Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash
Your business is not alone when it comes to the high costs incurred in the recruitment of job applicants online. Most job seekers get frustrated and quit in the middle of their online applications.
When job seekers quit the application process you lose in the recruitment of some of the best talent. Plus, your word-of-mouth recruitment is hurt when the applicants complain to their friends about your process.
So, poor online conversion increases your recruitment costs.
Lengthy applications do not weed out weak applicants. The opposite is true.
Strong candidates have a good sense of self-worth. They know their time is important, and they are fully aware they’ll get multiple job offers. They’re the quickest to quit the process.
Applicants are online at any hour of the day or night.
Increase your conversion rates with 10 tips:
1. In your messaging to the right candidates, explain your team and company culture, and adequately explain to applicants your WIIFM statement – “what’s in it for me.”
2. Keep in mind that your application is being viewed in multiple formats – desktops, notebooks and mobile devices.
Among Millennials, the vast majority use smartphones. So be user-friendly.
3. Keep a balance in what’s convenient for you and what’s convenient for applicants. Minimize the length of the application process.
Try to reduce your application process to as few as five minutes.
4. Strategically decide what information you need initially to screen applicants. That would include their names, contact information, and resume or LinkedIn profile.
Avoid asking applicants to click on five or six screens upfront.
5. Don’t cause repetitive steps. After applicants have inserted a resume, they resent having to re-insert it again into an applicant tracking system (ATS).
“Recruiting talent is no different than any other challenge a startup faces. It’s all about selling.”
-Vivek Wadhwa
6. Some employers require candidates to create a career-site account and an ATS account. Don’t require applicants to log into more than one account.
7. To help reduce your recruitment time and costs, remember you obviously won’t hire 99.9 percent of applicants. So don’t ask everyone to provide references.
Wait until you decide to hire a candidate before you ask for references.
8. If you use a cost-per-click pricing model, lower your costs by simplifying your application form.
9. Note the length of your application form is inflated on tablets and smartphones. Consider allowing applicants to apply with their LinkedIn profiles or resumes from Dropbox.
10. Pay adequate attention to your job descriptions. Include all pertinent details, which should total a minimum of 250 or 300 words. But don’t include unnecessary words or details.
From the Coach’s Corner, more recruiting tips:
Critical HR Recruiting Strategies for Business Profit — By developing strategic recruiting plans, human resources professionals will make significant contributions to the bottom-line profit goals of their employers. So, it’s imperative to innovate in your recruiting processes and market your strategies to senior management and hiring managers.
HR – Do you Partner with IT for Top Online Recruiting? — If you’re talented in recruiting the best talent, talented applicants will appreciate your talent. That underscores the need to partner with information technology in online recruiting.
HR Trends: 12 Ideal Perks for Recruiting Top Millennials — Welcome to the new world of employee recruitment as Millennials are replacing Baby Boomers. Work-life balance is the No. 1 priority for Millennials – ages 18 to 33 – especially those who are parents. Here’s how to recruit around the trend.
How to Rock Your Human Resources with Employee Referrals — Admittedly, there’s a myriad of ways to recruit great employees. But no recruitment option surpasses a well-executed, strategic employee-referral program.
Write Better Job Descriptions to Attract Best Talent – 16 Tips — To inspire the best candidates to apply for your opening, there are at least 16 strategies to incorporate in your job description.
HR Management: Think Like a Sales Pro to Recruit the Best Talent — One-size-fits-all approach to recruiting employees is not a strategy. You and your peers in human resources might be enamored with technology, but job candidates want more focus on the personal touch. That necessitates thinking like a sales professional.
“Recruiting talent is no different than any other challenge a startup faces. It’s all about selling.”
-Vivek Wadhwa
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