Employer branding is gaining momentum, but it’s still a function that many companies are figuring out how to scale. For Grete, it’s more than a comms add-on. It’s a business-critical piece of how companies attract, convert, and retain the right people, and she’s had hands-on experience launching it from the ground up.
Now four months into her role at JetBrains, she’s the first hire dedicated to employer brand at a 2,800+ person global tech company. Before that, she helped scale the employer brand function at Bolt as one of just two team members, learning how to build fast, focus on what matters, and turn early-stage brand thinking into real-world results.
In our latest Wiser Experts conversation, she shared what it really takes to build employer brand foundations that last when you’re doing it solo from scratch.
What to do first when you’re building an employer brand from scratch
When she joined JetBrains, the employer brand function didn’t exist yet. The company had a strong developer reputation and deep product credibility, but in terms of structured messaging, a scalable careers presence, or creative assets, there was little in place to support talent attraction efforts.
So the first move wasn’t to define a grand strategy. It was to listen.
In her first month, she ran over 25 interviews with leaders across recruitment, hiring, and country teams to understand what problems the employer brand needed to solve. With awareness being a consistent theme. Despite being used by 15 million developers, the company still isn’t widely recognised as an employer, especially among non-tech audiences, making it harder to stand out in a crowded hiring landscape.
That clarity helped her define what to prioritise:
Crafting core messaging: Rather than chasing a full Employee Value Proposition (EVP), she built a clear, usable set of key narratives – sharp enough to be adopted quickly by recruiters, and broad enough to reflect the real employee experience.
Building a careers destination: She quickly spotted that candidates were landing on the site and bouncing. So instead of just listing open roles, she focused on building a careers page that tells the story of the brand, culture, and mission, giving candidates a reason to stay engaged even if they didn’t apply immediately.
Creating foundational assets: With no photos, creative templates, or brand materials to work with, she set about building a content library from scratch, starting with employee imagery and the essentials needed to activate campaigns further down the line
“Honestly, my first six months weren’t strategy-led. They were foundation-led. I needed to build the house before decorating it.”
How to create momentum as a solo employer brand team
Working solo can be empowering but also overwhelming. Without a team to lean on, you become the strategist, the copywriter, the designer, and the internal stakeholder manager all in one.
To make it manageable, she created a clear six-month roadmap that detailed what she would focus on – and just as importantly, what she wouldn’t. It helped her stay focused on high-impact work while also managing expectations across the business.
One of the challenges was balancing the global versus local needs. Each region had its own ideas – events, social campaigns, and quick wins they wanted support for. But with limited time and no assets in place yet, she had to push back carefully and explain what would come first.
“When someone brings an idea, I always ask: Who is it for? What are we solving? And what will it drive? If I don’t have clear answers to those questions, it’s a no for now.”
Instead of jumping on trends or doing reactive work, she’s been focused on building a scalable global foundation that all markets can benefit from.
Testing employee advocacy
With no team and proof of concept, you might think employee advocacy was off the table. But drawing on her experience at Bolt, where advocacy delivered huge organic reach, she knew it was worth trying early.
She launched a two-month pilot with 50 employees, positioning it as a test programme for people who had the potential to become strong thought leaders. The offer for taking part in the programme was monthly coaching sessions, personalised post feedback, and guidance from an external mentor.
“I positioned it as a test and made it feel like something special. Participants were hand-picked which really helped create an engaging feel.”
It’s a reminder that with the right positioning and structure, you don’t always need a polished platform to get traction.
Defining success when the results aren’t instant
A lot of employer branding impact takes time. However, when you’re new to a role or trying to secure buy-in, it helps to track progress in ways that go beyond applications.
She’s built a series of “control metrics” to benchmark how her work is resonating. Things like:
Bounce rate and time-on-page for the new careers content
LinkedIn post engagement, with a target of 10%+
Quality of visits (e.g. how many sessions convert to an application sent)
Anecdotal feedback from recruiters and hiring managers
She’s also looking at conversion metrics once they’re available, such as the % of CVs that convert to interviews, as a proxy for quality and fit. By focusing on small, consistent improvements, she’s laying the groundwork for longer-term business outcomes.
Advice for anyone starting fresh
Her approach is shaped by experience and a mindset shift from speed to sustainability.
For others building from scratch, her advice is clear:
Don’t be afraid to say no.
Get internal buy-in early (but don’t wait for perfection).
Show visible progress, no matter how small.
Use data to guide you, even if it’s simple.
Remember the mission: to make people feel something about your brand.
Because employer branding isn’t about making things look nice. It’s about shaping perception, telling a clear story, and giving great people a reason to believe in your business before they even apply.
