Your perception of your career site and the job ads that you create might be a far stretch from the impression that candidates get. If you think the process is seamless, you might be surprised. Maybe it’s time to walk a mile in the shoes of your job candidates.
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No process is ever fully fleshed out until you know what the experience is like from the angle of everyone involved. So if you want to make it easier, not harder, to get the best talent, try out the process for yourself.
Great Career Sites Have a Few Things in Common
Consistently getting great hires doesn’t happen by accident. Some of the best career sites have certain commonalities that appeal to job candidates. And it’s your opportunity to manage the process, for better or for worse.
According to Career Builder‘s 5 Traits of a Must-Have Career Site, the best combine these elements:
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- Responsive design: applicants expect a mobile optimized experience
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- Hassle-free application process: many applicants leave if the process takes more than 30 minutes
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- First-rate user experience: your career site should be easy to navigate and use
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- Employer brand storytelling: 90 percent of job seekers say employer brand is a deciding factor in whether or not to apply
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- Talent pipeline building: when candidates opt in with your talent network, you get a better pool of future candidates and they get the inside track on future opportunities
If you don’t want to navigate your career site using mobile, neither will they.
Trying on Your Career Site Lets You Find Roadblocks
The best of intentions might miss the mark, but you’ll never know until you try your career site for yourself. Career Builder’s 5 Technology Roadblocks that Harm Your Candidate Experience explains that employers should look for (and correct) several possible issues in the career site and its processes.
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- Snag information if not an application: users need a means to leave contact information if they’re short on time to apply
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- Give applicants a personal response: 39 percent of applicants think a robo-response isn’t enough, and 67 percent expect a phone call after applying
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- Don’t make mobile a lesser version of desktop: applicants expect the same functionality using a mobile device as they would have on a PC
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- KISS: although HR pros prefer a comprehensive application process, 60 percent of applicants lose interest if it’s overly complex or long
As if there’s not enough for you to do in a day, testing out your own career site and all of its processes might seem like overkill. And if your metrics are exactly where you want them to be, maybe you’re right. But if there’s any room for improvement, you’re likely to find avenues for it by putting yourself in your applicants’ shoes.
Some annoyances are par for the course, but they’re also logical reasons why candidates don’t apply at all or stop the process partway through. In this era where employers no longer hold all of the cards, it’s just smart HR business.
Building a great career site and driving the best candidates to your job openings is a skill and an art.