You have a position to fill. You craft the job description, list it on popular job boards, and wait for a flood of applications. But all you hear are crickets chirping while you wait for the responses to your job posting that never come. Sound familiar? It’s more common than you might think.
The hard truth is, in today’s competitive job market, a conventional job listing simply isn’t enough. Recruiting top talent requires a targeted strategy, deft storytelling, and a strong digital presence. In this article, we examine why job postings fall flat and what you can do about it.
Why Isn’t Anyone Applying?
Receiving little or no applications in response to a job posting is understandably frustrating. You need that position filled, and you need it done now. But to fix the problem, you need to understand why it happened in the first place. This will help you to prevent it from recurring.
These are the most common culprits:
- Generic or confusing job listings: If the job title is vague, the role’s responsibilities are unclear, or the post is full of confusing jargon, candidates may keep scrolling.
- Poor visibility: Posting to one or two platforms doesn’t cut it, especially if it’s not where your ideal candidates hang out.
- Weak employer branding: If your company’s online presence doesn’t reflect a great place to work, it won’t attract top talent; rather, it will drive talent away.
- Lengthy, complex, or clunky application process: This can cause potential candidates to lose interest. If it takes more than five minutes or requires printing a PDF, the best applicants may bail.
- Reputation issues: Job review sites like Glassdoor and Comparably, and even social media chatter, influence public perceptions of your workplace. Remember this: While any publicity, good or bad, may work for celebrities, it’s not the same for business!
Which of these is impacting your outreach? This requires introspection and honesty. Identifying the problem(s) is the first step to a solution.
Fixing the Problem
Let’s address those common job post issues one by one.
Craft a Compelling Job Listing
Your job description is the first impression potential applicants will get of your company. Make it count.
Think in terms of what a candidate might type into a search bar when looking for work. Use this as a guide for the job title at the top of your job posting. Avoid company-specific titles that may confuse job seekers.
Describe your team and mission, and how the advertised role fits into the big picture. Outline key day-to-day responsibilities, but keep the list brief. Be transparent about salary and benefits. This signals trust and respect. Resist using too much technical jargon, and use inclusive language.
Post in the Right Places
Where you post matters just as much as what you post.
Diversify your job posting platforms. A multi-channel approach is an important element of every winning recruitment campaign. Consider a mix of industry-specific job boards and community forums. Indeed and LinkedIn are always good to include, but even Facebook groups might be a good fit.
Don’t overlook one of your most powerful tools: your organization’s website. A modern, mobile-friendly website design with a well-designed careers page makes a strong impression. Leverage this online presence to highlight your company culture, values, and include employee testimonials.
Build a Strong Employer Brand
Your employer branding enforces the perception of your business as an employer. It can make or break your recruitment efforts.
What comes up when you Google your business? Trust us, people are doing that very thing before applying to your job post. Ensure they discover positive things about your company culture, such as team events, values, community work, or unique perks.
Create a content strategy with a variety of blog posts, employee interviews, or “day in the life” type videos. These all help to paint a picture of what it’s like to work at your organization.
Streamline the Application Process
Those top candidates you’re after are busy people. Make it easy to apply.
Most job seekers are already constantly browsing on their phones. Ensure your job listing and application are mobile-responsive and load quickly. Aim for a quick and intuitive process. Set expectations for when and how applicants will hear back. Use auto-confirmation emails and timely follow-ups.
Promote a Positive Image
Modern recruitment is just as much about marketing and public relations as it is about HR.
A bad review on a job review site will make recruitment difficult. But a lack of reviews can be just as problematic. Encourage your employees to share their experiences on platforms like Glassdoor or Indeed. Just a few honest reviews can make a very big difference to your image and reputation.
Does your business have a social media account? Make it work for you. A recruitment campaign doesn’t have to be overly formal. Indeed, candidates may enjoy a peek behind the scenes with employee spotlights and “why we love working here” moments.
Encourage your team to share social media posts like these with your corporate alumni groups, past interns, or local community organizations.
Amplify Your Reach with a Paid Media Strategy
When no one is applying to your job posts, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your opportunity isn’t valuable. Often, all it means is that you need to tell your story better. And sometimes, you just need to widen your reach.
Organic reach isn’t always enough, especially for niche roles or urgent hires. Paid media can fix that.
Run paid ads on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Allow hyper-targeting by location, experience, and interests. Use Google Ads to promote openings with keyword-specific campaigns that align with job searches.
Try programmatic advertising to automatically distribute your job listings across multiple channels. And invest in applicant tracking systems to manage applicants efficiently while offering analytics to improve your future recruitment efforts.
Reflect and Refine Your Efforts
Recruitment isn’t a one-and-done task. It’s a cycle of learning and improvement.
Track job post metrics like views, clicks, starts, and completions. Are people finding and reading the post but not applying? Revise your job description. A/B test different job titles or benefits messaging to see what resonates most.
Survey the candidates who do apply and ask what brought them to you. These insights are invaluable for future recruitment drives. Stay up-to-date on trends like remote work preferences, flexible hours, and DEI commitments. They are becoming baseline expectations that applicants look for.
Get Proactive About Recruitment with Absolute Studios
To attract top talent to your organization, you need to put in the work.
Job seekers respond favorably to clarity, convenience, and transparency. They seek connection as much as remuneration and compensation. Go looking for them where they already feel comfortable online, and you’re almost guaranteed success.
We Can Help
At Absolute Studios, we help organizations get proactive and rethink how they attract employees. From custom website design and online content to paid media strategy, employer branding, and public relations, we can turn you into a talent magnet.
Contact us today, and let’s work together towards recruitment that hits the mark every time.