The verdict in three sentences
A 900-employee company hiring 60 technicians and engineers a year often spends more than EUR 270,000 a year on hiring costs, mostly agencies and job boards. A careers site costing EUR 15,000 to 35,000 excl. VAT, connected to your ATS, can bring the average cost per hire down from EUR 4,500 to EUR 2,800 by shifting applications to direct channels. Payback is measured in months, not years, provided the site is treated as a recruiting tool rather than an HR showcase.
Why your "Join us" page is no longer enough
In Dublin, competition for technical profiles is fierce: a maintenance technician or engineer can also target multinationals in the same business parks with salaries 15 to 25 % higher. Candidates compare your roles, career paths and daily life before they even apply. A single page with three PDF job ads drives them away.
| Element | Basic careers page | Dedicated careers site |
|---|---|---|
| Job ads | Static list, manual updates | Automatic ATS feed, filters by role and site |
| Role content | None | 8 to 12 role pages with video testimonials |
| Application | Email or long form | 3-minute application, mobile CV upload |
| Job SEO | Weak | JobPosting markup, Google for Jobs |
| Measurement | None | Source of every application tracked |
| Languages | English only | EN plus key languages for EU talent |
2026 budget: site and ATS integration
The amounts below are 2026 orders of magnitude for a mid-sized European company.
| Item | Range excl. VAT | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Core careers site (10 to 15 pages) | EUR 15,000 to 20,000 | Role pages, locations, values |
| Advanced version (multilingual, videos, paths) | EUR 25,000 to 35,000 | 2-day shoot included |
| Welcome to the Jungle ATS integration | EUR 2,000 to 4,000 | Job feed and application redirect |
| Flatchr or equivalent ATS integration | EUR 3,000 to 6,000 | API, native application on the site |
| Google for Jobs markup | Included or EUR 800 | Free visibility in Google |
| Annual maintenance and content | EUR 3,000 to 6,000 | New role pages, updates |
ATS integration is the technical point that makes the difference: without it, recruiters re-type job ads and the site goes stale within three months.
Calculating cost per hire
| Indicator | Before | After 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Technical hires per year | 60 | 60 |
| Share via agencies (EUR 18,000 average) | 10 % | 4 % |
| Share via paid job boards | 55 % | 35 % |
| Share via direct applications and referrals | 35 % | 61 % |
| Average cost per hire | EUR 4,500 | EUR 2,800 |
| Total annual cost | EUR 270,000 | EUR 168,000 |
The gain comes mainly from avoided agency hires: each agency placement avoided saves about EUR 18,000 in fees.
10-week schedule
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Weeks 1 and 2: interviews with 10 to 15 employees and managers to build the employer value proposition. Weeks 3 and 4: sitemap, mock-ups and video shoot. Weeks 5 to 8: development and ATS connection. Weeks 9 and 10: testing with recruiters, Google for Jobs markup and go-live.
Mini case study
Aoife, HR director of an industrial company near Dublin (900 employees), invests EUR 28,000 excl. VAT in a multilingual site and EUR 4,500 of Flatchr integration, i.e. EUR 32,500. Across the year's 60 hires, average cost per hire drops from EUR 4,500 to EUR 2,800, i.e. EUR 102,000 saved over the year. After EUR 4,000 of maintenance, the net first-year gain reaches EUR 65,500. Average time to hire also falls from 62 to 45 days, which reduces overtime on understaffed lines.
FAQ
What budget for a mid-sized company careers site in 2026?
Between EUR 15,000 and 35,000 excl. VAT depending on the number of role pages, languages and video production. Add EUR 2,000 to 6,000 for ATS integration.
Do we need to change ATS to get a careers site?
In most cases no. Welcome to the Jungle, Flatchr and most ATS offer a job feed or an API, so you keep your current processes and display jobs on your site with less than 2 weeks of development.
How fast does cost per hire fall?
First effects appear after 3 to 4 months, once Google for Jobs indexing and role content take hold. The EUR 2,800 per hire target is an achievable order of magnitude over 12 months.
Is a multilingual version useful in Dublin?
Yes if you recruit across the EU. It adds roughly EUR 4,000 to 7,000 excl. VAT per language for translation and integration.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your hiring volume, your ATS and your hard-to-fill roles: we scope a careers site between EUR 15,000 and 35,000, delivered in 10 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
