An Employ Inc. Brand

Brand Voice

Lever needs to keep communications consistent and maintain a high level of quality across all channels. In addition, the tone, style, grammar, and naming conventions all need to align. All written communications must adhere to this guide.

The Lever voice is

We exude confidence and expertise.

  • We are THE experts: We proudly flaunt our product and expertise.
  • We demonstrate sophistication: We don’t shy away from precise language and complex ideas.
  • We are NOT pretentious or egotistical: We never talk down to our audience.
  • Confidence without proof is not enough: We need to prove our expertise with results and metrics.

A confident voice sounds like this:

>With 3,500 customers worldwide and a best-in-class platform, Lever is the leader in talent acquisition software. In 2012, we recognized that the industry would soon move away from applicant tracking software and toward the concept of a Talent Cloud. It’s a paradigm shift with vast implications for recruiters, who now have the power to source and nurture passive talent at scale throughout the entire candidate relationship lifecycle.

It does NOT sound like this:

Lever is so loved by our wonderful customers. If you’re interested, we’d like to share with you a few insights from them.

We communicate with empathy and compassion.

  • We listen. We respond to known pain points and adapt our message as the market changes.
  • We understand. We see the world through the lens of our audience.
  • We empower. We equip our audience with useful advice and actionable insights.

An empathetic voice sounds like this:

Recruiters and talent leaders are now rightfully being included in strategic business decisions and boardroom discussions. Here are the 5 most important metrics to bring with you to C-level meetings.

It does NOT sound like this:

Lever largely automates the job of the recruiter, who have long languished without access to a Chrome extension or intelligent recommendation engine.

We are data-driven and aspirational.

  • We are agents of change. We show the ‘end state’ of what our audience can attain.
  • We are helpful. We provide practical solutions.
  • We are data-driven. We back up everything with data.

A results-oriented voice sounds like this:

Lever customers get 19% more applicants, increase sourced pipeline by 40%, and see a 35% reduction in time to hire.

It does NOT sound like this:

Lever customers used to spend too much time on manual tasks and would lose candidates because they fell through the cracks.

The Lever voice is NOT 

We are not fluffy, passive, conversational, or unnecessarily verbose.

Eliminate fluff: Delete words like ‘very,’ and ‘really.’ Don’t use filler phrases like ‘first and foremost,’ ‘in today’s world,’ and ‘let’s be honest.’

Remove passive voice: Instead of “using stronger language is something you can do,” try “use stronger language.”

Keep it simple: Keep sentences short. Avoid over-complicating matters with long, meandering sentences — replete with comma splices and em dashes — that only serve to confuse readers and obfuscate your point, which was straightforward to begin with. Simplicity is king.

Grammar and style

Style guide: Always follow AP Style unless it explicitly contradicts this guide.
Oxford comma: Use it! My heroes are my parents, Superman, and Wonder Woman. NOT: My heroes are my parents, Superman and Wonder Woman.
Punctuation: Use a single space after the period, never double space. Use punctuation at the end of a bullet point if it is a full sentence.
Contractions: Acceptable and encouraged (e.g. you aren’t limited to formal writing, so don’t shy away from liberal use of contractions).
Title case:

  • AP style title case for covers, blog titles, and deck title pages
  • Sentence case for all other headers

Miscellaneous:

  • Always “and,” never “&”
  • Always “%,” never “percent”
  • Always round to one decimal point

Glossary

Lever:

  • The company is Lever
  • The product is the Lever platform or the Lever Talent Acquisition Suite

LeverTRM (Talent Relationship Management): Always capitalize TRM and never have a space between the Lever and TRM. Applicant Tracking System: Always use ATS Human Resource Management System: Always use HRIS Candidate Relationship Management: Always spell out first and abbreviate as CRM thereafter Candidate Texting: Always capitalize “C” and “T”