There is a fundamental disconnect between jobseekers and hiring companies in the job application process.
Hiring managers complain about a lack of quality applicants, and jobseekers complain about an application process that demoralizes, dehumanizes, and generally leads to quality applicants abandoning jobs that they are qualified for out of frustration.
Turn back the clock 15-20 years before the ubiquity of enterprise applicant tracking systems, and internet job boards. The basic recruitment tool available to most companies was the Sunday paper.
If you were in the job market, Sunday was the day you waited all week for, you hurriedly opened the paper, scanned it for the section that would hopefully contain a job you were interested in and then apply by phone, in person, or by mail.
Most importantly, because ad space was expensive, most ads were very basic basically a twitter version of a job description. A typical ad for a bookkeeper might read like:
Wanted – Bookkeeper – 3+ years experience mfg + quickbooks
Most importantly, a job seeker would see that ad, send in a paper resume, and a cover letter detailing their bookkeeping experience. In an afternoon, a jobseeker could go through all of the job ads, stuff envelopes and have them dropped in the mail. Jobseekers may self select the jobs applied to based on the cost of copying / mailing a resume, but overall, the process was straightforward for an applicant. See a job, send a resume + cover letter, cross fingers. If they were called into an in person interview they would then fill out a detailed application, provide references, etc… but would typically only have to do this extra work on jobs they had a mutual interest in actually getting that job.
The important thing to remember is that this approach worked for the entirety of human existence prior to the advent of the enterprise ATS
Fast forward to today, and the typical job ad is longer and more complicated than a novel. There are more words to read in a typical job ad than there were on the entire page of a Sunday paper job page, with a list of requirements and responsibilities that are looking for a purple squirrel every time.
Next, the jobseekers have to apply on the company website, create an account, fill out forms with the exact information that is already on their resume’s, possibly take personality & skills assessments, etc… etc…
It’s not uncommon to hear of single applications that can take an applicant anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour for a single application. And then the reward for that investment of time is a form e-mail that the company is considering other applicants.
Once they get used to the fact that most applications go into a black hole, the jobseeker’s goal is to apply to as many positions as possible in hopes of getting interest from a few companies and hopefully at least one offer worth considering.
What do applicants think of the current system?
A quick search of Reddit turns up an endless supply of stories of how the current process works from their perspective.
Typical comments are very negative and frustrated
What can we as part of the HR industry do about it?
1 – Provide a “quick apply” option for applicants to apply for our jobs. Allowing candidates to apply using Careerbuilder, Monster, Indeed, etc… without creating an account on our own job site will significantly increase the number of applicants per opening.
2 – Narrow down the applicants that are at least a reasonable fit for the position and ask THOSE candidates to fill out more detailed applications. An option is to ask knockout questions PRIOR to even asking for a resume. IE do you have 3 years experience in XYZ – if answer is No and that’s a dealbreaker, let the candidate off the hook right then and there instead of asking them to complete a 45 minute process.
3 – Remember that applicants are not resume’s and that their time is valuable. I am assuming that when you have a job opening, the intended result is to fill that job with a fully functioning human being that will become a valued member of your team for years to come. Subjecting people to a dehumanizing process in the beginning makes a very bad first impression, and gives your future & existing employees the clear impression that you don’t care about them as humans with feelings, emotions, and families to feed.
What do you think? Do long complicated application processes frustrate you?
What solutions do you think would word from both an applicant and a hiring manager’s perspective?
Let me know in the comments.
