Toll Free: 877.880.

4477
Phone: 281.880.6525

Avoid Hiring Traps that Lead to

Hiring Remorse

www.hrp.net

Surveys of job seekers often performed by recruiting firms reveal a

variety of reasons why would-be applicants may decide to bypass your
company. Some individuals may complete the application but through that
process develop a negative preconception about your business. This is
particularly true with younger job seekers.
High on the list of problems mentioned in these surveys was the length of
applications. Some companies believe that a daunting application process will
weed out applicants who aren't serious about working for them. Current
thinking, however, suggests that highly qualified job- eekers recognize the
value of their time and will simply move on.
How long is too long? One survey compared completion rates of application
forms consisting of 50 or more questions with those having 25 or fewer
questions. The completion rates for the longer forms was only about half that
of the shorter ones.

www.hrp.net

Do I Really Need This?

Some employers ask for information that, while nice to have, isn't essential for
the first round of elimination. It's a good idea to review the questions on your
application and ask yourself how important it is to have those answers at this
stage of the process.
For example, if your application asks for references, consider whether you're
likely to contact references before you've had a chance to interview a
candidate. If not, save the request for references until later, or simply say,
"Applicants selected for interviews will be asked to provide references."

www.hrp.net

Am I Giving Enough Detail?

Also take a look at the level of detail provided in the job description. Any
description with fewer than 250 words may not provide enough detail to
attract desirable candidates. Then again, given today's shrinking attention
spans, erring on the side of excess will also backfire. Using bullet points to
highlight essential functions of the job might yield better results.
In addition to providing a clear description of the job, tell applicants enough
about your organization to help them determine whether they will fit in well.
An employee who might be right for a particular job might not be a suitable
candidate based on your company's culture and mission. You can save your
time and theirs by being clear about these issues.

www.hrp.net

User-Friendly Job Sites

An online application that can be completed in 15 minutes will get a far higher
completion rate than one taking 30 minutes or more. The best online systems:

Require minimal navigation steps,

Explain the steps in the hiring process,
Allow applicants to save information they have input, log out and resume
the application process later without having to start from scratch,
Include engaging content like employee blogs and testimonials, photos and
videos that highlight the most appealing features of your organization,
Don't require applicants to cut and paste job history information that is
already contained in uploaded resumes or LinkedIn files, and
Feature a unified log-in for your career site and the job application function.

Job application systems also need to be mobile-friendly. It's not merely a matter
of "responsive" pages. Mobile-friendly job sites make it easy for applicants to
upload resumes via cloud-based storage sites like Dropbox and Google drive.

www.hrp.net

Staying in Touch
Even though job application systems generate automatic application
acknowledgement responses, it's easy for applicants to subsequently fall into
a black hole. If job candidates don't hear anything from you for many days
while the hiring process is still active, they may draw the conclusion that they
are no longer under consideration, and move on to another opportunity.
For qualified applicants who didn't receive job offers from you, it's important
to keep them updated. Candidates whom you'd like to reapply at a later date
for similar positions will be more likely to take you seriously if you have not
left them hanging.
Soliciting feedback from actual job applicants those who received offers,
and, if possible, those who didn't can help ensure that your process is as
user-friendly as it can be.

www.hrp.net

Find the Best Candidates

Whether jobs like those you need to fill are abundant or scarce in your labor
market, a carefully designed recruiting and application process may help you
find the best candidates available. It may also help avoid bad hiring decisions
and a needlessly time-consuming hiring process.

www.hrp.net

14550 Torrey Chase Blvd., Ste. 360 Houston, TX 77014 USA

Toll Free : 877.880.4477
Phone : 281.880.6525
Fax
: 281.866.9426

E-mail : info@hrp.net

www.hrp.net