Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about entering the Rally® Awards™? You’re in the right place. Below you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions about eligibility, submissions, judging, deadlines and what it’s like to participate in the most respected peer-reviewed Recruitment Marketing and Employer Branding awards program in our industry.

If you’re wondering whether your work qualifies — or how to get started — these FAQs are designed to help you enter the program with confidence.

What are the Rally® Awards™?

The Rally® Awards™ recognize excellence in Recruitment Marketing and Employer Branding. They celebrate the strategies, creativity, and measurable results behind work that attracts, engages, and converts talent — across employers, teams, agencies, and technology partners.

The Rally Awards are designed to shine a spotlight on the practitioners who are making a difference in talent attraction:

✔ In-house Recruitment Marketing, Employer Brand, Talent Acquisition, HR, and Marketing professionals

✔ Teams doing recruitment marketing work, even if it’s not their full-time role

✔ Agencies and technology partners that support in-house teams

You don’t need a specific job title or a big brand name to enter. If you built something thoughtful, creative, and effective, this is your moment.

Any individual or team of practitioners at an employer, regardless of their company size or industry. Agencies and technology providers are encouraged to nominate their customers, or enter the Partner categories.

The Rally Awards spotlight great work everywhere entries may come from any country.

Nope, you don’t need to work full time in Recruitment Marketing or Employer Branding — with two exceptions:

✔ Rising Star Award

✔ Recruitment Marketer of the Year

For those two categories only, nominees must:

✔ Be in a full-time, dedicated Recruitment Marketing or Employer Brand role

✔ Have at least one year of experience

✔ Rising Star nominees must have no more than three years in the role

If you have a smart talent attraction strategy and results you’re proud of, you belong here.

Yes, and we love seeing it.

✔ Agencies and vendors are encouraged to nominate their customers (the in-house practitioner receives the award)
✔ Agencies and vendors may also enter themselves in Best Agency Partner or Best Technology Partner

Partner entries must be endorsed by a senior client contact who knows the work and results personally (Head of Recruitment Marketing, VP of Talent Acquisition, CHRO, CEO).

We made the process straightforward on purpose. You’ll submit:

✔ A written description (up to 600 words for most categories)
✔ Supporting materials (links, screenshots, files, analytics)
✔ Nominee contacts (up to 5 individuals for most awards, or a full team)
✔ An endorser to verify the submission
✔ Payment (credit card via Stripe, contact us if you need an invoice)

And here’s the best part: you can save your entry in the Judgify awards platform we use and come back anytime before you submit. No all-nighter required.

Share what’s important about your strategy and work, but be concise so judges can quickly understand the strategy, execution and impact.

✔ Most categories: up to 600 words
✔ Rising Star and Recruitment Marketer of the Year: up to 800 words

Your goal is to help judges understand the story behind the results:
✔ What you did
✔ Why you did it (strategy and audience)
✔ The goal
✔ The impact (metrics can be directional)

Our advice: Use storytelling techniques. What was the challenge, what was your approach, what did you change, and what happened because of it? Help the judges relate to what you faced and how you overcame it.

Show us your work! Judges love seeing the real thing.

✔ Links to live work (web pages, videos, social posts)
✔ Uploaded files (.pdf, .ppt, .png, .jpg up to 50MB) including creative, strategy docs, internal presentations, campaign recaps
✔ Screenshots of analytics or charts showing results

Exact numbers aren’t preferred but percent changes or ranges are absolutely fine. What matters is making the impact clear.

Note: If you fail to include results, it may hurt your chances.

Think of endorsement as the step that keeps the Rally Awards credible and respected.

Every entry must be verified by an endorser to confirm accuracy. This protects the integrity of the awards and your win.

Your endorser:
✔ Receives an email after final submission
✔ Confirms the work and results
✔ Must complete the endorsement before the deadline

Entries without an endorser can’t be judged, and entry fees are non-refundable.

Choose someone senior at your company who can confidently say, “Yes, this happened. Yes, it worked.”

✔ If you’re nominating yourself: your manager, or a senior leader familiar with your work
✔ If you’re nominating your team: a senior leader not included in the nomination
✔ If an agency/vendor nominates a client: the client’s senior-most contact who knows the work
✔ For Partner categories: a senior client leader in TA, Recruitment Marketing, Employer Brand, or HR who knows the results

Entries not endorsed by the deadline will not be judged.

The Rally Awards are a peer-reviewed competition, evaluated using a clear, consistent framework designed to recognize strong strategy, execution, and impact in Recruitment Marketing and Employer Branding.

Judging criteria varies by category, but typically includes:
✔ Quality of work
✔ Innovation
✔ Measurable results

Depending on the category, entries may also be evaluated on strategy, collaboration, mentorship, clarity of storytelling, and overall business impact.

The Rally Awards are judged by practitioners in Recruitment Marketing and Employer Branding who have hands-on experience building and leading real programs.

These judges, selected by Rally, know what it takes to move from idea to execution — and what meaningful impact looks like in practice.

Judges do not review entries where a conflict of interest exists, and all decisions are final.

Now! The 2026 Call for Entries opened November 17, 2025.

✔ Super Early Bird
December 31, 2025 (midnight ET)
$375 per entry + processing fees

✔ Early Bird
January 31, 2026 (midnight ET)
$425 per entry + processing fees

✔ Final Deadline
February 20, 2026 (midnight ET)
$495 per entry + processing fees

If the entry fee is a stretch, reach out. We have a limited number of scholarships each year, and we genuinely want strong work to be able to compete.

Winners will be announced in April 2026 during a live virtual Rally Awards ceremony — a celebration of the people and work shaping the future of Recruitment Marketing.

Many categories may recognize more than one winner. Recruitment Marketer of the Year honors one exceptional leader.

To make sure every entry is judged in the right context, we may occasionally move a submission to a different category or choose not to award a category.

Winning a Rally Award is a big deal. It’s proof your work stands out in Recruitment Marketing and Employer Branding, and it gives you a platform to be seen for it.

✔ A Rally Award trophy
✔ A Rally Awards badge you can proudly use on your website, LinkedIn profile, presentations, and proposals
✔ Recognition across Rally channels, putting your work in front of thousands of Recruitment Marketing and talent leaders

In addition, team members may request electronic award certificates, and additional trophies can be ordered so more of your team can celebrate the win.

Yes, if the work genuinely fits more than one category. However, the same submission may only be entered once per category.

Submitted materials may be used for educational or promotional purposes by Rally. We do this thoughtfully, with the goal of spotlighting great work and helping raise the bar across the industry.

If anything is sensitive, please contact us to let us know.

You can contact the Rally team anytime. We’re happy to help you decide if and how to enter, recommend the best category, or talk through what to include.