In today’s candidate-led market, improving on and providing the best candidate experience is more important than ever. To get the right candidates on the right job orders, it’s vital to get as many applicants as possible so you can qualify those candidates and ensure you’re capturing and placing the best talent.
While there is no way to satisfy every single person’s unique wants or needs, there is a way to improve your application to help provide the best candidate experience possible and ensure minimal candidate drop off.
55% of job seekers say a long application process contributes to a negative candidate experience. Sound familiar? It’s true, the shorter your application, the more likely candidates will complete your entire application.
Of course, there might be a qualifying question or two you want to ask, including pre-screen questions, but only ask what you actually need to get from talent up front. Then test your own apply process! Is it a smooth process? Is it easy to fill out on any device? Gather your team’s mobile phones and make sure it works – whether on an Apple or Android device. Then reevaluate again to see if you can make the application even more concise. Is there information you can make optional and obtain from talent later?
Remember, the most important thing is to get them through the application process. As needed, you can always follow up with additional qualifying questions or documentation.
It’s best to have two types of applications to maximize the number of applicants you capture. Applications that are specific to job roles/lines of business and an application that’s general for your staffing organization.
If candidates are looking for a specific job role and are applying to similar roles out there, they are probably going to expect a certain experience when going through the apply process. If you have a specific line of business, such as clerical, maybe your customers need to know how many words per minute (WPM) they can type and this is a question you include.
It’s likely since they are applying to this specific job role, they will expect to answer a question like this – one that’s short and simple, but is still helping you qualify talent for the role.
Another option is to allow job seekers to apply without a specific job in mind. Instead of losing potential candidates because they can’t find a job specific to their experience, you should create a general company application where they can apply. This way you are capturing more talent information. Then, if they have relevant experience or competencies, you could qualify them for current job orders (even if they didn’t think they were qualified or weren’t interested in a specific role at first) or you have them on hand for future job orders.
78% of people in the U.S. would apply to jobs on their mobile devices if the process was simplified. While this correlates to point number one on making your application short and sweet, there is much more to it than that for optimizing your application for mobile.
It’s important to make sure the user experience on a mobile device is ideal. So ask yourself, is your application process easy to follow? Is it easy to fill out without too much scrolling on a mobile device? Does the flow make sense? Is it obvious what talent needs to do to get to the next step? Are they given an acknowledgement page to let them know they completed?
And maybe most importantly, is your application flexible? Can you edit it as needed? Can you add qualifying questions if or reduce the length/complexity if needed? By having flexible application processes, you can be sure you are optimizing the amount of talent you get applying to your open positions and filling out your general company application.
By following these three tips for your application processes, you can easily improve the candidate experience and maximize the success of your staffing organization. The more talent you get applying to your positions/company, the more opportunity you have to find the best candidate for each role. That will make your both your customers and talent happy while having a huge impact on your bottom line.
Want to learn how Avionté’s Application Workflows can help you capture more talent and qualify the best talent? Then contact us today to learn more!
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