Hiring can be difficult at the best of times. But things are even tougher right now. Labor shortages, the great resignation, inflation - all these mean that organizations need adapt their processes and approaches to find outstanding applicants.
Here, we outline five key issues that are holding you back and what you can do to address them.
1. Your application process is too long or too difficult to follow.
Too many application processes are difficult to complete and ask pointless questions. The more steps you ask an applicant to follow, the more applicants you will lose in the process. Do you really need someone to write a 500-word essay telling you why they want to work in a minimum wage job?
Likewise, don’t assume that everyone has a laptop, a printer, a resume, or even regular internet access. For example: do you still ask users to complete a PDF application form? If so, an applicant either needs to print it out, or be tech savvy enough to be able to edit PDFs.
2. You aren’t asking for the right things
Many hiring managers only articulate the experience an applicant should have, rather than the skills and qualities applicants should demonstrate. This limits the people who will apply. Managers should think carefully about asking for extensive experience for a role, and instead focus on transferrable skills that applicants could gain from an applicant’s professional background or other areas, and the character traits you would like the applicant to bring.
Take retail as an example. Does your ideal applicant have to have five years of experience? Or could they instead have transferable skills from other activities, like volunteering with a charity? Is it essential that an applicant knows your industry or company, or do you need someone who is a quick learner, and is enthusiastic in everything they do?
3. Your job description is just too much
Get to the point! Would you read a sales pitch if it was long and rambling? Good candidates aren't going to spend a long time trying to work out what you need. Less is more, so just quickly outline the following:
•who your company is - what will excite an applicant about what you do?
•why you are hiring for this role.
•responsibilities - the specific tasks or activities you are looking for.
•requirements - what are the absolute, non-negotiable things that an applicant should have? These should be as few as possible and include things like age restrictions and formal licenses and qualifications that applicants must have.
•availability- when do you need the applicant to work?
•skills - what prior knowledge do you need applicants to have? This could be things like basic computer skills, or math skills.
•qualities - what are character traits should applicants possess? This could be things like being a team player or being proactive.
•pay and benefits - would you spend time and energy applying for a job if you didn't know what it pays? Being clear upfront means that applicants can make an informed decision on the role.
4. You are assessing applicants on the wrong things
It is essential you are making decisions on meaningful data that actually helps you to predict who will perform best in the job you are advertising. Some managers reject applicants for typos and grammatical errors on their resume or application form. While attention to detail and a command of written language is important for some jobs, there are others where it is less important.
Likewise, just because someone has done the job previously, doesn’t mean they are very good at it. So make sure you are looking at an applicant’s experience, skills, availability, and qualities to determine who to interview, rather than just their experience.
5. You aren’t communicating quickly enough
It can be tough to decide who to interview. But imagine you are waiting to hear from about a job. Do you wait, hoping your first choice will come back to you, or apply for more? The longer you take to decide, the more likely you’ll miss out on your preferred applicant.
You are also being evaluated by applicants. Who wants to work for a disorganized organization, who can't even make their minds up over who to interview?
Huriot can help!
Huriot makes hiring hourly workers quicker and easier by getting rid of resumes.
Managers tell Huriot what they want, applicants tell Huriot what they can do, then Huriot shows managers the best matches.