May 6, 2013

Sabotaging Your Hunt for Job Candidates?

You post a notice for an open position on one or more hiring websites, sit back and await the torrent of applications. But after sifting through what seems like an endless sea of resumes, you can’t find any that meet your hiring needs. What’s going on? One problem may be the job posting itself. You may not realize it, but the most savvy job candidates (the people you’d probably most like to hire) draw several conclusions just by reading your online advertisement. They may decide to apply (or not apply) based on what they learn from the posting. Or the actual application process is too difficult and time-consuming for them to bother. Either way, you’re not drawing in the qualified candidates you’re looking for. Here are common pitfalls businesses encounter in their online search for great job candidates: Vague or misleading job description Face it: there are a lot of veteran job-seekers out there. They know from experience how to make assessments about a company based on the wording of the job description. A posting that’s poorly written or lacks sufficient detail sends a particular message—the hiring organization isn’t giving the job selection process the attention it deserves. A generic job posting isn’t going to snare the interest of the best candidates. Start with the job title. Is it immediately clear what the position entails? Or does your business have its own jargon and with it a job title that only makes sense to insiders? An obscure-sounding or misleading job title generally causes confusion and/or a lack of interest. It certainly won’t generate the kind of click-throughs you’re hoping for. How much information does the job posting contain? Describing the benefits package as “great” and referring to the salary range as “competitive” or “meets industry standards” leaves a great deal up to the job-hunter’s interpretation. Having to guess at what these words actually mean will annoy these individuals and only encourage them to resume their search elsewhere. Frustrating application process Savvy job-seekers respond favorably to an application process that’s quick and user-friendly. If the “Apply Now” link on your job posting takes the interested candidate to another page with irrelevant information—or, even worse, a bunch of online advertisements—you’ve probably lost them right there. If they find the application process too lengthy and hard to complete, they’ll likely turn away as well. Both the wording of the job description and the application process itself say a lot about how your business operates. A lack of attention to detail and a needlessly complicated application process will sabotage your best efforts every time. A poorly managed web presence Upon encountering a potentially qualified candidate, what’s the first thing you or your HR department does? You Google this individual, right? The same process occurs at the other end. When job-seekers comes across a position of interest at your company, they conduct a Google search of their would-be employer, while also checking out your organization’s reputation on sites like Glassdoor.com or Vault. They want to know what employees have to say about the company they work for. If what they read is overly negative, you’ll probably never hear from them again. To get the best qualified candidates: Take time to craft a compelling job description. The more details you can provide (including at least a specific salary range), the more interest you’ll provoke. Do some research about your online reputation. You need to know what people are saying about your business. If necessary, start working on a strategy to improve your brand and the quality of your web presence.