The verdict in three sentences
A 250-person aerospace engineering firm in the New York area hiring 40 engineers a year often spends well over USD 160,000 annually on agency fees, billed at 18 to 22% of first-year base salary. A careers site connected to the ATS, with role pages and video testimonials, costs EUR 12,000 to 28,000 in 2026 (about USD 13,000 to 30,000). If the site cuts the cost per application threefold, it pays back after 4 direct hires.
Why engineers do not apply through your Careers page
A senior embedded systems or structural engineer gets several approaches a month. Before replying, they check the employer's site on their phone. What they usually find: a Join Us page with three generic paragraphs and a link to a job list hosted elsewhere, with no salary, no team, no project.
An employer branding site answers the questions they actually ask: which programs will I work on, with whom, how many remote days, what salary range, what prospects after 3 years. Companies that display salary ranges and engineer testimonials commonly see 30 to 50% more qualified applications on the same roles.
| Component | What it delivers | Indicative 2026 cost (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Role pages (6 to 10 families: systems, structures, quality, testing...) | Ranking on engineering job searches, candidate projection | 2,500 to 5,000 |
| ATS connection (Welcome to the Jungle, Flatchr, Teamtailor, Greenhouse) | Jobs synced automatically, 2-minute application | 1,500 to 4,000 |
| Video testimonials (4 to 6 portraits of 90 s) | Social proof, higher application rate | 3,000 to 7,000 |
| Design and responsive templates | Mobile experience, brand consistency | 2,500 to 6,000 |
| Benefits, process and candidate FAQ pages | Fewer drop-offs, fewer questions to HR | 1,000 to 2,500 |
| Analytics by source and by job | Real cost per application tracking | 800 to 1,500 |
| HR training and launch | Autonomy to publish jobs and news | 700 to 2,000 |
| Total | 12,000 to 28,000 |
The real calculation: cost per application and cost per hire
The useful comparison is not the price of the site but the cost of a hire by channel. 2026 orders of magnitude for a mid-level engineer at the equivalent of EUR 48,000 base salary:
| Channel | Cost per qualified application | Cost per hire | Average time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruitment agency (20%) | not applicable | EUR 9,600 | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Paid job boards (sponsored ads) | EUR 60 to 120 | EUR 3,500 to 6,000 | 8 to 12 weeks |
| LinkedIn Recruiter + ads | EUR 50 to 90 | EUR 3,000 to 5,000 | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Careers site + SEO + referrals | EUR 15 to 35 | EUR 1,200 to 2,500 | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Employer profile on a job platform only | EUR 30 to 60 | EUR 2,000 to 3,500 | 8 to 10 weeks |
The careers site does not replace every channel. It becomes the shared destination: every ad, every LinkedIn post and every referral points to pages that convert. That is what cuts cost per application threefold within 6 to 12 months.
What the brief must include
Three requirements separate a showcase from a recruiting tool. First, ATS sync: a job created in Teamtailor or Greenhouse must appear on the site within an hour, with JobPosting structured data for Google for Jobs. Second, a short form: resume and contact details, no account creation, under 2 minutes on mobile. Third, measurement: every application must be tied to its source to calculate the real cost per channel.
Mini case study
Rachel, head of people at a 250-person aerospace firm near New York, hires 40 engineers a year, 16 of them through agencies at 20% of an average salary equivalent to EUR 48,000. Annual agency cost: 16 x 9,600 = EUR 153,600.
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She invests EUR 22,000 in a careers site, plus EUR 250 a month in maintenance, i.e. EUR 25,000 in year one. A direct hire through the site costs her about EUR 2,000 (ads, HR time, amortised video). Saving per role: 9,600 - 2,000 = EUR 7,600.
- Break-even: 25,000 / 7,600 = 3.3, so 4 direct hires.
- If 8 of the 16 agency hires move to the site in year one, net savings reach 8 x 7,600 - 25,000 = EUR 35,800.
FAQ
Should salaries be shown on the careers site?
Yes, as ranges. New York City and New York State pay transparency laws already require ranges in job ads, and listings with ranges receive on average 20 to 30% more applications.
Can my ATS feed the site automatically?
Welcome to the Jungle, Flatchr, Teamtailor and Greenhouse offer APIs or XML feeds. Integration costs EUR 1,500 to 4,000 depending on how custom the filters and job pages are.
How long does launch take?
Plan 8 to 12 weeks, including 2 to 3 weeks to shoot and edit video testimonials. The shoot must be scheduled during the design phase.
Should the careers site be separate from the corporate site?
A subdomain or a dedicated section both work. A section of the main site benefits from its SEO authority, which speeds up rankings by 2 to 4 months.
What maintenance budget should I plan?
About EUR 150 to 400 a month for hosting, updates, ATS sync monitoring and 1 to 2 hours of improvements.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your annual hiring volume and your ATS, and we will price a careers site between EUR 12,000 and 28,000, delivered in 8 to 12 weeks, with a per-role ROI calculation. 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.
