Careers pages that get found, recruiting at the science parks and Harwell

Oxfordshire's science and technology companies have a hiring problem that search can help with. The Oxford Science Park, Begbroke, Milton Park and Harwell Campus host hundreds of companies, many of them growing quickly and recruiting from the same pool of specialist talent. Candidates have choices, and they research employers carefully.

Most companies focus their hiring effort on job boards and recruiters. Both have their place. But almost every candidate will also search for the company, its people and its location before applying or accepting an offer. What they find affects whether they apply.

What candidates search for

Candidate searches fall into a few groups:

• Company name searches: "[company] careers", "[company] reviews", "[company] funding", "[company] salary".
• Role and location searches: "bioinformatics jobs Oxford", "embedded software engineer Harwell", "lab technician jobs Abingdon".
• Practical searches: "how to get to Harwell Campus", "Oxford Science Park parking", "Begbroke bus".
• Sector searches: "quantum computing companies Oxford", "space companies Harwell", "biotech startups Oxfordshire".

A company website can appear for many of these, if it has the right pages.

Make your careers page a proper page

Many careers pages are a list of vacancies and a sentence about "joining our growing team". They rank for nothing and tell candidates little. A better careers page includes:

• What the company does, explained for someone outside the field.
• Where you are, how to get there, and what the site is like. Science park locations are unfamiliar to many candidates.
• How you work: hybrid arrangements, team structure, how decisions are made.
• Benefits and support, stated plainly.
• The hiring process: stages, timelines and who candidates will meet.
• Current vacancies, each on its own page.

This is not about marketing copy. It is about answering the questions candidates have, so they can decide to apply.

One page per vacancy

Each vacancy should have its own page on your site, with a clear job title, location, salary range if you can share it, and a full description. Google can show vacancies directly in its job search features if the page uses JobPosting structured data correctly. That includes the title, description, date posted, location, employment type and closing date.

Remove or mark vacancies as closed when roles are filled. Old vacancies left online frustrate candidates and can lead Google to trust your listings less.

If you use an applicant tracking system, check whether it publishes vacancy pages on your own domain or on its own. Pages on your own domain help your site; pages on a third-party domain help the third party. Many systems can be configured either way.

Use job titles candidates search for

Internal job titles are often unique to a company. Candidates search for common titles. If your internal title is "Platform Scientist II", consider whether candidates would search for "senior research scientist", "assay development scientist" or similar, and include the common title in the page title and heading.

Salary information is also searched for directly. Pages that include a salary range tend to attract more applications, and they answer a question candidates are going to ask anyway.

Control your company name results

When candidates search your company name, the first page of results forms their impression. Ideally it shows your website, your LinkedIn page, recent news about you, and perhaps your page on the science park or campus website.

Things that commonly go wrong:

• A different company with a similar name outranks you.
• Old news, such as an earlier funding round or a previous name, dominates.
• Your site's title and description are vague or outdated.
• Employer review sites rank above your own careers page.

Most of this can be improved: clear titles, an up-to-date About page, a careers page that ranks for "[company] careers", consistent profiles across the web and current news linked from your site.

Location pages for candidates

Candidates from outside Oxfordshire need to understand where they would be working. A short page about your location, covering how to get there by car, bus, train and bike, nearby places to live, and what is on site, answers practical searches and reduces drop-out late in the process.

This is especially useful for sites outside the city, such as Harwell Campus and Milton Park, where candidates may not know the area. Information should be accurate and kept up to date, particularly about transport.

Sector lists and directories

Searches like "space companies Harwell" and "biotech companies Oxford" usually return lists: science park directories, news articles, industry association pages and ecosystem maps. Make sure you appear in the ones that rank, with accurate descriptions and links to your site. That is often a few emails to the right people.

Measuring recruitment search

Search Console shows the searches that lead to your careers pages. Your applicant tracking system may show the source of applications. Ask candidates in interviews how they found you. Over time, a careers section that ranks well reduces dependence on paid job boards and agency fees.

A careers page checklist

• One indexable page per vacancy, with its own URL, not a PDF or a modal window.
• JobPosting structured data with title, description, location, employment type and closing date, plus salary where you publish it.
• Job titles that candidates actually search for, with internal titles mentioned in the description if needed.
• A clear location: the park or campus name, the town and how people get there.
• Information about hybrid working, shifts and lab or office time.
• A short description of the team, the work and the equipment or methods involved.
• Expired vacancies removed or marked closed promptly.
• Links to the careers page from the homepage and the footer.

What candidates want to know

Candidate question	Where to answer it
Where exactly is the job, and how do I get there?	Location section on every job page, plus a careers location page
Is it hybrid, on site or flexible?	Each job page
What will I actually be working on?	Job description and team page
What is the salary?	Job page, where you can publish it
Who would I work with?	Team pages with roles and backgrounds
What is the company's stage and funding?	About page and careers page

Examples from Oxfordshire

A company on Harwell Campus recruiting engineers needs to rank for searches that combine the role with Didcot, Harwell or Oxfordshire, and to explain commuting options clearly, because many candidates do not know the campus. A firm at ARC Oxford in Cowley may compete for the same software engineers as companies in the city centre, so its careers pages need to show what makes the role worth the move. A spin-out at Begbroke, reached from Yarnton on the A44, should explain where it is in practical terms.

If your careers pages are part of a wider site problem, our SEO for science and B2B service covers both, and the Didcot and Harwell page explains the local recruiting market in more detail. Structured data and indexing problems on job pages are part of a technical SEO audit.

Summary

Candidates research employers through search. A proper careers page, individual vacancy pages with structured data, clear location information, and control of your company name results all help. For science and technology companies competing for scarce skills around Oxford, this is one of the most practical uses of SEO.