In today’s competitive job market it’s hard enough to catch the attention of top talent, let alone turn them into job applicants. You need an engaging website, buzzing social platforms, to-die-for job ads and an employer brand that has candidates falling over themselves to apply.
You can have all of this and more but it’ll all count for nothing if your application process itself turns out to be a chore. With the average online application form taking between 30 minutes and an hour to fill out, it’s unsurprising that the companies with the most simple application processes are also the ones winning the most candidates.
Where is your application process going wrong?
From spotting the job opportunity to clicking on ‘submit’ – every extra step a candidate needs to take in an application process is an opportunity for them to give up and look elsewhere.
A complicated website with no apparent career section will stop potential candidates before they’ve even begun. Overzealous application forms, far from filtering out the top talent, will only serve to put candidates off. Plus, If a candidate has successfully completed their application, you can bet that a no-response from your company will effectively dampen their interest.
Have a look at your application process and ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there a clear career section on the company website?
- Are the displayed vacancies correctly categorized, e.g. by profession, area etc
- Can candidates quickly apply using XING or Linked In profiles?
- Is there a clear application button with instructions on how to apply?
- Is the application process straightforward, does it take no more than 10-20 mins?
- Does your company have an auto-response set up, to acknowledge the application?
Keeping the application process simple
The ideal application process functions to extract all the initial information you need about your candidate, in as little steps as possible. The less complicated your application process is, the more applications you will have, and therefore more potential employees to choose from.
Resist the urge to initially request, for example, a background check or an address history. The key information needed for most job applications are as follows:
- Cover letter – a brief, customized letter of interest
- Current contact information e.g. telephone, email, address
- Work history – e.g. length of employment, short description, salary, references
- Educational background e.g. places of study, grades achieved, dates of education
- Job specific skills e.g. certificates, languages, special talents
