CareerBuilder internal data suggests that 34% of candidates that try to apply for a job don’t because the application process is too much of a hassle. 24% report the “apply now” link is broken and 21% report that the long application process isn’t worth their time.
My clients tell me unbelievable stories about how difficult some companies make the online posting process. It seems like a lot of great candidates are getting away because they can’t be bothered with most company’s poorly worded job postings and frustrating posting processes.
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We’re in the processes of building a new recruiting site and application process at my company. I’ve preached what you say until Im blue in the face. Our vendor doesnt seem to understand the concept of redudancy and making things easier on the candidate. From a job seekers point of view, if I’ve uploaded my resume I shouldnt have to then key in all that information as well.
Sorry for the rant 🙂 I agree with you 110%!
While it is true that companies whose websites don’t work properly are annoying, as a candidate, that is not what bothers me the most about job postings these days. I am a computer software developer, which may influence my experience.
Let me explain what bothers me by a fictional example of a job posting:
Wanted to fill a single position: M.D. with expertise in human and animal parasitology, PhD in Astronomy. Ivy League M.B.A., with license to drive 18 wheel truck, fluency in Haitian Creole and Swahili, experience brewing Porter style beer, a pilot’s license, and experience maintaining 10 year old English and Italian brands of motorcycles, maximum salary $8,000 per year, 0-2 years of experience preferred.
Any reasonable computer software engineer can learn any technology you need them to learn. If the minutes it takes a good software engineer to learn to use a new version control system really matters to you, then you don’t want an employee. You want a consultant who charges by the minute. If experience with a certain version control system doesn’t matter, why require Subversion, for example? Just to show that you can spell it? Insisting on paying less than market rate for skills you want will make people go somewhere else. It says your company is not a good place to work for.
What you need 2 years from now does not exist yet, so someone who can learn is a more valuable employee than someone with exactly what you need now.
Telling an HR contractor or a recruiter who does not understand the techno-babble very well either (but will not admit that) to filter resumes by techno-babble which you do not actually need will keep out the candidates you want. Besides, as the list gets longer, the only people who claim to have all those skills will be those that lie. Filtering out the truthful says something socially unhealthy about your team.
Adding lots of extra techno-babble does not make a good impression either. It says that either your leadership has no clue what the words mean, or is confused so you don’t know what you want, or that you don’t intend to fill the position and are wasting everyone’s time, or that you need to hire 10 people to get the work done if your company is to survive and you only have money to hire 1 person so the paychecks will probably bounce pretty soon.
Also, if you must insist on past experience with some bleeding edge technology, do not ask for more years of experience in that technology than the technology has existed for. Example – Cloud computing has existed for about 18 months.
As a candidate, if I can determine that it is reasonably likely that I am the employee that you want, I will find a way to apply, even if the website is broken. If I cannot tell, you will never hear from me, and that matters more.
Mary-Anne,
Sad, funny, and true all at the same time. You make some excellent points. Thanks for contributing!
Great article and comments! When will companies realize that the job posting maybe the first thing a candidate sees from that company? If one of the job requirements is ‘clear written communication’ and the posting includes spelling errors, poor grammar, and missing punctuation, how serious should a candidate take the rest of the information in the posting? It always causes me to question the credibility of the HR people involved.
I do get annoyed at the companies that make me fill out a form asking for the same information that is already on my Resume. It just seems ridiculously redundant. Mind you I still fill it out because as a job seeker in this economy I can’t be picky. But I don’t see what is wrong with a simple E-mail address to send in your Cover Letter, Resume, and References.
April.
That sounds frustrating. But thanks for fighting the good fight for the job seeker!
Steve,
Wow! It sounds like you’ve seen your share of bad job specs! Thanks for commenting.