5 Tips to Speed up Onboarding of Employees by Improving Your Candidates Applications
Few things are as rewarding as building a thriving team that works well together. As every business knows, this is easier said than done. Every company wants to master their onboarding of employees process, but few manage it.
It eats up loads of time and effort just to get a few candidates through the door for an interview – even then, you may not find what you’re searching for. So, cutting corners in your job adverts to ‘save time’ will only cost you more time and frustration in the long run.
Plus, posting a below par job application reflects poorly on your company. If your advert doesn’t excite you when reading it back, you’re going to miss out on quality applications. Your advert should appear as an exciting opportunity – and not ‘just another job’.
Here are 5 tips to improve your candidates’ applications to ensure your inbox is filled with a high volume of quality candidates to consider.
1. Make it quick and easy to apply
A survey from CareerBuilder reported that three in five job seekers are lost during the application process! In the age of Uber and Deliveroo, whether people are looking to order food, transport, or searching for a job, everyone expects to complete everything quickly and easily from any device. (Plus, you want your onboarding of employees to be easy too! More quality applicants to choose from will make it easier for you.)
Speed is the essence: the days of downloading a 10-page PDF to sign and return are long gone. Make your application process mobile-friendly. Ensure it looks sharp on desktops, tablets, and smartphones to invite as many promising applications as possible.
2. Show people what makes your company great
Too many job adverts list skill after skill, doing nothing to sell their company as a great place to work. Your opening few sentences should peak people’s interest by telling them who you are, what you’ve been doing, and why now’s a great time to join you.
If you’re unsure of what to lead with, ask your employees why they enjoy working for you. Working with blue-chip clients, flexible hours, free gym membership, free fruit, listing these in a few sentences paints a picture of what it’s like working for you. This will set you apart from other adverts that are only listing the skills they want from their next hire.
3. Make it clear what skills and experience you desire
Be as specific as possible by listing which skills you need from your next hire. It’s tough to get a gauge on someone’s experience just from their CV – especially for tech-based roles – so ask some questions to get as much clarity as possible.
Being too vague will only waste your time. For example, if you are looking to hire a web developer, there are many factors to consider as they use plenty of programs, languages, and gadgets; it’s a hugely diverse role.
Ask specific questions:
- How many years have you been using JavaScript?
- How would you rate your PHP skills out of 10?
- Are you comfortable using GitHub?
- If we asked you to recreate this website, [link to website URL], how many hours would it take you?
4. Don’t ask for superheroes, everyone has to learn
‘We’re looking for a creative ROCKSTAR!’, ‘If you’re not superman or superwoman, please don’t apply’. Adding a little character in your advert like those examples helps your advert get noticed, but be wary that it might put people off applying if you’re asking the world from your next hire.
Even if you find someone with the exact skill set and experience you desire, everyone needs time to adjust to your company’s way of working. The most important thing is whether the individual is a good fit for your company: if they are lacking a few skills, as long as they fit in with your team, they should be able to improve their skills quickly.
5. Explain the challenges and exciting opportunities ahead
You want applicants to know what’s to be expected of them/what kind of projects they’ll be working on before they get to the interview stage. It would be an awful waste of time for applicants to realise the role wasn’t for them after going through all the effort of interviewing and onboarding employees.
People want to feel part of your company and to contribute to it. In the latter half of your application form, explain what the candidate can expect to be working on should they be offered the role. It’s polite, it clears up any uncertainty for candidates, it will save you time in the long run, and it gives the candidate everything they need to decide whether this is the role for them.
