Let’s be honest here: looking for a job is usually not fun. You search all over the internet or, before the internet, you searched through the classifieds and drove all around town looking for “Now Hiring” signs. Once you finally find some jobs to which you want to apply, you then have to sit down and actually do so. When I was looking for a summer job in high school, a job to get me through college, or even for the professional positions in which I have worked, I always found applying for jobs to be incredibly tedious and frustrating; everyone wants to know the same things, so why am I filling out 18 different applications that are all formatted differently, but basically ask for the same information? And then for the professional positions, why was I expected to fill out those long, tedious applications, and also send my resume which had the same information on it and with even more detail? Yes, part of wanting a job is being willing to go through the process of applying, but why does it need to be so (dare I say it?) annoying?
You want applicants, right? You’re looking to fill positions? Make the application process easy! Sure, you want to know an applicant’s work experience, education history and maybe even check some references, but did you ask for a resume? Then why make them fill out the exact same information in a long application? And, even worse, why make them fill out the same application for every job for which they apply within your company? Is there a certification question that is specific to one of the jobs? If an applicant has already applied to a different position and are now applying for that one, why not just ask them the certification question instead of making them go through the same five page application?
Even worse, have you tried filling out those long applications on your phone? Sure, you might like to think that everyone has a computer at home, but in this day and age, many people are searching and applying for jobs on their phones; would you be willing to fill out a 50 question application on your phone, especially if your resume were also requested? You might if you really wanted the job or if you really needed it, but I can guarantee that you are losing some potentially amazing employees by not making the process simpler.
Have you seen Haley Marketing Group’s short application form? Have you tested it on a mobile device and seen how easy it is to fill out? Did you know you can make even that process easier? Have you considered adding our Apply with Indeed, Apply with Facebook, Apply with LinkedIn or Apply with Monster options? Your candidates can click on one of those, have the information they make available on any of those sites populate the application or job board sign up form and attach a resume; and just like that, you now have access to another applicant. In our current economy, when we have more open jobs than people available to work them, do you really want to lose applicants to a grueling application process?