combining stylised, on-brand creative with unscripted, real-life content, Lion brings its EVP to life, showing both the spirit and the substance of what it eans to be at the heart of good times. www.lioncareers.com
The New Standard:
Clarity Over Comfort
In a world where AI is rewriting roles, people are burned out, and job hopping is the norm, what people want isn’t performative authenticity. It’s clarity.- Clarity about your expectations.
- Clarity about your culture.
- Clarity about what stays true—even when everything else is shifting.
The Takeaway
If your employer brand leans on ‘authenticity’ as its main strength, it’s time for a rethink. Strip back the nice-to-haves and get to the sharp stuff:- What do we value so much it makes us hard to work with?
- What do people give, and what do they get in return?
- What behaviours are rewarded? What’s non-negotiable?
