While satisfaction, engagement and retention of academics has been widely discussed, there is less acknowledgement that a university must first convince high-quality academic talent of the benefits of joining their institution. This paper sought to identify the key factors that influence early-career and aspiring academics to choose employment with a university. Fifty early-career academics or PhD scholars aspiring to academic careers gave their perspectives on this critical issue. The key findings point to five key factors that enhance the attractiveness of universities in the eyes of this next generation of talent, including reputation, organisational culture, role characteristics, career development and growth, and physical characteristics. We argue that universities, regardless of size, location or ranking, must strive to differentiate themselves and their offerings and focus on some key messages when recruiting academics.