Top 6 Strategies to increase application numbers.

In this day and age, recruitment agencies are finding it a daunting task to attract the right candidates. Organisations have been posting job adverts on repeatedly in hope of acquiring qualified candidates, but to no avail. While many recruiters strive to increase application numbers, they fail to make use of all the right recruitment strategies. This can produce profound results.

The demand for qualified talent has surpassed the supply, but another major reason behind the scarcity of quality job applications is increased competition for the same candidate. Great candidates know their value and the fact that your recruitment competitors are producing attractive job advertisements, plus engaging with potential candidates is not helping.  One example is that the job advert that helped in attracting applications a year ago might be tired, inaccurate or simply not appealing now. Are you reposting the same old job adverts?

With use of enhanced and engaging recruitment strategies growing, lazy recruiting just isn’t working anymore.

Job and technology trends are evolving at such a pace that regular review is essential. Design, layout and the content of your job ads needs consideration on regular intervals. To increase application numbers and draw the right candidate to your company, you need to add the appeal!

If you are already posting and reviewing your teams job adverts, you are on the right track. However, streamlining and adding process to your recruitment strategy can improve quality and bolster job application numbers drastically.

Here are the top 6 strategies that will guarantee better results:

1 – Simple Spell Check

You may not progress an application with spelling errors, so why would they apply if you did the same? It is essential to use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar in your job adverts if you want to be taken seriously. By posting a job advert that contains poor formatting, grammar or spellings will not only minimise your chances of intriguing talent, but will also affect your credibility as a business. Therefore, make sure your team uses spell check before posting.

To increase application numbers, make sure your job advert is well articulated to communicate with your audience with flawless grammar, immaculate spellings and spot-on punctuations. A well-crafted advert reflects positively on your professionalism as a corporate entity.

2 – Check Legalities

While posting a job advert, it is important to ensure that the content of your posting adheres to the legal requirements and policies. Most applicants desire to work with a company that understands employment legislations. Drafting your advert in compliance to HR law will help avoid legal action and create a profound impact amongst the pool of talent you seek to acquire.

To understand the legal framework, ACAS has compiled an extensive guide on publication of job adverts to prevent and resolve workplace related issues.

3 – Gender Biase

Organisations produce job adverts that are unintentionally gender biased. Since society has deeply ingrained sets of values discriminating both sexes, this tends to reflect in the language we use on a regular basis.

For instance, according to a study published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Job postings for fields like programming, engineering, carpentry, etc. feature masculine words such as leader, competitive and ambitious. Such words discourage women from applying for these jobs. Moreover, research also suggests that women feel disconnected to job adverts that feature words that perpetuate gender inequality.

To eliminate the gender bias, organisations can make use of tools like a gender decoder. This will not only help in maintaining a neutral tone, but will appeal to a broader audience. Resulting in an increase in application numbers.

4 – Reflect Your Brand Tone

The brand tone is about what you say, rather how you say it. This includes the words you choose, along with the pace, rhythm and order. In the corporate world, brand tone refers to the written content instead of spoken words. Your brand tone nurtures and develops the personality of your brand. A brand is expected to use similar tone of voice across all marketing collateral including job adverts.

For instance, writing ‘ideal candidate’ or ‘successful applicant’ can make the most suitable applicant question his abilities. On the other hand, using phrases like, ‘In this exciting role you will work alongside …’. ‘Coming from a strong marketing background, you will be expected to …’. Can bolster the confidence of an applicant, encouraging him to apply.

5 – Read It and Get Someone To Check

As obvious as it might sound, it is imperative to read your job advert before posting it. Reading your job posting will help you in overcoming any potential mistakes. You can also ask someone else to read the advert for better results.  Individuals tend to neglect minor details which can only be detected when another person proof-reads the content.

Furthermore, make sure that your content is interesting. Studies suggest that less than a quarter of your target audience will click through the ad, while most people only skim through the description. In order to increase application numbers it important to make your content appealing. Even if you have just 140 characters, focus on articulating an engaging description to create a profound impact, encouraging applicants to apply.

6 – Next Step Or How To Apply

While it is important to create an enticing job advert, it is also important to make it accessible to your intended audience. Most applicants desire to know about the position in depth. Therefore, creating a landing page with adequate details can help you get better responses.

For instance, a client has created a landing page devoted to a single job vacancy, providing appeal and desire. A similar technique can be used to draw potential talent to your organisation and Woya Digital can help you develop and implement market leading candidate attraction strategies.

With cut throat competition in terms of talent acquisition, it is important to have a recruitment strategy in place to attract potential talent. In order to succeed in gaining traction in a candidate led market, being an attractive recruitment agency or employer is pivotal to success.