A Job Seeker’s Environment Can Kill Your Pipeline

Job seekers are people. People get distracted. So, you have to ask yourself: “Are my recruitment marketing materials attracting and engaging job seekers”? To answer this question, understand the job seekers’ environment when searching for and applying to jobs.

Jobvite reported that 52 percent of job seekers are looking for jobs in bed. Another 37 percent are looking while at their current job, and 15 are doing so in the bathroom.

Each of these locations comes with its own unique distractions. A glowing TV, a chatty co-worker, a push notification, whatever it may be, you should assume you don’t have the undivided attention of job seekers. Now that we know candidates are multi-tasking as they search for and apply to jobs, we can modify our strategy to gain as much of their attention as possible. This an incredible opportunity that is ripe for the picking because there are so many companies who haven’t connected the dots on their recruitment marketing strategy.

There are two components to this process: the recruitment marketing materials (think job postings, landing pages, career site, etc.) that attract and engage job seekers and the way we allow candidates to express their interest in our company.

To develop recruitment marketing materials, you’ll need some information. Who are your candidates? Where do they hang out? What are they interested in? (More here.)

To answer these questions, gather information directly from the source. Ask your best employees in-depth questions about how they found the job and what sites they frequent. You could also put the data in your ATS to use by surveying candidates who have already gone through your process. A short survey is a great way to get insights into what information they are looking for and how to improve your process. With this information, you’ll start to come up with ideas for content, and where to put this content, that will catch job seekers attention. Rewrite your job postings to read more like advertisements, not job descriptions, and include the information candidates are seeking at the top.

Next, look at the way you allow candidates to connect with you. The first step to understanding your process is to become a candidate. Search for one of your jobs and complete the application process. Take notes as you go along so you can refer back to them when you begin to remove friction points. Ask some other people that you trust to do the same. If you want to build a pipeline and get more candidates in the top of your funnel, then you might want to make your application shorter or add a talent community.

Don’t let a job seekers’ environment kill your pipeline. Understanding how your candidates operate will help you improve the candidate experience and remove the friction they face when searching for and applying to jobs. Candidates will see and feel the difference as they compare you to other companies. If you’re not optimizing the way you convert candidates at the top of your funnel, then you’ll never have the best chance of hiring the right candidate at the bottom of your funnel.