Joel Cheesman of Ratedly has a nice write-up on employer brand that leans heavily on developing a framework with which to see the problem first. It does my systems-driven heart good to see more and more people realizing that just jumping into employer branding without validated frameworks is kind of like buying a used car in a language you don't understand.

I really believe that the biggest mistake in company's employer brands is that they skimp on doing their competitive analysis. Sure, you can say that you're innovative, but if you're competing against SpaceX (Mars!) and Boston Dynamics (creepy robots!), the bar is a little different than if you're competing against governmental agencies or deeply regulated industry sectors. Just saying. So here's a good primer on doing your own competitive audit.