Using job boards to expand your reach is of course, important. However, if you not using them in the correct ways you could be missing out some quality applicants. You want to look at the quality of applicants, not just quantity. Jobseekers are smart and not all desperate to apply for anything they see. By not providing answers to questions they may have- schedule, salary, location, etc. are going give a reason for the job seeker to take a step back and say “I don’t even know what I would be applying for.” Ask yourself if you using these four things when posting a job ad.
Use the right keywords
Most online job boards, like Indeed.com run about the same way that Google or other search engines do. The job seeker will try run a search that will include a job title, along with a location and then the board will return a list of results. In order to make sure that you are getting the most qualified traffic, you need to be sure that your job ad is being found by keyword searches used by your target job seekers. Let me give a few examples:
Applicants looking for part-time work are going to using the term part-time not “pt”. There are some companies that are using the term “pt and will miss out on a lot of qualified applicants because of this. People looking for part-time work are more likely to search for the phrase “part time” or “flexible” than they are to search for an actual job title. This means that if you have job openings that are part time, or offer flex schedules, you need to make sure that those phrases appear in the job description as well as the job title.
Also, maybe your organization is using fancy titles to make your job positions sound more exciting. Jobseekers are going to look for Receptionist, not Director of First Impressions. Although this is creative and fun, job seekers aren’t going to look for this and might be a little confused as to what this title actually is. It’s important to that your job ad tone matches that of your organization. Use the everyday words that people actually use. I’m not saying be sloppy with your ad- but writing your legal job description probably doesn’t resonate as well with your jobseekers.
Answer the job seekers questions
Once you have your job ad appearing in a search, the key to getting your job seekers to even apply is to make sure that you are answering all your job seekers questions. Not including shift, hours, salary range, location, could stop a a potential applicant from even applying. Going back to our previous example, when posting an ad for a part time just it is important in inclde shift details so they know what is required of this position before putting forth their valuable time into applying. By answering these questions most job seekers will most likely feel a sense of trust with your organization from the get-go.
Write an engaging job ad
This one by far is the most important. This is your chance to really make your organization shine and convince applicants that you want to apply. One of the biggest reasons your organization could be suffering when it comes to hiring is because you are not attracting your quality applicants through your ad. Your ad should not be a long legal description written by your lawyer, nor should it be scaring applicants away or leave any unanswered questions. If you are stumped on how to do this, please feel free to follow this like and download our “How to write a killer job ad” guide. https://www.applicantpro.com/docs/KillerJobAd.pdf.
Let the job seeker apply on the job board
Allowing the job seeker to apply from the job board makes it simpler and faster for the job seeker. It has been shown to increase application start rates, dramatically. For example, on Indeed, let them use the “Indeed Apply” link and as them a couple basic screening questions. Once you have reviewed their initial resume and feel like could be a good fit, then you can email them the longer application.
These are pretty easy things that you could do to improve your applicant flow and maximize your results for using those job boards. Stick around for more tips on how to increase your applicant flow!