To target the right talent, first you have to understand what your candidates are looking for.
People look for ease and convenience in every aspect of their lives and finding a new job opportunity is no different. When candidates are applying for positions it is crucial that the process is clear, efficient and easy to use. If not, it can have a substantial impact on the amount of applications received, as candidates can drop off at different stages of the process.
To ensure your candidate journey is a positive one, here are the 4 main points of a careers site you need to get right:
Simple Navigation
Your careers website is a key area for prospective candidates to find out more about your company. To ensure you capture job seekers’ attentions you should ensure that key information is readily available and easy to find.
We recommend using a one-click application button where candidates can upload their CV easily on either a desktop or mobile device. As well as this if you have an online chat facility on your web page already it’s a great idea for a pop up message to appear after a short period of time that encourages candidates to apply. Furthermore, having predictive search on your job search bar will help candidates to find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently.
Optimised for mobile
Studies show that 89% of job seekers think mobile devices play a critical role in the job hunting process It is critical that if a candidate visits your website on their mobile they need to have the same positive experience they would do if they were on a desktop. To ensure this happens we recommend making sure your website is optimised for mobile or building a mobile design.
People spend less time viewing web pages when on a mobile device so we suggest using limited but attractive visual content, readable text, user friendly forms and concise language to keep candidates engaged.
Contact
Candidates want answers to their questions quickly and with the availability of live chat, they have a direct line at their fingertips. More and more companies are adding a chat facility to their careers page which adds a personal feel and can be monitored 24/7.
As well as using live chat we recommend putting all available contact channels on the website. Many large organisations have a Twitter account dedicated to careers so candidates can follow the dedicated page for the latest vacancy updates.
Keep it clear
The main objective for a careers site is to convert visitors to applicants. Making the application process as simple as possible is the key to success.
We recommend making the application as short as possible as studies show, 60% of potential candidates have quit a job application process because it was too lengthy. Single page applications may not work for every organisation but research has shown that the lowest number of applicant drop offs occur from the shortest application processes.
Spending time to look at how user friendly your careers site is will help greatly reduce the frustrations users may face and, in turn, reduce drop offs.
Interested in making your careers site more user friendly? Take a look at a site we made for Sage for inspiration.
