When you advertise a job opening, 59 percent* of job seekers will look up your website before deciding to apply or not. Half of them want to know your company’s mission and vision, 54 percent* are interested in what perks or benefits are offered, and a whopping 66 percent* want to learn about the company’s culture and values.
Sometimes, even if you are getting traffic to your career website, you might not get as many applications as you’d like. There are several reasons this might be happening, like a poor candidate experience, mobile-unfriendly sites, poor page design, long application forms, and more. Here are 10 Ways to Boost Your Career Site Conversion Rate and proactive recruitment.
1. Create a Landing Page
A landing page is the first thing a potential applicant will see upon clicking your job ad. The idea is to put information here that compels your visitor to apply for the job opening. Once a visitor arrives on the page, they should see a search bar for the job category that was advertised. It should be the largest feature on the page and lead them to a page showing them all the available positions in that category.
Once they have clicked through to the landing page specific to the available job, they should find information about the job requirements, as well as a prominent button to “apply now.” You will want to keep the page simple and minimalist, because you do not want to distract the potential candidate from the main reason they are there, which is to apply for the position.
Landing pages are important, because they focus on one goal, which is to provide information to a potential applicant and hopefully compel them to apply. It should be designed simply to avoid distracting the visitor from the goal. You do not want them to click away before applying.
2. Ease the Application Process
Another important consideration is the application process. Seven out of ten job seekers abandon their application halfway through filling it out. Sometimes they simply were interrupted or want to postpone applying to a later time, but other times, they just found the application process long and tedious, or asking for too much or redundant information that may be found on their resume. With each abandoned application, there is a risk that these potential candidates will not return to complete it.
If a potential candidate is required to create an account, simply to apply, there is a huge risk they will abandon the site. Eliminate the need to create a login just to access an application.
Keep it simple to apply. Applications asking 50 or more questions lose 50 percent* of applicants, compared to 25 or less questions. An application should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Asking for references can be done farther along in the process when you have found candidates of interest.
For mobile users, reduce the number of clicks it takes to apply, and eliminate long forms to be filled out. Perhaps some basic contact information, plus an upload function for a resume is enough to get started. Giving potential candidates the option to email the job to themselves will encourage them to apply later from a laptop or desktop computer, thus improving conversion.
The easier it is to apply, the better conversion rate you will experience.
3. Optimize Your Website for Mobile
These days, about 90 percent* of job seekers use mobile devices to search and apply for new opportunities. This means your site should be friendly for mobile phones and tablets, as well as laptop and desktop computers. No matter what the content of the page is, if it is not easily readable on a smaller screen, you risk losing the visitor. If there is too much scrolling, or the print has to be resized, many will give up and click away.
Mobile users are more likely to miss buttons and menu items than desktop users, because of the smaller screen. Be sure buttons and other key actions are seen easily; put them at the front and center of the landing page. For mobile users, a “click to call” button is an option that may increase conversions as well.
Add a button to allow your visitors to share the job listing on social media. About 71 percent* of workers are likely to share job openings via social media, and 82 percent* are likely to click on an opportunity when posted by someone in their social network.
An optimal career site, geared toward mobile, should feature short sentences and paragraphs, lots of white space, light images, and short videos.
4. Write a Better Job Description
Job seekers want to know what they are getting into before they apply for a position. Instead of only listing what skills and qualifications the job requires, consider what is going to be important to the potential employee. Job listings that approach the description in this way receive three times as many qualified applicants.
Listing job expectations cannot be completely avoided, but the most qualified applicants are interested in personal and professional development. They want to have a bond with management that is built on mentorship, rather than punitive actions. They want to understand where they fit into the company. They also want a competitive salary. Make sure they know what opportunities are available within your organization.
Specific job listings should include the title of the position, because 36 percent* of job seekers search by the job title they want. Be concise in what you want in a candidate; some of the qualifications you may desire may be developed on the job. In addition to the usual list of job responsibilities and benefits, highlight what makes your company unique.
Include a salary range for the position. Almost 70 percent* of job candidates say they rarely see that information in job ads, while about 24 percent* say that is the most important detail in a job description.
5. Consider Video
To make your career site more compelling, consider adding video. This potentially causes an applicant to spend more time on your site. If the video consists of current employees talking about how much they enjoy working for your company, the viewer can feel more invested to apply. Some web pages report up to an 80 percent* increase in conversions when videos are included.
Mobile users are 3 times* more likely to watch a video than desktop users. This information suggests that video will likely become even more important moving forward in keeping visitors engaged in your site. Even a very short video of just 8 seconds can increase engagement by as much as 36 percent*!
6. Write Concise Content
Particularly in the case of mobile users, smaller screens can make reading a website more challenging, so it is important to convey as much as possible in as few words as possible. Long paragraphs may not fit on a small screen, so keep them short and simple.
This does not mean you necessarily need a separate site for desktop or laptop users. The average attention span of humans is a mere 8-9 seconds*, regardless of the size of their screen, so your site should be designed for all devices. Concise content can be helpful with converting desktop or laptop users too.
7. SEO Optimize Your Website
About 70 percent* of those seeking jobs begin on Google. They want to learn about the job market, their potential role, and possibly your company’s industry and culture before they decide to throw their hat into the ring. They want to ensure they are right for the job and that the company is right for them.
In this environment, it is not surprising that recruitment and marketing overlap. Creating high-quality content for your career site using SEO keywords can answer a potential applicant’s questions before they even see a job listing. SEO will alert Google of your content, so that whenever someone initiates a search using one or more of those keywords, your career site will appear in the results.
Using SEO correctly can increase your search conversion rate by as much as 40 percent*.
8. Make Information Accessible
Many potential applicants are looking for specific information about your company or job openings, and the easiest way for them to find it is using search tools. A large search box will enable job seekers to find information about your company and employment opportunities faster and easier.
Being able to search for jobs on your career site by job title, department, pay rates, or location will help your candidate find a job to apply to within your organization. The ability to pull up positions relevant to their skills, experience, and interests will encourage them to keep clicking through to the application.
9. Branding Should Be Consistent
Branding is your organization’s reputation and personality. It needs to be carefully and strategically created.
This stage of your marketing plan cannot be cut short or overlooked. It’s a critical part of your overall business strategy, directly leading to a positive (or negative) user experience. Your branding should be determined before you build your website as it informs your colors, graphics, photos, videos, and content.
Once you have created your branding, you should ensure that it is consistent across all distribution channels, including your website, social media channels, emails, and print. You want people to instantly recognize you no matter how they are accessing your company.
Employer branding is another type of branding. It is the type of branding that is only based on what working at your company is like. For example, if you are a young and hip start-up with flexible hours and hybrid workplace where the employee happiness is part of your growth strategy, then make sure to show it off on your website and social media. However, make sure you do have happy employees. Word of mouth is the single most powerful marketing tool that can either lift or harm your employer reputation.
10. Be Mindful Of Your Company Culture
Company culture is still a key consideration for many employment seekers. It is an important part of their decision, say about 86 percent* of candidates. Displaying the values your organization holds can sway someone searching for a job to apply.
Add a link to your company’s reviews. Over 60 percent* of Glassdoor users report that they seek ratings and reviews when deciding whether to apply.
One way to show potential candidates the culture is to post a letter from the CEO, welcoming the reader to apply for an open position. This will speak to the company’s leadership. Other ways include posting employee testimonials to show the diversity of the company’s workforce. A corporate blog could feature articles about career paths, charity events the company sponsors, and volunteerism, which highlight the company’s values.
Avoid using stock photos on your career site, and add pictures of actual employees, and offices to make it easier for job seekers to imagine themselves working there.
Show candidates who you are as an organization and be authentic. This will go a long way toward attracting job seekers and converting them to be applicants.
Bottom line
A large amount of traffic on your career pages is no guarantee of a large number of applications. These 10 ways to boost your career site conversion rate will help you optimize your site and encourage potential candidates to apply to your open positions.
Do you need help improving your job descriptions and get a higher converting career application site? Contact us at Jobtip and we'll find a solution that fits your needs!
Sources:
https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/about/news/february-2019/the-cost-of-a–bad-hire.html
https://press.careerbuilder.com/2017-12-07-Nearly-Three-in-Four-Employers-Affected-by-a-Bad-Hire-According-to-a-Recent-CareerBuilder-Survey
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