Great people are always in demand no matter what the economy is doing and I’m always surprised to see so many employers who are asleep at the wheel. Talented people are always busy. Even if things are slow at work they are taking courses to upgrade their skills and juggling important priorities like family and health. Employers who want to hire great people have to recognize that it is 2020; long-form applications will drive most applicants (other than the unemployed) away.
One employer I visited had an application form with 50 questions! How often have you been on your phone browsing a web page and wanted to inquire about services, but the contact form had too many questions? Form length has been studied for years, and now with the advent of chatbots and multi-step forms we have the ability to collect a lot of information while keeping the number of conversions high.
Getting candidates to apply for jobs may seem easy in times of high unemployment, but the fact will remain that getting quality candidates to apply will always be a challenge. Keep application forms reasonable in length and allow applicants to subscribe to career alerts by email at the very least.
It is 2020 and having SMS or Texting apply or inquiry options should be considered and if you really want to move into the future recruiting Chatbots are recommended but only after careful consideration and implementation. What do you think is the web application form a thing of the past?
Kael Campbell is President and Lead Recruiter of Red Seal Recruiting Solutions, a company providing recruitment services in mining, equipment and plant maintenance, utilities, manufacturing, construction, and transportation. When he is not recruiting, Kael spends as much time as possible with family in the great outdoors and on the water. He volunteers his time as a Board Member of the Entrepreneurs Organization of Vancouver Island. We have a wide variety of services to help you find the best employees. See how we can help on our Recruiting Solutions page.