How important are the values of the company you’d want to join? Would a company lacking certain values put you off applying, and are companies getting it wrong when trying to attract top talent?
Our new research set out to reveal whether the values of the top companies from around the world align with those of the average jobseeker. We’ve also looked into the values companies are most likely to describe themselves as having. Are companies talking about themselves in a way that’s going to appeal to candidates?
We analyzed the LinkedIn descriptions of 158 top global companies to identify their core values. Then, we’ve compared them with 6 key jobseeker priorities commonly discussed online, as shown in a recent LinkedIn survey.
Here’s what we found out:
- ‘Emphasis on Quality’ is the number 1 thing companies value the most.
- The top 3 company values (Emphasis on Quality, Customer Focus, and Innovation) are not a priority for jobseekers.
- Half of the 6 priority values for jobseekers are not reflected by top companies.
- 77% of companies have at least one value that matches up with what jobseekers are looking for, with Purpose & Mission being the most common company value that is also a jobseeker priority.
- Nike and HDFC Bank have the most values that jobseekers look for, both with 4.
Emphasis on Quality, Customer Focus, and Innovation are the most common values for leading companies
To determine which values were the most popular among employers, we collected and used data from the LinkedIn descriptions of 158 companies to identify 16 key business values. From there we created a list of keywords associated with each value, and assigned each company values based on the keywords we found used in their LinkedIn bio. This is how we were able to find out what companies prioritize.
From this research, we found that many leading global companies seem to share some common core values, with an Emphasis on Quality being the top priority. A staggering 69% of companies state that quality is something they concentrate on. 56% center Customer Focus, and 54% focus on Innovation.
The top 3 values are pretty essential for a successful business—which may be why they’re so popular.
We found that NatWest Group and HDFC Bank have the highest number of company values, each including 8 out of the 16 company values we mapped out in their company bios, including the top 3.
NatWest Group’s values: Emphasis on Quality, Company Culture, Customer Focus, Employee Wellbeing, Environmental Sustainability, Innovation, Purpose & Mission, Social Responsibility.
HDFC Bank’s values: Emphasis on Quality, Customer Focus, Environmental Sustainability, Innovation, Learning & Development, Purpose & Mission, Security, Social Responsibility, Work-Life Balance.
Diversity, balance, & career growth—here’s what jobseekers value
We’ve put together a list of 6 company values that are a main priority for jobseekers, drawing on 2025 survey data from LinkedIn. We then worked out what percentage of companies talk about these values in their LinkedIn bios.
Here are some of the key values that jobseekers look out for:
- Purpose & Mission: People want to work for a company that has a clear mission that aligns with their own values. Many people want to feel as if the hard work they put in every day is meaningful and has a positive impact. Companies that clearly communicate their mission may attract more talent than those that don’t.
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: Jobseekers often prefer a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone is treated equally and made to feel welcome. A diverse workplace boosts innovation by bringing together a variety of perspectives.
- Work-Life Balance: Jobseekers look for companies that can give them a good work-life balance and for some it is an absolute priority. They might be looking for companies that give generous amounts of paid leave. Flexible working policies such as flexible hours and working from home can also help reduce stress and burnout.
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): People want to work for companies that care about the world and society we live in. Companies that give back to the community and have a positive impact on the world are an attractive choice for jobseekers. People want to work for a company that cares about the local community and global causes.
- Career Pathing: When looking for their next role, many jobseekers want to know if the company offers a clear pathway for growth and development. Jobseekers can be put off if there is no opportunity for career growth.
- Learning & Development: Employees need to be challenged in order to grow and develop within their role, so educational resources and training is something that jobseekers look out for when choosing their next role.
For many jobseekers around the world, simply having just any job isn’t enough—people want to work for companies that match their own values, morals, and ethics. Workers want values like flexibility, commitment to diversity, and sustainability principles—they also want to work for companies that care about their staff’s wellbeing and career progression.
Why should businesses worry about aligning their values with their employees and jobseekers? The answer is simple, attracting and retaining top talent. Companies need to go beyond just their customer-base: what can they do to become a more attractive option for jobseekers? What do jobseekers value the most, and how can they offer it to them? Top workers bring great new ideas and boost company productivity, helping the business hit its goals.
Where company and jobseeker values match up
While the top 3 values are fantastic for business growth and customer satisfaction, they aren’t what jobseekers are looking for. This may be because these values are tailored towards consumers. Jobseekers are looking at the business from a totally different perspective.
However, the lower three out of the top six most common values are what jobseekers prioritize, meaning there’s certainly some overlap between what companies focus on and what jobseekers are looking for.
46% of companies talked about Purpose and Mission in their LinkedIn bios, making this the most commonly held value out of the ones that are most popular with jobseekers. It was followed by Work-Life Balance, which 37% of businesses mention in their LinkedIn profile. Corporate Social Responsibility, also popular with both businesses and jobseekers, appeared in 32% of company bios.
The companies that we found to have the most values that jobseekers look out for are Nike and HDFC Bank. Both of these companies offer 4 of the values that mean the most to jobseekers. Nike’s values that might appeal most to jobseekers are: Purpose & Mission, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Work-Life Balance, and Social Responsibility. They also prioritize Ambition & Drive, and Innovation.
In Nike’s LinkedIn description, the company says that it “is a purpose-driven organization”, and that they “champion diversity and amplify individual passions to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” Here Nike clearly shows they value Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as Innovation, and that they lead with their Purpose & Mission.
HDFC Bank also has 4 values that jobseekers prioritize, those are: Social Responsibility, Learning & Development, Purpose & Mission, and Work-Life Balance. HDFC Bank also focuses on Environmental Sustainability, Security, and the top 3 company values (Emphasis on Quality, Customer Focus, and Innovation).
This can be seen in HDFC’s LinkedIn description, as they say that, “as a socially responsible corporate citizen, we believe in banking with a purpose. Through our CSR initiative, Parivartan, we actively work to drive positive change across education, healthcare, skills training, and sustainable livelihoods impacting over 10 crore lives across the country.”
Their commitment to CSR and their Purpose & Mission may be what makes this company stand out to jobseekers.
Many leading companies share similar values, like an Emphasis on Quality and being customer focused, but HDFC Bank and Nike take the lead when it comes to having values that jobseekers want out of the company they would work for.
Jobseekers gravitate towards the least common company values
We found that what jobseekers want the most from a company, companies tend to neglect! While there definitely is overlap between what jobseekers want and what companies offer (as 77% of companies have at least one value that jobseekers prioritize), it seems like leading companies don’t focus on half of the values that attract jobseekers.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Career Pathing and Learning and Development were all among the least likely to be found in company bios, at 18%, 3% and 2%. Although these values are really desirable for employees, it seems companies aren’t shouting about them as much as they could.
Two jobseeker priorities are in the bottom four of least popular company values, and half of them are in the bottom six! While the values of jobseekers and companies do align in some ways (half are also in the top 6), there are many areas of interest for jobseekers that companies are somewhat neglecting. This could mean that companies miss out on top candidates as jobseekers may be looking for companies with specific values when applying for roles.
We found that many jobseekers look and apply for jobs on LinkedIn, and according to the platform’s own data, 7 people are hired every minute on LinkedIn, with more than 11,000 members applying for jobs every minute. So it’s worthwhile for businesses to highlight the values that attract jobseekers on their LinkedIn profile, as it may help encourage candidates to apply.
Jobseekers need purpose, growth and flexibility, and their priorities are what will benefit their working life on a day-to-day basis. However it seems that companies’ values are very customer-focused and growth oriented, which may accidentally put jobseekers off if they can’t find what they’re looking for. Of course, given that LinkedIn is also a platform for attracting new business it makes sense—but employers shouldn’t forget about how they’re coming across to candidates!
There are two other values that are generally not on the radar for businesses or jobseekers. These are Adaptability (how a business responds to uncertainty and change) and Global Collaboration (how a company works globally), at 2% and 1% respectively
Final thoughts
Overall, it seems that there is a bit of a gap between what companies focus on and what is important to jobseekers. Could businesses be missing out on top talent by accidentally ignoring half of the values that appeal the most to jobseekers?
By tweaking their values to match up more with jobseekers, companies could benefit from attracting the top pool of talent. It makes sense that companies with policies that ensure employee growth and development, promote diversity and inclusion, and have a strong brand mission, would attract and retain high quality candidates.
Although that's not to say that these leading companies are getting it wrong. It’s great to see that half of what jobseekers want is reflected in the top 6 most popular company values. If companies decide to switch up their hiring strategies, it could be worth focusing on more of what’s valuable to jobseekers, as this could be the key in helping attract the right people to fill missing roles.
Note
Kickresume collected and used data from the LinkedIn descriptions of 158 companies. A rule-based value tagging method was applied to find the values of each company. The process involved defining a set of 16 business values, developing curated keywords lists associated with each value, scanning company descriptions for relevant keyword matches and assigning corresponding values, and manually verifying and tweaking the keywords for accuracy. The values were only assigned if there was clear textual evidence of them.
Kickresume used an online source to find out what company values are a priority for jobseekers. They selected six values from a list of the top 15 values that jobseekers prioritize.
Please, click here to see the source article.
About Kickresume
Kickresume is an AI-based career tool that helps candidates source jobs and raise salary with powerful resume and cover letter tools, skills analytics, and automated job search assistance. It already helped more than 8 million job seekers worldwide.
