The verdict in three sentences
For a 500-employee engineering company in New York hiring 60 engineers a year, the average cost per hire is around 4,700 USD, and agency placements typically cost 20 to 25 % of first-year salary, often 30,000 USD or more for a senior engineer. A dedicated careers site, budgeted at 40,000 to 120,000 USD, connected to the ATS and built around employee videos, targets a realistic goal of 30 % direct applications. The return is measured in agency fees avoided, usually within a few months.
What a careers site needs to attract engineers
An employed engineer does not apply through a three-paragraph Join us page. They look for concrete projects, the team, the tech stack, the hybrid policy and a salary range. The site must answer those questions before they are asked.
| Element | Expected content | Measured effect (2026 order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|
| Job family pages | One page per family: software, hardware, data, QA | SEO traffic on engineering jobs New York |
| Employee videos | 6 to 10 portraits of 90 seconds | Time on site multiplied by 2 to 3 |
| Salary ranges | Displayed by level | 20 to 30 % increase in application rate |
| ATS integration | Synced jobs, application in under 3 minutes | Form abandonment halved |
| Hybrid policy and benefits | Remote days, health plan, learning budget | Better-qualified candidates |
| Internships and new grads | Links with Columbia, NYU, Cornell Tech | Pipeline for future years |
| Referral programme | Form and displayed bonus | 15 to 25 % of hires from referrals |
The ATS integration (Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, Workday) is the main technical item. Without it, jobs are entered twice and the careers page is out of date within three weeks.
Budget: New York market and Kolonell options
The amounts below are 2026 estimates for New York agencies, excluding external video production unless stated.
| Option | Scope | Budget | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market: careers section on corporate site | 3 to 5 pages, standard ATS feed | 40,000 to 60,000 USD | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Market: dedicated careers site | 15 to 25 pages, own design, ATS integration | 60,000 to 95,000 USD | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Market: careers site + video production | Dedicated site + 8 filmed portraits | 95,000 to 120,000 USD | 10 to 14 weeks |
| Kolonell Premium | Next.js careers site, animations, advanced SEO, no ATS | 3,050 to 5,340 EUR (2,000,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA) | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell simple app | ATS connector and applications dashboard | 3,810 to 6,100 EUR (2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA) | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Annual run | Hosting, updates, new videos | 10 to 15 % of build | Ongoing |
On metrics, track from launch the share of direct applications, cost per hire by channel, average time to hire (often 45 to 70 days for these profiles) and the visit-to-application rate, which sits around 3 to 8 % on a well-built careers site.
| Metric | Before careers site | 12-month target |
|---|---|---|
| Share of direct applications | 10 % | 30 % |
| Average cost per hire | 14,000 USD | 9,000 USD |
| Time to hire | 70 days | 50 days |
| Referral hires | 8 % | 18 % |
| Visit-to-application rate | 1.5 % | 5 % |
Mini case study
Illustration: Sarah, VP People at a 500-employee engineering company in New York, hires 60 engineers a year, 50 % through agencies at an average fee of 25,000 USD, or 750,000 USD. If the careers site moves 18 hires from agencies to direct applications, at an estimated direct cost of 4,700 USD each, the saving is 18 x (25,000 minus 4,700) = 365,400 USD a year. An 80,000 USD site pays back in under 3 months.
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FAQ
Separate site or a section of the corporate site?
Above 30 hires a year, a dedicated site makes sense: it carries its own SEO and tone. Below that, a well-built 3 to 5 page section, from 40,000 USD, is enough.
Is displaying salaries mandatory?
Yes: New York City and New York State pay transparency laws require a good-faith salary range on every job posting. Showing it also lifts application rates by 20 to 30 % according to industry studies.
How much do employee videos cost?
Allow 2,500 to 5,000 USD per 90-second portrait with a New York production company. A series of 8 portraits costs about 20,000 to 40,000 USD.
Which ATS should we choose?
Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby are common for 50 to 100 hires a year, at around 15,000 to 40,000 USD a year. Workday suits groups already on its HR suite.
How soon do direct applications come in?
The first ones arrive in month one through social channels and referrals. The SEO effect on job-family searches takes 4 to 6 months.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your annual hiring volume, your ATS and your job families, and we will propose a careers site scope, an indicative budget and a launch schedule aligned with your hiring campaigns. 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.
