As of March 2022, more than 10 million people in the US were searching for jobs. Developments in technology have made attracting the best candidates easier, but at the same time have led to increased competition for top jobs. To help your company’s job postings stand out and improve the recruitment process for the best-qualified candidates, consider these strategies.
Improve the recruitment process by streamlining job applications:
- Update job descriptions
- Create a mobile-friendly application
- Shorten your application questions
- Use a pre-screening method
- Get feedback from candidates
Tip #1: Update job descriptions
Making sure your company’s job descriptions are up-to-date is a great way to make the job-hunting process smoother for candidates. By clarifying in detail what each open position entails, candidates have a better idea of what they’re applying for. Some ideas for updating job descriptions include:
- Company background information: Provide an honest description of your company and its values to help candidates determine if they might be a good culture fit.
- Specific job requirements: Give candidates a clear picture of the role’s responsibilities to avoid having to wade through a large number of unqualified applicants.
- Realistic expectations and skills: It may be tempting to list every single skill you’d like to see in a candidate, but that could be overwhelming for applicants. Keep your expectations reasonable and realistic.
Tip #2: Make your job application mobile-friendly
According to Zippia, 80% of job seekers look for new positions online, and a large chunk use their smartphones or tablets. In order to make the job application process smoother for those candidates, it’s important to optimize your application for mobile users. Keep in mind that the website needs to be mobile friendly and the application too.
Tip #3: Shorten your application questions
Qualified candidates don’t want to waste time filling out job applications with redundant or unnecessary questions—they’re likely to exit the application and move on. To streamline the process and make things easier, consider eliminating unneeded questions from your organization’s application, especially if that info can be gathered in another way. For example, if your application allows candidates to upload a resume, there’s no reason to ask the applicant to type in their work history too. Similarly, some of the “getting to know you” questions can come later, like during the phone screen.
Tip #4: Use a pre-screening method for candidates
Pre-screening candidates can reduce how long top-qualified applicants wait for an interview, giving your company a better chance at snagging talented recruits. Here are some effective pre-screening strategies:
- Resume scanning: If your company is able, tools that can scan resumes for keywords or phrases can make it easier to identify applicants who have a great skills match for the open position.
- Pre-interview questionnaires: Have candidates answer personality or culture-fit questions on a questionnaire that can be returned electronically, saving the candidate and interviewer time.
- Phone interviews: Short phone meetings are great for determining someone’s verbal communication skills and on-the-spot critical thinking capabilities.
As an added gesture of goodwill, send candidates who perform well during the pre-screening a recruitment giveaway, such as a business card case, portfolio or USB Flash Drive to store all their important documents.
Tip #5: Get feedback from candidates
Gathering feedback from candidates about which steps in the job application process went well and which steps were difficult can provide valuable information to help your company make the process smoother in the future. Remember: Receiving feedback from applicants who were hired is great, but candidates who elected to drop out of the application process may provide invaluable input into what parts need to be revamped.
Thank applicants for their candid feedback with a recruitment giveaway, such as a coffee mug, Spiral Weekly Planner or Pentel® pen and mechanical pencil set.
Improve the recruitment process with a smoother job application
With strategies, such as updating job descriptions, developing a mobile-friendly job application and using prescreening methods, your company can improve the application process for candidates and hire top-quality talent for your open positions.