The recruiter’s job is only going to get harder as they face changes in recruiting practices, technology innovations and shifting demographics. So what are the key changes that are making the recruitment team’s job even more challenging and what are technology providers doing to assist with these challenges?

Make the Application Process a Simple One
According to the 2014 Jibe Talent Acquisition Survey,¹ a surprising number of applicants loathe the process of applying for jobs. Just 35 per cent of survey respondents indicated that the job search is “easy.” Compare this to the 80 per cent who said it is “time-consuming,” or the 78 per cent who called it “stressful,” or the 71 per cent who called it “discouraging.”

What can be done to turn this stressful and discouraging experience into a positive one?

To begin, too many companies (40 per cent) fail to provide straightforward navigation during the application process. The applicant should be able to get to the careers section easily from the main corporate website, and then in turn be able to quickly and easily find the open jobs that interest them.

How many of you in the recruitment team have actually counted the number of clicks required to get to your jobs and apply? We have. It ranges from as few as two clicks to as many as 6 to ten if the method to search job openings is complicated. In some cases, we were unable to find the careers page without a great deal of effort.

As for candidates, they then need to create an account just to begin their application. She or he may have applied to several jobs using several different applicant tracking systems and processes by this time. Further complications at this point could very well mean just giving up.

Request Only the Information Needed
Closely related to finding jobs easily is how much information is collected once the job seeker decides to submit their application. Any of us in the recruitment field have seen application processes that cause job seekers to simply quit part way through. Often this is due to the one form information request that is standard to many applicant tracking systems—collect everything that you potentially need from all applicants regardless of the requirement for the job.

The problem is the application process simply asks for too much information that is not needed, causing the job seeker to get discouraged, lose interest, run out of time, or at best complete the application but submit with a bad feeling about the company.

New capabilities allow for a variety of intake of applicant information that is definable by what human resources needs to know to make a sound decision regarding that applicant. Recruitment systems now offer the option to collect as little as answers to three or four meaningful questions or just the quick upload of a resume.

For the human resources review team this means that you only see the information that is required to make a decision on that candidate for that job. Fifty per cent of companies are not collecting what is needed from the job seeker, but rather ask for a bevy information that is not related to the job requirements.²  The collection of unnecessary information is time consuming for both the applicant and the HR review team.

Simplifying the application experience means more applicants are likely to complete their application, with a better impression of the company. In turn, a shorter application means the review team can evaluate the requested information much more quickly.

Take Time to Update Toolkits
Additional application improvements provide tools that parse (extract) data from the resume for the applicant, eliminating the need to copy/paste or re-write information. In the past, applicant tracking systems have been criticized for being flawed in collecting accurate information from applicants, but parsing technology has undergone significant improvements in recent years and many are shown to be accurate and reliable. With parsing, there’s no need to request applicants to both upload their resume as well as enter their information in a form.

For the increasingly mobile job seeker, mobile responsive pages allow the job seeker to search and apply from anywhere, anytime. Candidates seeking employment can find the job opening and apply using any smart device: phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. This mobile capability is now an essential part of a great candidate experience and will soon become a necessary standard for every applicant tracking software.

In order to better streamline the application process, another system option is the elimination of the need to create an account when applying to job openings. We have all faced endless requests to create an online account whether to book an airline ticket, buy a book, or review our banking information. Remembering the multitude of user names and passwords for all of these applications is truly unrealistic.

As many as one in four job seekers will simply not apply if it means creating yet another user account for your ATS system. We ask, is this account creation necessary, or valued by applicants? In terms of privacy, all personal data is still safely tucked behind firewalls. Neither is there a great need for candidates to frequently log in or apply for multiple jobs at the same company. Job seekers should be able to quickly apply without the hurdle of account creation to overcome. Applications to the same job overwrite the first and they can be tracked by the unique email held by the applicant.

Lastly, the electronic resume will be more prevalent and accessible. Job seekers are able to save their resume in an electronic format that can be accessed from cloud storage or a talent network such as Indeed, LinkedIn or the like. No longer will applicants need to wait to apply from their home as their resume will be accessible from almost any device.

1 Jibe – September 2014 (www.jibe.com/blog/top-takeaways-from-the-2014-jibe-talent-acquisition-survey/)
2 Forbes.com – January 2014 (www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2014/01/06/2014-the-year-social-hr-matters/2/)

Read Part Two now.

Since 1999, HireGround has established itself as a leading provider of Applicant Tracking Software (ATS). HireGround is recognized for its strong customer support, ease of use software, and ability to streamline software processes to meet client requirements.