Perfect the Basics: A Mobile Friendly Website and Quick Apply Form

According to a recent Glassdoor survey, 55% of 35- to 44-year-olds applied for a job using a mobile device. If candidates are squinting to see your job posting on their smartphone, not only does it make applying difficult, but it also gives the impression that your company isn’t up-to-date. 

Does your application page currently require applicants to create an account or sign in? If so, you could be losing 60% of your potential candidates. Complexity in application forms can cause applicants to drop off your site and move on to other opportunities. It also gives a bad introduction to your brand. You want candidates to feel welcomed and at-ease as they research and learn more about your company.

You’ll also want to include the opportunity for an applicant to submit a resume when there is no open position. This puts you in the driver’s seat by creating a pool of talent to review when a position does open up. Once someone submits a resume online they can be automatically entered into a drip-email campaign so they can continue to follow your company.

Attractive Job Descriptions

The next way you can give a welcoming impression is through the job description itself. Take a look at the length, style and tone. Your job description should be more than a list of requirements — it should highlight your employer brand to inspire the best candidates to apply for the job. This isn’t the time to get out your dictionary for six syllable words if that’s not the way your typical employee speaks. Speak to the candidate as you would a team member and avoid unfamiliar industry jargon. Use short sentences and address the candidate directly, i.e., “You are motivated and driven.”

Winning Career Pages

Your career page should feature both hard and soft benefits and give the candidate a clear picture of your company culture. There are a variety of ways to do this: employee videos, pictures of actual employees and events, quotes from team members, and sharing your company values. You can even use infographics or an employee profile to tell a company success story. Breaking up the text with photos and graphics will make your Career page inviting and more interesting to potential candidates.

The best way to backup your stated company values is by showing proof that you “walk the talk.” Display proof of your values by showing things like awards, survey results, statistics on your corporate community giving and employee retention rates.

Built for SEO

Now that we’ve talked about the art of attracting applicants, let’s bite into the science of being found in search engines. If you want your company job opening to appear in a Google search query there are a few key steps you’ll need to take in the creation of the listing. For the best SEO performance, think about what words you would use to search for this particular type of job. In addition to the job title, the words could be related to skills, certifications, or responsibilities. It is important to include these words or phrases in your job description to increase the keyword relevancy of your job, and ultimately the exposure of your job listing. 

The Bottom Line

A great website, where candidates don’t need a private investigator's license to find your job openings, and can learn more about your unique values, is a very important factor in increasing your recruitment success. According to LinkedIn, a company with a stronger employer brand than its competitors on average see a 43% decrease in the cost per candidate they hire. Investing some time and resources into a better employer brand will pay off in the long run with a larger pool of high-quality candidates that will fit into your company culture.