Many aspects of the hiring process can be time-consuming and draining, but sharing your job posting invites different feelings. You craft the description and put it out into the world, excited to see all the qualified candidates who apply. You’re optimistic about the excellent potential new hires you’ll find and what they’ll bring to the organization.
Except this doesn’t always happen. If you’ve ever had trouble filling a position, you understand the frustration. You may even wonder why it isn’t yielding the results you imagined. Here are some of the common reasons why job postings underperform.
There are negative reviews about your company
While this isn’t directly related to the posting itself, this can have a really negative impact on applicants. Nowadays, people check reviews for everything, including companies where they may consider working. If former employees overwhelmingly rate you as a poor place to work, you likely aren’t going to have the talent you desire applying.
Combating this starts at the source by working on your company culture and developing a non-toxic workplace. There will always be disgruntled employees, but you can make it better for the rest of your team.
Your job description isn’t optimized
It can be tempting to use fancy or company-specific language in your posting, but sometimes this flashy language can hurt you. A casual browse may turn up your opportunity, but typically a job seeker is browsing by specific terms related to their experience and what they want to do. Because of this, you need to use the terms they’re searching for, not what may be specific to you. This way, you come up more often, and the reader understands the position.
The application asks too much
While yes, there is important information you want to gather from applicants; your actual application can run the risk of being too involved. Unless they are passionate about the position, it’s likely a job seeker may see all that’s required and decide to pass. Think about the user experience of your process and gather what you need as simply as possible.
Your website isn’t functional
This relates to a convoluted application process. If your website is so old it hardly functions or is designed in a really confusing manner, you could lose people simply because they can’t get things to work or actually find what they need. Practice going through the steps yourself and make sure your site is updated and optimized for the user.
You aren’t paying enough
This one is tricky but simple. A lot of the time, people aren’t applying because the pay isn’t good enough. Start by figuring out what you can and want to pay, and then research averages for similar positions in the area. If you’re lower than that, you may need to reevaluate, or the best candidates will keep looking.
Save time and money with Sterling Personnel
Trying to get all the details right when recruiting for new talent takes time away from activities at your company that drive your strategic goals. Fortunately, you have the option to outsource to Sterling where you can save time and control costs. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you develop effective job descriptions, post recruiting advertisements, and more.
